The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-01-20
FATE OF THE
 SCHOOL BILL Appropriation Likely to
 Be Reduced. HOUSE MAY RECONSIDER Measure Carries S100,00O More
 Than Was Intended. Friends of Schools secured Gift of s45o,0oo Where only ssoO,oOo
 Was Thought Proper, by
 the Governor.

Since the House of Representatives passed the school. appropriation bill carrying S40O,00O in addition to the present large appropriation and pass ed it in opposition, according to the popular understanding, to the wishes of the Governor, the House has been | like the cat which ate the canary or the boy that ate the jar in the closet. Something is going to happen. The most likely thing to happen is the re- consideration tomorrow by the House | of what it did Friday afternoon. In all probability the House will meet in the morning and promptly take back | it's action of Saturday. There may be some opposition to this action, but the well informed do not believe that the Opposition will amount to anything. lThe Governor opposes $4e0,00O in one whack to the schools in addition to what they are now getting.
 The Governor, after figuring out the actual amount in the treasury, the ob- | ligations that would fall due and the | probable increase of revenues, had decided that the Treasury would be able to stand an annual increase of $30O.0oo. His ideas on this question and his wishes were known. He had besore entering the office figured on the treasury and estimated the amount | that should go to the other interests that the State ought to help at this time. The House in the enthusiasm Friday precipitately upset these plans and calculations. If a hundred thou sand dollars extra are appropriated to the eomrEon schools, the other inter ests of the State are bound to suffer | to the extent of 8 hundred thousand dollars.
 The House knew all this when 1t passed ths bill. There was a neat bit of parliamentary sparring at the adjournment of the House which amay figure Nin the reconsideration delibera- ttions of tomorrow. The bill had just passed. A motion was made to re- consider the vote by which the bill
 was passed. If this motion had been recognized another motion was waiting to be made tabling the motion to re- | consider. And if this had been done,
 the House could not have possibly tak> en up the reconsideration of the | school bill at it's session tomorrow | It would have been prevented under | the rules of the House. But adjourn | ment was taken under the rules of the
 House. and the motions. were cut off. The motion to reconsider was made i by the friends of the bill and it was.
 made to forestal the possibility of a reconsideration tomorrow. But 1t came | atfer the hour for adjournment had | arrived. and Speaker Martin therefore | ruled It out or order.
 Three Courses of Action.
 | There are three ways in which the bill can be made to reach the $3OO. .O0O
 mark. The first is for the House to | reconsider its action and make the change right away. The second Is for | the bill to go to the Senate and for the Senate to make the reduction. The | third is for Governor Conner to return the bill. as he can under the Consti- | fYTHfA VI ont ra6, f,,1-
 the appropriation and asking the House to pass 1t. | Speaking of the situation a member of the House said in the lobby of the | Exchange last night:
 l "I voted for the bill and still think l it a good measure. But I would not | like to embarrass the administration
 in it's finances. I would not like to
 be told by some second or third party
 that Governor Conner thinks the ap-
 propriation Is too large to be safely
 made. It will be recalled that during
 the administration of Governor Will l liam J Sanford he sent 8 message to
 the Legislature warning 1t that 1t was
 going too far with appropriations and l esk:ng that a pro rate bill be passed for all appropriations This was irnme- ! Giately done by the Legislature and the 1 state wes saved the possibility of a
 deficit. If the Governor were to sub I
 apprehension that this particular ap- propriation was too large. I am sure the House would reconsider it's action
 Equalization BlI in Balance.
 fIn the Senate there is also on record a motion to reconsider a Senate ac- ton. The motion was made by Senator Blackmon and 1t will ask the recon
 sideratlon of the vote by which the Senate passed the Board of Equaliza-
 tion bill The fate of this motion is
 problematical.
 There is a possibility that the 2-ceni
 messenger rate bill will come up tomor-
 row for final passage. If it does the
 bill will probably he amended makine
 the passenger rate Tn Alabama l--
 cents a mile and then passed.
 The other Senate railroad measures
 are in the hand of the Committee or
 Commerce and Common Carriers, anc
 no action will be taFen on them unti
 after the public hearing on Iuesday'