The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-10-20

their railroad commissioner. say the new county constitutional amendment would cause endless elections to be held and that it would create strife and dissension.
 Sakes aljvel Who would have the strife?
 Wouldn't it be the people in the new county territory? The balance of the old counties would not have any election and no one of them would be bothered about it except the probate judge directing the
 election, and he would like that kind of trouble because he would get pay for it. What business Is it of this Birmingha bunch if the people if any 500 square mile territory want to vote? Are these Birmingham fellows the guardians of the political repose of the people?
 They try to prejudice or frighten all the counties that have any thing over 500 square miles by saying that in any locat. ity in the state elections under the amend ment will be projected and strife ere- ated.
 These fellows we fear, are trying to mislead the people in this statement, for they are bound to be well enough in- formed to know that there are but few places where counties can be formed. But we forgot, they think Birmingham is all of it.
 But they say, as before mentioned, that if new county is formed on a vote of The people they might get the line in the wrong place. Goodnessi If the 800 peti- tioners should propose unsatisfactory line, couldn't the people vote it down, or they could vote the county and have the legislature make the little desired changes in the line. The legislature will make little alterations but won't form counties.
 Citizens of Bessemer.
 They say the Bessemer citizens have repeatedly tried to form new county by act of the legislature, but could never convince the legislature; that the legis- lature heard those of Jefferson, Walker, Tuscaloosa, Bibb and Shelby, who were opposed to it.
 They mean to say by this that they heard the senator and he was against it. They say that many of the citizens of Bessemer county would have to go through Birmingham to get to Bessemer. This Is untrue. There isn't a single citi- zen that would have anything of the kind to do.
 They say the people in this part of the county all go to Birmingham to trade, and if the new county is formed they will be unwillingly corced into going to Bes-
 semer. Bessemer has about 300 brick store buildings ranging from one to four stories high, and many framed structures besides, and they are occupied and the people are doing business; they must have : the conclusion that their contention that
 these people all go to Birmingham to do their trading is also untrue.
 l MT. Percy reaches away out down to Bessemer and calls it a suburb of Bsr-
 mingham. We predict that if they should 1 think of it they would call Tuscaloosa 1 and the county seats of other counties i their suburbs. MT. Percy says great aues-. l tions of sanitatons and water supply l should be dealt with by one set of county l officers with rich resources, etc, and 1 with a good credit it's bonds can be l f1oated at a low rate of interest. He l says the courthouse at Birmingham was 1 costly and is in part the courthouse of l the Bessemer people. He says if the new l county is created at Bessemer these peo- l pie will have to build another courthouse 1 and jail, and they will have another set 1 of officers to pay, etc., and he says the 1 finances of the county are such that the ! citizens can look forward to having low l CT tax rate. Goodness Such wonderful l news, and how kind they want to be to l Bessemer, They want to act as guardians 1 for Bessemer so as to keep her from spending her money or having things at j home, except when they of Birmingham say so. They are going to maintain a i great credit for the county and they are l going to cut the tax rate? How on earth are they going to do all this and build a | as these fellows have been advocating
 at an expense of a million and half | or .Wo million dollars. We tried a vote on half million for a new jail already, 1 which was just voted down, and the court 1 house is full from the roof into the base ] ment and the public business still incveas- l ing, and when the next legislature meets | and the necessary increase is made in l the judiciary and other officers there will | be no place to put them, and the coun- i ty will be forced to build new court
 house and jail at an expense of a million
 and half or two million dollars. which
 will away over double the indebtedness of the county. We now have $1, 100000 of indebtedness.
 Now, if the new county is formed, what | about this courthouse indebtedness? The l truth is when the new county is formed | the present courthouse and jail of Jef-
 ferson will be plenty large, but Bessemer ] will have to build. They say, and it Is
 generally conceded that the Bessemer end
 of the county pays about one-third the
 taxes of the county. So if Bessemer
 should stay in the old county she would | have to take on an indebtedness of a
 half million or more dollars in building | a new one in Jefferson. If the new coun- | ty is formed Bessemer, if she should be a little extravagant about it, would not
 put more than $250,000 or $35O,0OO in her l courthouse and jail.
 It is perfectly apparent, and there is
 no doubt but that the formation of the
 new county will save Jefferson at least
 $1, 100000 indebtedness and Bessemer $2O0,000 i or $500, 600.
 They say also that no provision is made l requiring the new county to assume it's
 pro rata share of the old countys in
 debtedness. My! They ought to read
 sections 124 and 125 of the new code of
 1907, which has been in the code since ! 1852, then to make this more firmly fixed
 in their minds they ought to read the case
 of Chambers county vs. Lee county, 55 | Alabama, 534
 1 This Birmingham coterie with their few ] assistants from Walker. and one from 1 Tuscaloosa, are wonder anyway. 1 J. A. ESTES, ! Chairman State Campaign Committee.
 Bessemer, October 19, 1908.