The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-10-13
Commercial Club Committee Appeals to Voters of State
 to Oppose the Plan ]
CITE THEIR OBJECTIONS 2
 TO SPLITTING COUNTY
kettig Names Men Who Are To Lead Fight Against Dismemberment of the States Greatest
 County.

mercial club to formulate an address to the people of the state met yester- day and has presented the facts as seen by those who oppose the Bessemer county amendment.
 w. H. Kettig, who presided over the last meeting of the club, has announced the campaign committee to manage the campaign against the Ragsdale amend ment. They will meet in a few days and take up the fight in earnest, send | ing out literature over the state. Here is the committee: Walker Percy, w P G. Harding, Robert Jemison, Sr. Frank Nelson, Jr., F. Y. Anderson, J. B. Gibson, Culpepper Exum, T. O. Smith, Wilson R. Brown, John L. Raul, T. IT. Motion, G. B. Mccormack, Jones G. Moore, Lee c. Bradley. Guy R. John son, J. D. Kirkpatrick, F. H. Lathrop Otto Marx, B. F. Moore, George B. Ward, S. E. Thompson, E. J. Smyer, Ross C., Smith.
 w. H. Ketting was selected by the Commercial club as chairman of this committee.
 Here is the address:
 To the Voters of the State of Alabama
 The Commercial club of Birmingh am believing the adoption Of the amend ment to the state constitution to be voted upon at the next general elec- tion, known as the new county amend ment," would be injurious to the best interests of the city of Birmingham county of Jefferson and state of Ala bama, asks your careful consideration of the proposed amendment and re- spectfully urges that you vote against its adoption.
 Provisions of Present Constitution.
 On September B. 1901, a convention of delegates was elected by the voters of Alabama to prepare new consti- tuition for the state, and after weeks of labor completed that constitution and 1t was submitted to the voters and ratified by them. This constitution confirmed the boundaries of existing counties and provided for the creation of new counties, when conditions should warrant, by action of the legis- lature of the state. Under the present constitution whenever the citizens of any section of the state can present good and sufficient reasons for the creation of 0 new county such new county can be created by the legisla- ture, which can, in creating it, con- slider it's necessity, the boundaries which are desirable. and the proper ad- justment between the new and old counties of the debt of the old eoun- ties.
 Nature of Proposed Amendment.
 The amendment proposedy to the con stitution of the state and upon the adoption of which the voters will vote at the approaching election in Novem- Der, provides that 800 of the qualified voters of the state residing within the territory out of which it is proposed to establish a new county may petition the probate judge for an election as to the formation of n new county, stating the proposed boundary lines of the new county, and upon tie filing of this petition an election shall be held by the qualified electors of the state residing within the territory of the proposed new county for the purpose of determ- ming whether the new county shall be created or not. At this election the voters of the counties from which it would be proposed to carve the new county would have no right to vote unless they lived within the confines of the proposed new county. No pro- vision is made in this constitutional amendment for the apportionment be- tween the new and old counties of the debt of the old counties.
 Effect on State at Large.
 Under the present constitution, citizens of any territory who can present sound and sufficient argument for the crea- tion of a new county can procure the creation of such county by an act of the legislature of the state. Manifestly the amendment to the constitution is de- sired so that citizens of certain territories 4A HA rf. lature convincing reasons for the crea- tion of a new county may, nevertheless, as the result of local elections estab- fish new counties. If the proposed amendment Is adopted ambitious towns desiring to be county seats will enter into @ scramble for the creation of new counties and the state will, in a num- Der of localities, be plunged Into bit- ter strife of local contests over the re- arrangement of county lines Experience has demonstrated that no elections are productive of so much bitterness and local dssension as elections over county sites The proposed amendment would permit numberless elections to dismem- Der existing counties. For instance, if @ petition were presented to the probate judge of Jefferson county with the requi- site number of names for the creation of a new county with defined boundaries  and if that election resulted adversely to the creation of the proposed new coun- ty the energetic inhabitants of Besse- mer could prepare a petition with slight encouragement of the proposed boundary lines and have another election and so on with endless elections, tending to dis turb business and stir up local agitation wherever the size of the existing coun- ties permitted the creation of new coun- ties under the proposed constitutional amendment. And if this amendment is adopted it is safe to say that other new and ambitious towns desiring to become county seats will seek the adop- tion of other amendments to the consti- tuition permitting elections for the ere ation of new counties under still more elastic constitutional provisions.
 As a matter of fact there would ap- pear to be less reason for the creation of new counties today than at any time in the past history of the. state The best reason for the creation of a new county is that under the arrangement of ex- istng counties it Is too expensive, tedious and difficult for the inhabitants of exist ing counties to reach the county seat, but all over the state in the past few years new railroad lines have been built and in most sections of the state better roads have been built and are being built and the inha bitants of existing counties can reach their respective county seats to- day with far more facility and less ex- pense than in the past There may be some counties in the state in which it Is so troublesome for the citizens of cer- tain localities to reach the county seat as to justify the encouragement by the