The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-10-27

I question be fairly presented and fairly | considered.
 With all respect to the intelligent and | successful citizens of Birmingham who | have raised their voices in opposition to | this measure we do not think their ar- guments would pass muster before jury | of impartial men. There is much talk
 of grand old Jefferson. and while senti-
 ment is an excellent thing in it's place,
 those who are driven to appeal to the ] emotions, as any lawyer knows have few l hard facts with which to bolster up their l case. We will all agree that it is not
 a good thing for the country that a state should possess the political pre-eminence | of New York, nor Is it 8 good thing for a state that any one county should | have the power yielded by Jefferson. We
 know of no heaven-sent attributes to mil itate against the dismemberment of
 grand old Jefferson, and. believe me, were Jefferson in fact so grand as Br-
 mingham politicians would lead the pub
 lie to believe, we of Bessemer and vi
 cinity would not be so very anxious to l get out of it.
 | The further argument, if such it could | be called. that the creation of new
 county would detract from the prestige | and progress of Birmingham reminds one | somewhat of the spoiled child whose con- | stant plaint is, 'I want" Bessemer peo-
 pie take great pride Tn Birmingham's 1 development. a fact which we show in many practical ways, but is she the only 1 city worthy of prestige and progress?
 Her no doubt kindly meant and oft-ex- | pressed desire to absorb Bessemer so that
 we should be one great city, has been | noted here but at present we are IA miles [ from Birmingham and the indications are 1 that here, for some years to come, we 1 will remain
 In putting her side of the question be- l fore the people of Alabama Bessemer
 makes no appeal to sentiment. The voters | know the fight we are making and against
 what odds we are fighting. The facts in l the case probably though the zeal of
 the opposition seems to have been some | what misrepresented. For instance. 1t is stated by prominent Birmingham leader 1 that under the present constitution the wisdom of the legislature may be trusted l to establish new counties where condi- ] tions justify, when the fact is, that an objection by the state senator from Bir- [ mingham that the act is local measure { and hence must have his support to pass, | effeetually stops it's enactment. Indeed, 1 it was recently stated quite frankly by | the state senator that he killed the new
 county bill in committee, not allowing 1t | to be considered in the senate at all | The additional inference in his remarks
 
 not popular measure Is rather mislead- ing, for instead of barely passing the 1 senate with but one vote to spare, it ! passed by more than a three-fourths vote.
 The repeated assertion that the matter
 should be left to the legislature smacks
 of the absurd when it is well under stood that in the face of the assured and repeated objection of state senator from
 Birmingham such passage would be for
 ever an impossibity.
 | Bessemer also objects on the ground 1 of unfairness, to the repeated assertion | by those opposed to the measure that it | is only the people of Bessemer in the area | of the proposed new county who favor | the project. when the record shows that 1 95 per cent of the voters within the new | county area petititoned the legislature to | establish it, and that Bessemer's voting l strength is only one-fourth of that of the | country intended for the new county. l There Is no just reason why an effort 1 should be made to mislead the public | on this point.
 | There are many reasons based on the l truth why Bessemer and vicinity should | have a new county.
 | We want a voice in our own local and l civil affairs and government. We are now l dominated by Birmingham
 The people want accessibility and prox- 1, imity to the county seat, as the nearer 1 they are to it the less time and expense 1 are sacrificed and the greater consid-
 eration given the improvement of their highways, bridges, public schools, etc., and the more rigid scrutiny can be given the action of public officials.
 The principle of new and smaller coun- ties, and the necessity for them, has been confirmed by all progressive communities, especially in the north and east, where the counties seldom exceed in area one-
 tenth to one-sixth the area of Jefferson. Georgia with about the same area as Alabama has twice the number of coun- ties and Atlanta builds herself up on
 her own merits, and not on the resources of a large county, the area of Fulton
 county being but 137 square miles to Jeff ferson's 1050
 Cases have been pending for years in the courts of Birmingham and are still
 unsettled, so crowded is the condition of the courts.
 We leave the consideration of these facts to the voters of Alabama. Respect fully, LULU HUDSON MOODY. Bessemer, October 2, 190S
 --s.--