The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-09-07
Amount paid to old sol
. ...S 417.642.b5

Balance ... ..... ...$ 417542 55
 The report for this year of the treas urer and auditor are not due until the first of next month, and in consequence the data as to the amount paid to sol- q r7 is what I have gleaned from the discuss setween members of the leg siature during the special session. l challenge MT. Bush and MT. Hamil- ton to show what became of the above balance, or whatever may be the true balance, for a balance there should be of not less than $400, ,000. Tell the pub lie how 1t was paid? To whom? And for what purpose was 1t paid? Your an- swer will settle this question.
 There Is a disposition to show that the law did not intend to pay as much for the last as for the first quarter. This is not the law. The first class pensioners were to receive $10o per year or $25 per quarter. On the first day of July, or the last quarter. of each year if there was not enough to pay each pensioner the amount due to him, then whatever amount was in the treas ury was to be prorated among all. If there was on that date more than enough to pay all that was due the "overplus" was to be prorated among all, so as not to leave a dollar in the treasury that might be used for some other purpose.
 Some claim that the shortage is due to the increase of pensioners. Let us examine the reports and see whether such a claim is well founded. Audi tors report, September So 1908, page g, says:
 For the year ending September 30, 1907 15,475 pensioners received s473,25o
 Same report, pages 14S to 159 in- elusive, shows for the year ending Sep tember 30, 19cS
 Pensioners. First Quarter, October l, 1907. .17,s5s Second quarter, January l. 1908 ..17,294 Third quarter April l, 1908 ...17,249 Fourth quarter, July l. 1908 .16,5sS
 The treasurer in his report same year, pages 1855 and 136, shows that he paid warrants to pensioners as fol- lows:
 Pensioners. First quarter .................. 16.52s Second quarter ................ Is, ATS Ihlrd quarter .........-........ l6,3lS Fourth quarter ................ 15,959 It will be noticed that instead of an increase there was decrease in the number of pensioners from the first to the last quarter
 MT Bush claims that the shortage oc- cured because of the advance from the other classes to the first class, who are paid s100 per year. Let us see what the treasurer says about this. In the fiscal year ending September 30. 1908, he paid first class pensioners as fol- lows, pages 1855 and 136:
 For the first quarter, 53S war
 rants ................... .$lS,450 For the second quarter. 953 war rants 2S,Szb For the third quarter. 1157 war rants 2S,925 For the fourth quarter, 1293 war rants ($10) ... -. .. =. 12,930 Now notice the total amounts paid for all classes for each quarter of which MT. Bush makes much ado about noth- ing" From the same pages In the treas urer's report:
 First quarter, paid to all. s217,239. 50 Second quarter. paid to all .. 219.617-0c Third quarter, paid to all .. 220. .116. 50 Fourth quarter, paid to all S6,908.60
 Total for the year $743,8s1.6 50
 Where Is the very great increase of which he peaks? Taking the auditors report of amount
 On hand ...............$ 4So,3S9. 37 Appropriation ... 10000 .00 l mill tax, if same as 1907 429,153.1S
 $1,25s.542.55 55 Treasurer paid warrants. 743,SS1.6 50
 Balance ...............$ 15,660. .95
 I hope you will pardon the length of this l shall have more to say here after, but promise to be very brief in each communication. It requires so many extracts from the reports of the treasurer and the auditor that made it more lengthy than I desired.
 N A STUART.
 Birmin gham, September 6. 1909.