The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-10-31
CONTRADICTIONS
 IN BUILDING LAW May or May Not Provide Fire
 Escapes ENCOURAGE GARDENING Commissioner Wilkinson Returns From Tour Over Part of the State With
 M. V. Richards of the
 Southern Railway.
ENCOURAGE GARDENING
By HERVEY W. LAIRD.


 Montgomery, October -(special.)-A general state law requires that fire es- 1 capes be provided for every building used
 for hotel, offices, stores and manufac- turing over two stories in height. At i the same time the municipal code puts
 it that councils may adopt ordinances requiring buildings of this class to be
 fitted with fire escapes. The case is
 one where a general law says do thing
 that is left optional by another general law, though the last applies to individual cities.
 The state law goes on to say that own
 CTS shall fix and conveniently arrange
 so as to be accessible to persons lodg
 ing in, working in, or occupying such
 buildings in case of fire in such build ings, good and sufficient fire escapes or ladders for each story of said building Over against this is the provision of the municipal code bill, which says: ''rhe
 council may adopt ordinances requiring i buildings to be equipped with fire es- capes when in the opinion of the council they are necessary. To condemn build ings or parts of buildings or structures
 dangerous to the public, and prohibit the use thereof and abate the same as a nuisance"
 The doubt about the law is expected to prevent any effort to get busy on putting in fire escapes. Most of those who might come under the provision seem to think
 that it is going to be easy to beat 1t.
 Encouraging Trucking. | Commissioner of Agriculture J. A. Will
 inson has returned from the black belt tour which he has been taking with M.
 V. Richards and others of the Southern
 Railway. He says that everywhere they
 stopped they were welcomed and given every attention, and out of it he hopes to see great revival in that section for truck raising. It is also hoped to arouse an interest in the question of canning fruits and vegetables.
 MT Richards, who is the land and in- dustrial agent of the Southern, had number of leading men with him, the | party travelling in private car. Stops were made at number of places, with | speeches from the several members of l the party. MT. Wilkinson is greatly | pleased with the results. Among other i things, he says he found great interest | in cane business and syrup. which can | be raised in fine quality in parts of the l territory. Crops are short, especially the
 cotton crop, though the farmers have q short crop of cotton.
 | Fight for Amendment. l Though Alabama is not in any sense a | doubtful state there is much more than
 usual interest in the of year election to
 be held next Tuesday for the reason that | three amendments to the constitution l have to be decided Ten days ago it | looked as if there was to be no special in
 terest in any of them save that for good
 roads Now 1t looks very much like every | one of them will win. The others provide | for biennial sessions of the legislature, in
 stead of every four years, and the re- 1 duction in area so that new counties may | be made.
 | The new county amendment has made | the most talk the past week growing out | of the pro and con fight made in Birming
 ham. It is known that the movement is in l the interest of Bessemer, which hopes to l be able, as result, to be the center of a | new county to be called Pettus. It looks I to casual observer that the advantage | so far is with the proposition of the Bes- 1 semer pople. The biennial sessions idea | does not seem to have gained much, but
 the good roads movement is more than
 ever popular it seems. As the matter | stands 1t looks very much as if every one
 of the propositions is going to carry. Remains of J. c. Weissner. The remains of Prof. J. c. Weissner, the dancing master, who died suddenly Thurs | day night have been ordered held by H. l B. Scott of St. Louis, who is on the way l to Montgomery. MT. Scott Is a relative :! MT Weissner had been i'll for some time with tubercular trouble, and was making | his plans to go west when the attack came on.
 Big Tobacco Company. E A Fraleigh of Madison Fla, and | others have incorporated the Fraleigh Tobacco company, to encourage the plant 1 ing and growing of tobacco in this state
 It has a capital of s25o,0oo with s166.5OO paid in. The fact that experiments in Perry and Escambia counties show Ala bama to be a tobacco state has led the incorporators to get in on the ground ] floor.
 | GENE T,EWIN KITT,N