The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-10-28
MIR. BOWIE IS FOR IT
MAKE ABLE ARGUMENT FOR NEW
 COUNTIES.
Distinguished AIabamian Exposes Some of the FaIiacies selishly Advanced by the Birmingham
 Committee Of Opposition.

Editor The Advertiser:
 Sir:--I left Birmingham Thursday af- ternoon to attend the Circuit Court of Appeals at Montgomery and did not return until last night about 10 o'clock. On my return ' found that my name had been used to an advertisement in effect opposing what Is known as the new county amendment and to call for mass meeting last night. This use of my name was without my knowl- edge or consent. I am not opposed to the amendment; I favor 1t and expect to vote for it.
 The gentlemen who are making the fight against the amendment are all my personal friends, and for them have the very highest respect. They know very we'll that 1t would not be necessary to ask my personal consent in joining in any movement that had for It's purpose the good of Birming- ham and of Jefferson County. and act ing upon that assumption I am sure one of them took the liberty of sign ing my name to the call. I know nec- essarily from the character of the gen. tlemen who are conducting the cam paign that in the use of my name for the purpose indicated, they proceeded solely upon a misunderstanding so osfar as l am concerned.
 Having been living in the county for only about two years, and finding a very strong sentiment in Birmingh am among many of its best citizens against this amendment, I had felt constrained to subordinate my own judgment to that of others in which had full con- fidence to the extent of taking no ac- tive part in the matter, and but for the use of my name in the manner indt- cated. should have adhered to that conclusion.
 Being under the necessity of cor recting the error referred to. it be- comes essential for me to state the reasons why favor and intend to vote for the new county amendment.
 dislike as much as anyone possibly could to disagree with my friends. and l shrink as much as any one can from conflict. But although I know I may be entirely wrong In the matter, and all though I may be in a hopeless minority so far as the city of Birmingham Is concerned, my self-respect compels me to state clearly my views on the ques- ton and the reasons therefor.
 In the first place, I think the honor able gentlemen, or some of them at least, who are opposing this amend | ment do themselves an injustice when they place their opposition upon pure- ly selfish grounds. I do not believe they mean exactly what some of them have said on the subject. We owe an obligation to the State that is neces- sarily superior to the obligation which we owe to any part of the State. In the next place we cannot afford to weigh moral principle in the same scale with pecuniary advantage. If we could help ourselves financially, by infltctfng moral wrong upon others we would be found to forego .le financial advantage. assume the gen. tlenen who oppose the new county amendment have identically the same xrga auva fANa 4l,fa frak At4nA T AlzI. merely that they have failed to over look this proposition in the excess Of their zeal. There is ample evidence all around us and all about us to the effect that States prosperity is enhanced rather than retarded by having small counties and large enough number to conveniently transact all the pub- lie business without inficting hardship ana inJufy upon any portion of the people.
 Alabama has sixty-seven counties. with afa average area of 7S0 square miles; Mississippi has seventy-flve counties with an average area of SIS square miles: Tennessee has ,ninety-six counties, with an average of 435 square miles, and Georgia has 145 counties with an average of 407 square miles, It will be observed that the area of each county in Alabama Is much larger than Mississippi on the west, Tennessee on the north and Georgia on the east. And yet when 1t comes to the increase In bank deposits and of tax values. the two most substantial indexes of real progress, either of those States during the past ten years will show greater actual and relative growth than Alabama.
 do not attribute this altogether, of course, to the size of the counties, but 1t is quite certain that the number of counties in these states has not been in any sense an impeachment to their growth; upon the contrary the testi- mony is all the other way.
 The legislature of Georgia. without substantial opposition from any quar-