The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-10-30
FOR THE NEW COUNTIES.

-
 Mrs. Lula JudsOn Moody Writes of
 Bessemer's Flight.
 Editor Montgomery Advertiser:
 It Is with reluctance that as Wo- nn s1st,nn STsn into gsstGR gTisS SR fs fhst most cases these matters are much better left to men, but beg to De al lowed to make brief plea for an im-
 We are not financially able to bring this matter before the people at large as We would wish nor have aye. we n,ans tns years of politlcaf domfnation in @he State has given to the politicians Of Birmingha am "t We have no pulls. ahsrs 1aTsss aFs From n0ns ns to We have pe getasayep nor should NWe5 desire to, mould the people of the state yoge down ithe, amendment All .ws WisnS ds is and tsirly copsidefe6 and successful citizens of Btrrninghant sition to this Eileasure, wsIdo not think their arguments would pass muster be- fore a jury of impartial men; There Is much talk of grand old Jefferson, thing in its place, those who are driv- en to appeal to She emotions, as any lawyer knows. have few hard facts with which, to bolster uP their ease,
  good thing for the country that a State should possess the. political pre-, eminence of New York nor Is 1t a good should have the power wielded by Jeff ferson. We know of no, heaven-sent attributes to initiate against the dismemberment Of grand" old Jeffer- in fact so grand" as Birmingham pol itieianB would lead the public to be- lieve.. we of Bessemer and vicinity would not be so very anxious to get
 The further argument. if such 1t could be called. that the creation of now county would detract from the Paminds pGa one one Somewhat of the spoiled child whose constant plaint. IS: I want" Bessemer people take greaf pride in Birmingham,s development. a ways. but Is she the only city worthy of prestige and progress? Her no doubt kindly meant and oft-eXpFessed desire to absorb Bessemer so that we noted here. but at present We are four teen miles from Birmingham and the indications are that here. for some years to come We will remain
 In putting her side of the question before the people of Alabama Bessemer makes no appeal to sentiment. The and against what odds we are lighting. though the zeal of the opposition seems to have been somewhat misrep- R prominent Birruingham leader that under the present constitution the wis., dom of the Legislature may be trust cd to establish new counties where that an objection by the State Senator from Birmingham that the act Is local measure and henee must have his support to pass. effectuailv stops It's enactment. indeed. 1t was recently stated quite frankly. by the State Sem ator that he killed the pew county bill in committee; not allowing 1t to be considered in the Senate at all. The additional inference in his remarks that the new counties amendment was not popular measure is rather mis- the Senate with but one vote to. spars 1t passed by more than a three-fourths vote. The repeatde assertion that the matter should be left to the Legisla- we'll understood that in the face of the assured and repeated objection of a State Senator from Birmingham such passage would be forever an imposs-
 Bessemer also objects on the ground of unfairness. to the repeated asser- ton by those opposed to the measure in the area of the proposed new coun- R rscord Tao shows aov that $ per cent. of the the voters within the new county area pe- titioned the Legislature to establish it and that Bessemer's voting strength is only one-fourth of that of the coun- try Intended for the new county. There is no just reason why an effort sh ould be made to nislead the public on this point.
 There are many reasons based on the truth why Bessemer and vicinity sh ould have a new county
 We want a voice in our own local and civil affairs and government We are now dominated by Birmingham.
 The people want accessibility and proximity to the county seat. as the nearer they are to it the less time and expense are sacrificed and the greater given the improvement of their highways, bridges, public schools, etc. and the more rigid scrut- Thy can be given the action of public officials,
 counties. and the necessity for them. has been confirmed by su progressive especially in the North and East where the counties seldom exceed In area one-tenth to one-slxth the area of Jefferson. Georgia with almost the same area as Alabama has twice the number of counties, and Att lanta builds herself up on her own