The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-02-15
had done that had performed a mir

acle.
 Senator spragins wanted to know how the Capitol watchmen fared under the bill. and 1t was shown that their pay had been increased to $75 a month, Senator, Miller explaining they were | charged with 'the important duty of guarding the large sum of money in | the State rreasury.s
 Miller Explains Bin. There won't bc any money down there to guard when this hill and a | few of the others we are passing. get in their work" said Senator Spragins with conviction.
 Senator Miller declared 1t was a TO- neetion on the Statc of Alabama that
 the Secretary of State received only sl,SO0 year. He pointed out other
 State officials and employees who re- | ceived inadequate pay. Having ex- plained that the general principle of the bill was to raise the salaries of heads of departments to s3,000 and chiel clerks to s1.S00 he went on to further illustrate the changes wrought | by the bill. In the DepaI tment of Ed ucation two clerks had their salaries | raised from $1.200 to $1,5O0 and the salary of the stenographer was raised from S50U to $7ov. The btll fixes the general rate for stenographers at s900 | year throughout the Capitol. A | stenoyrapher has been provided for the office of Secretary of State, and tho salary was fixed at the same general | figure.
 In the Auditors office there will be two $1,S00 salaries, one for the chef clerk and one for the warrant clerk. The salary of the Librarian and Mar | shal of the Supreme Court was raised from $1,500 to s2,000, and two Secre-
 taries are provided for, each of whom | IS to receive $l,500. The Capitol ser wants have their salaries raised from
 $25 to $35 a month.
 SpraEins Against Measure. Senator Spragins was against the 1 measure. He was at a loss to under stand tho reason for such a wholesale
 raise He did not believe the Commit tee had furnished the Senate with suf-
 ficient facts to jsstify the raises. After the dinner recess, Senator Merritt attacked the measure. He said he had spent practically the entire time of recess in going over the figures In the Auditors office to look for light in
 passing on the question. His search had convinced him of the justice of his opposition to the bill.
 By what arbitrary rule do they
 come in hero and say the salary of
 each head of department shall be
 $3,000, while some of them are raised
 from $1,S00 and others from $2,500Y'
 asked Senator Merritt.
 The motion was made at this Junc. ture to table the motion to recommit the bill and it carried 12 to 10.
 Senator Lusk was opposed to the bill in its present form. There were some salaries raised in the bills which he would be pleased to see go into effect but there were other items to which he was opposed.
 Recalls Incident of Tyler.
 Senator Hammer was for the bill be- cause he did not want to see the time come when only rich men would be able to hold offices in Alabama. He recalled the time when John Tyler was elected Governor of the State of Vir. ginia, when the salary was only $1,0o0s a year. He was the first poor man to be elected to that office, and when the i time came for him to give the custom ary banquet to the Legislature, he dined the legislators within his means | and they found on the banquet board | good Virginia ham and stocks of old- | fashioned pone bread. He declared he | knew certain laborers who made more money than the State of Alabama paid | its Secretary of State. During his dis l cussion of the bill Senator Hammer was | several times questioned by Senator | Lusk. The Etowah Senator finally | said;
 Fortunately, the Senator from Mar | shall is not the guardian of the con- sciense of the Senator from Etowah. ,
 Senator Lusk declared that no Sem ator in the last campaign would have | tod his people he proposed to support | such a wholesale increase in salaries. |
 Senator Gum said that he had no | fear of meeting his constituents after | he had voted to give State officers a | living salary. He thought the State should have officials who were fully | to discharge their duties, and officials who could compare with the off, ncials of the large corporations. He | took the position, too, that the pay of 3 Senator at $4 a day was entirely too small.
 Reese Takes Up Challenge.
 Senator Reese took up the challenge of Senator Lusk to name an employe of the State who had ever refused to serve as long as he could hold his place. He named several Government em- ployes who had done that. including two well known young men who had resigned from the office of Recording Secretary In the office of the Governor. He furthermore informed the Senate that the present Recording Secretary l was mo $1,200 man. and if you don't | raise his salary he won't stay there. | You are paying this man with a dis tinguished record the pitiful sum of | $1.200 q year.
 Mir. Reese wasn't afraid to hear from | the taxpayers of the State. "The tax | payers of Alabama have got a good deal | more sense than you give them credit | for having" said MT. Reese, warningly. |
 On its final passage the bill was adopted by a close vote. It was sent l over to the House without engross- 1 ment
 The House bill. introduced by MT. | StegalI of Dale, and designed O pro- tect the fish in the Alabama streams, | was suddenly and unexpectedly de- feated In the Senate before the after noon adjournment. There was not much discussion of the measure. The only extended speech being that of Senator Leith, who declared the measure work ed a hardship on the millers and gin- ners of the State, whose mills were on streams. The Walker County Sen ator was inclined to have some fun with the measure. too.
 The Senate killed the bill by vote of 12 to 10.
 Rev s. A. Wasson. of Tuscaloosa, opened the session with prayer. There were thirty one senators present
 Normal School Gift Is Legal.
 Senator Ga rdner, chairman of the Rules Committee, asked to be heard briefly on ne point J1 order raised by Senator Spragins Wednesday after noon The Madison senator had point ed out under the Constitution, that not Iaore than fouT per cent of the cor mon sehoi funds could be appro- rrated for any cher purpose, except