The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-07-24

the House at Fridays session were read and referred to the proper commit tees. This occupied the larger portion pr the short morning session.
 Municipal Code Bin Up.
 As soon as the Senators got togeth- CT Tor the afternoon session the May neid code was taken up. together with the John bill adopting the code.
 senator Spragins announced that he was hardly ready to accept the new code on faith.
 T understand" said Senator Spra- gins. that radical change in the child labor law of the State Is made"
 MT. Lusk, representing the Code Committee, said If the code was free from any one thing it was free from radical changes. No radical changes of any sort had been made. Mir Lusk ex- plained the way in Hhich the commit tee had done its work. No liberties had been taken with the statutes. The closest scrutiny of the code by any member of the Senate would fail to show radical change, either in the child labor law or in any other pro- vision of the code.
 He said that the committee required sixtY-one days to consider the code. working eight hours a day. It would take the Senate twelve months to read the code word by word and approve it.
 As far as the child labor provision of the code was concerned, 1t was the same as that contained in the bill which was passed in the House and which was on it's way to the Senate
 will the Senator explain the change made in the provision of the code in reference to the liability of employes?" asked Senator Miller !
 We have changed in some respects the doctrine on that subject" said Sen ator Lusk.
 Change in Liability Law.
 He went on to explain that, under the provision of the code, an employe did not assume liability for an acci- dent after he had notified the employer of the defect of the equipment Un- der the old law, Senator Lusk said. an employe assumed the risk If he went to work after notifying the employer of the defective equipment. He had to do this or lose his job. The pro- vision of the code, he said, relieved the employe of having to quit his job. Mir. Spragins offered an amendment changing the code so that the old law would be effective. He spoke of the doctrine, as explained by Senator Lusk, as being one that had been disapproved by the Supreme Court of the United States.
 . Senator Reid was. opposed to the amendment. The provision of the code gave to the workingman the protection needed.
 taken by Senator Leith It would be unjust and unfair. he said. to compel the workman to either assume the risk of accident or to quit his job
 Tax Question Bobs Up.
 The amendment was tabled there be- ing only four friends of the amend ment on the floor and voting.
 Senator Spragins offered a second amendment declaring that the assess be placed at 60 per cent of its actual value.
 This Legislature has been notable for delegating the spowers which 1t should exercise" said Senator Spragins ''The Tax Commission has announced its purpose of having property in the State assessed at that valuation, but I'm at a loss to understand by what authority the commission acts when 1t issued that manifesto.
 "The Legislature if 1t adopts the amendment will exercise it's powers and have inserted in the code a provision which makes the legal rate of valua- tion sixty per cent of its actual valua tion." .i-r'-s }- ... 1'. -
 ScndtOT OppOseu tue ment. He did not, he said. take any stock in the statement made broadcast over the State that property was as- sessed at only thirty per cent of its value. He did not believe that the State was filled with perjurers. The whole issue was an issue between what a man believed his property was worth and what other people believed 1t wds worth. He moved the tabling of the amendment. and this the Senate did.
 Senator Spragins offered third amendment, which also dealt with tax ation matters. The amendment declared that the legal tax rate should be sixty cents on the hundred dollars. instead of sixtyfive cents. as at present.
 Senator Spragins said that some of the Senators had expressed A wish to find a way to tighten the burden of taxation in the state. He would give them another chance in the amend ment.
 Keep The Old Tax Rate.
 Senator Miller took issue with the amendment. The assessments had been made, the appropriations had been made under the old tax rate. He moved the tabling of the amendment and it went the way of the others.
 Senators Spragins. Jones, Blackmon and Teasley voted together in favor of the tax amendment. but the Senate was overwhelmingly the other way.
 The code was then adopted in the formal passage of the bill. It's com nanion bill, a measure providing for printing and distribution of copies of the new code, was also passed.
 When this had been. done one of the biggest tasks of the Legislature at it's July session had been accomplished.
 The Senate under the rules went i'm mediately into the passage or local