The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-10-26
AN UNFORTUNATE ALLusroN.

the Constitution allowing the creation of new counties under certain restric- tions. but 1t opens it's columns today to lengthy arguments from a promi- nent citizen of Linden who writes un- der the name of Subscriber" and from Chairman J. S. Moore, of the Walker County Committee, which is opposing the amendment. Marengo and Walker counties stand to lose slice of ter ritory if the amendment carries.
 Both gentlemen are unfortunate in their allusions to Houston county. They have forgotten the history of the Constitutional Convention which alone made Houston county possible. Under the involved and difficult plan, out lined for the Legislature to create new county, it would have been im- possible for Houston county to have been established. Houston county was not created under the present unfavor- able plan. but a specific exception was made in favor of that county in the Constitution.
 In Article II. Section 39. these sig nifcant words are found in the Con- stitution of 1901: provided that out of the counties of Henry. Dale and Geneva a new county of less than GOO square miles may be formed under the provisions of this article so as to leave said counties of Henry, Dale and Ge- neva with not less than five hundred square miles each.''
 In other words it took a specific | amendment of the Constitution to al- low the formation of the County of Houston. The fight that finally se- cured this amendment to the Consti- tuition in its making was one of the most spectacular made in the conven- tion. noted for debates and controver- sies For years previous the advocates of the new county had to meet and overcome the same class of arguments that MT. Moore and his associates are using to prevent other sections of Ala bama from following the lead of Houston.
 It took Constitutional Convention and specific amendment to authorize the establishment of Houston county The friends of the new county were granted specific indulgences when they were authorized to create coun- ty of less territory than the Consti tutional requirement. and to reduce other counties to less than the terri torial requirements of the Constitution. This goes a bow shot further than the position of The Advertiser
 And while that fight was going on, Abbeville and Geneva were making quite us much noise as Linden and Jasper are making now against tho amendment.
 The Advertisers Linden correspon- dent and MT. Moore made the unfor- tunate mistake of forgetting that the light for tho creation of Houston county was made and won in the
  bill in the Legislature was drawn and passed to put upon the statute books. the purpose of provision in the Con- stitution. The prediction is ventured that from now on the opponents of the amendment will no longer have any interest in Houston county as an il- | iV
 The Advertiser said that not more than five counties would be created in Alabama in the next twenty-five years, if the amendment should be adopted and we say 1t again. We have neither the time nor the space for the exten- sive geographical discussion, built up on series of "buts' and ifs" on the possibilities of new counties being formed but every just and reasonable restriction is thrown about the forma- tion of a new county, both by the proposed amendment and by the Con stitution.
 The new county must have at least 600 square miles of territory and no existing county shall be reduced to less than 600 square miles of territory. The territory to be embraced within the i proposed county must contain sufficient population to entitle it to one repie sentative in the Legislature accord ing to the existing basis of population and no county line must be changed to run within seven miles of a court house. The proposed county must hare a million dollars worth of taxa bIe rIcperty and the petition fo- the eJto srshment of the n'w county must be signed by 500 voters. These re- strictions should be enough to satisfy Mir. Moore and the Linden correspon- dent
 The time may come when the peo- pie of the southern portion of Mont gomery county, may have so increased in numbers and the county so increased in wealth. that the citizens may wish to unite. with those of adjoining coun- ties to form new county which will ! comply with all the restrictions of the Constitution. Tn such an event. The Advertiser will say in answer to MT. Moore's question. that The Advertiser will not selfshly oppose their wishes, | cr eaalr +o throw obstacles in tbafr