The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-01-04
MASS OF PROPOSED LAWS WILL
 FURNISH FOOD FOR LEGISLATURE
Many Important Matters Wait to Be Fought Over by Lawmakers Members of Assembly
 Will Earn Pay.

The Legislature of Alabama, for the first time in four years, will meet at the Capitol Tuesday at noon with a world to do.. and only fifty days to do 1t in. A North Alabama member Of the lower House, using an old Alabama simile to show what the lawmakers would be faced with said. That Leg islature is going to be as busy as blind dog in a meat house."
 This primal fact sticks out and above all the surrounding prospects, when the forthcoming session is considered-that 1t has more work to do than any other Legislature that ever assembled, and less time in which to do it. The Con- stftutional Convention of 1901. by spe- cial enactment. provided that the last Legislature, which was the first to meet after the Convention, stould be given sixty days in which to do its work. This leeway wa given the first Legislature because the Convention had given 1t a number of new and special tasks.
 The previous Legislature accom- plished most of tho e jobs put on it by the Convention, but on two or three of them the members "soldiered.' For Instance, there was the duty of pro- viding the State with a municipal sode. which the Convention was charged with doing. Now when the lawmakers were about to take up that work, they found they were liable to step on the toes of some of their friends. + the Legisla- ture should go to work and make municipal code, 1t was found that whole lot of nice local political ma chimes would be broken.
 The code was to classify the cities of the State and provide the autonomy of the city government for each class. Of course that meant that in many towns of Alabama there would be new way of electing mayor, there would be new way of selecting a chief of police, and the mayors would have powers that they had never had before. or to be deprived of powers they had been in the habit of exercising. While the Walker bill, prepared and intro duced by Judge R. W. Walker, was under consideration, mayors and alder men and chiefs of police were constant- ly running up to Montgomery, and hay ing earnest talks with their members out in the rotunda.
 To Contest for Offces.
 After a while, the lawmakers decid- ed 1t was better to let sleeping dogs lie, and, anyhow, the State might get along without a municipal code, So the Walker bill died of inertia.
 This code is not the most important thing that is coming before the Leg islature, but one of the prettiest fights of the whole session will center around it. There Is not enough human wisdom in all Alabama to draw code that will satisfy every set of local once holders in the State.
 The curtain raiser of the session, and that which will first attract the at tention of the people of Alabama IS the settlement of the various contests for officers. There is nice fight, both in the House and in the Senate, over the question of the presiding officer and his powers. In the lower House, the legislators will have to selectsa Speak CT. In the Senate, the senators will have to determine who is to have the power of naming the committees, the lieutenant governor or the president pro tenn. E2R @E ssr
 The Democratic caucus of the House has been called to meet Monday nignt, of the Legislature. The call has been issued by Hon. J. Manly Foster or TuscaIoosa, who was President Of the last Democratic caucus and who gvlli preside Monday night until his success
 The caucus will itself make the se- lection of the Speaker of the House When that has been completed the oth- CT officers will in turn be elected.
 The custom heretofore has been for the Democratic caucus to meet on the night of the first day of the session But this year in the wish to save time, the caucus has been called for the pre- ceding night.
 In the House, there are three candi- dates. two of whom are from the Coun- ty of Montgomery. w.. L. Martin and R. T. Goodwin. The third candidate is from Tallapoosa county, Thomas l.. Bulger. It may be because Montgom- cry has a peculiar interest in its con- tasting candidates. or because they are at home, ana their friends do more of the talking, but the sentiment seems to be that the fight is between the two Montgomery men. and Mir. Bulger's best chance lies ir tangle and a disagree ment, during which he can come in.
 There is good deal ofNtalk over this fight in the Capitol County. Much has to do with what the Governor -elect will or will not do. In other words Knowing that a big majority of the members of the House supported MT. Conner, the well-informed say he can, if he chooses, have a great influence in the ultimate selection of the Speak