The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-10-24

If you are citizen of any of these counties and don't want to see your county dismembered, vote against the new county amendment. More coun ties mean more money spent for court houses, more salaried officers, higher taxes and poorer roads. With better roads and more railroads the present court houses are becoming daily more accessible. If the new county amend ment is adopted, part of your county may be cut off without your having a chance to vote on it if you live in the part of your county not proposed to be voted into the new county. If you live in part of your county which some voters want to form into a new county, you may be voted into new county against your will. Any town wanting to be county seat by it's larger vote can vote a, number of country precincts into a new county against their protest. If the amend ment is adopted Bessemer will vote country precincts from Walker, Tusca- .loosa, Shelby, Bibb and Jefferson into a new county against the practically solid opposition of such country pre- cfncts because Bessemer will have more votes than the country precincts and won't consult the wishes of the voters in the country precincts. The same thing may happen in your eoun- ty sooner or later. Bessemer will shape the new county it proposes to form like horse shoe or a shoe string, or in any other shape neces- sary to carry the election and if it fails to carry the election for a new county in one shape it will map out another county in a different shape and have anoth CT election. This may hap pen in your county if the county amendment is adopted. Ninety mine voters In Alabama out of every hun dred want the counties in which they live to continue unchanged. If you want your county to remain unchanged vote against the new county amend ment on November 8.
 The prop osed amendment is inspired chiefly by citizens of Bessemer who wish to create a new county carved from the counties of Jefferson, Walker, Tuscaloosa, Bibb and Shelby, most of the territory to be taken from Jeffer- son. This new county is desired for the commercial advantage of Bessemer and for the offices that 1t will create. It is not desired by the voters of the country precincts proposed to be tn corporated into the new county out side of the city of Bessemer. An. over whelming majority of the voters in Jefferson, Walker, Bibb, Shelby and Tuscaloosa are opposed to the creation of this new county, and the legislature has always voted 1t down. Bessemer Is within 12 miles of Birmingham, con- nected with it by numerous trunk lines. There is no argument of public convenience or accessibility to the court house in favor of the creation of this new county No county seat in the state can be reached by all of it's inhabitants with so much convenience and quickness as the county seat of Jefferson county.
 If the constitutional amendment is adopted, the country precincts in this proposed new county will be voted into the new county by the preponderating vote of Bessemer. The plea of local self government urged in favor of the new county amendment will prove Lelusion and the tyranny of a selfish majority will rule.
 The citizens of Jefferson county are q posed to this assault upon It's in- tegrity. If the new county amend ment is adopted, the same assault may be made upon the integrity of your county,
 amendment is not equivalent to a vote against it. If you are opposed to this amendment and believe that the crea- tion of new counties should be left to the legislature, record your vote against the amendment on Novem- Der 8. w. H. KETTIG,
 Chairman Jefferson County Campaign
 Committee.