The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-09-30

l best or that he Is "hypocritical." Then | there is the Auditors of1ce. where the | official data can be secured.
 It should be remembered also that | this hondition exists, notwithstanding 1 the Governor and the Legislature have | combed the State, as 1t were, with | fine tooth comb in search of every hidden dollar; and every tax payer | Knows two things. that his taxes upon l the whole are higher than usual, and, | by the reason of the panic. his prop | erty not so valuable. Now take from 1 the general revenue. as Is proposed, | the entire convict fund, and the loss | from license revenue, depreciation or | property In many places and the in- l creased expenses of over million Of l Collars last year. as Is estimated. | and where are we? The gravity of
 the situation. and the only means In
 sight for relief. may account for the ! startling editorial in The Walker l County News. of July 24th. It's Ian | guage is, Talk about taxation and its
 burdens, The people have yet to know | what real taxation is. if they are to 1 sustain the things that make Tor the | progress of our Commonwealth.". Con-
 stitutional limitation of taxation must | be forced to expansion. etc" This pa | per advocates the good roads amend | ment It did not have space to pub | fish my article. so that the people could see whatfI wrote, but It had | plenty of space in which to give its ! views of my article. I do not expect
 # to have the space to publish this l reply. s. as.4
 | I think my position as to second l proposition fully sustained and entities
 me to a judgment for all claimed.
 No one has undertaken to meet my | next proposition. that 1t was unfair
 and unjust to tax the people of one | community to increase the value of l property in other communities. call | attention to the decisions of our Su- | preme Court upon the principle involv- | cd here. Many of our counties are
 carrying their own burdens for good
 roads and should not have to contrib
 ute to other sections of the State in l such matters.
 | True one paper-The Walker News
 --said I did not object to the govern
 ment building harbors, making river
 Improvements for navigation. or build ing rural routes. etc. The man who l does not see the difference between | appropriations by the general govern
 ment and taxation of property by sthe | State to build certain sections at the | expense of others-not at all benefited puts to shame Esau's loyalty to his idols. Suppose eastern counties of this
 State had been taxed to build the l locks In the Warrior river. what would
 they say to the proposition? Suppose | every county In the State of Alabama | had been taxed to cooperate with the l general government in erecting public
 buildings in the various towns, would
 they not surely rebel? There is the
 answer to the whole contention.
 l also stated as a further proposi-
 ton that the proposed amendment
 was unnecessary. As far as have
 been able to keep up with the advo- cates of the amendment perhaps they
 have laid more stress on this than | any other. and with all due respect to them I hope to demonstrate that their claims are utterly without merit Do l not become impatient at reading and
 considering. but be as critical as you please.
 The Age Herald quotes Senator | Overton as follows: The amendment will put Alabama in the position to l get Federal add In the construction and
 maintenance faPost Roads" Senator
 Bankhead and others have chimed in
 to the same tenor. The whole of
 their contention Is comprehended in
 the simple statement that the amend | 'ment is necessary to procure Federal
 aid. The argument is far fetched and exceedingly weak that rests upon the action of Congress in the future. We I may live to see It. and we may not. | IT ever made 1t will not be primarily
 for the purpose claimed, but for ul-
 terior reasons hereafter suggested. But propose to meet the contention upon their selected ground. Our sem | for Senator in a speech delivered by | him in the Senate on the 24th of April 190Ss offered an amendment to a bill
 then. pending as follows: Provided | further that sum not exceeding
 $5oO.OOO of this appropriation may be expended by the Postmaster General | in cooperation with the Secretary of l Agriculture in improving the condi- tions of the roads over which rural routes are or may be hereafter es- | tablished provided further that the State or County or Counties' which
 may be selected for improvement of
 rural delivery routes therein, under this provision, shall furnish an equal | amount of money of the rural route
 so established. There you have 1t,
 world without end! No, State cooper | ation necessary here. If the State | does not accept, the County or Coun- | ties may in their individual capacity get the full benefit of any appro- l priation made by the Federal Gov
 ernment in aid of the rural or postal routes-and for rural routes, equally any other public road would have the same right for which Federal appro- | priations may be made. The Counties
 of our State are exactly in position | to get the benefit of ali Federal aid l ana without the amendment As early as May 18th, last. in a short article | published of that date in The Ledger. without elaborating the question,
 stated that in framing a Congress sional Bill providing for appropria- tions for public roads, the bill could be so framed as to apply to Counties. but if not so framed. the LIgislature | could frame an act to meet any kind | of Congressional appropriation" Our | Senator was eminently sound and cor rect in the principles contained in his
 amendment. The right of the State
 to engage in internal improvements
 on its own responsibility-and It's | trustee of the Federal Government
 other If the amendment had exclud-
 eral Government had appropriated | ing and maintaining good roads in the
 State, provided that in the State an equal amount be contributed to such purposes, and so used. or to be used in
 the manner prescribed, the Legisla-
 ture could legislate so as to give the
 counties the benefit of and meet
 the requirements of such Federal aid ] and it would be no violation
 of the Constitution of the State, 1 for the simple reason that the State would not thereby appropriate
 dollar of the State money, but l simply provide that the county or
 counties through which the roads
 were to pass, should reap the benedt of such donations. This would be just l and fair, and no county womb he