The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-02-11
HOUSE HAS FUN AT DOCS EXPENSE Numerous Amendments to
 Dog Tax Law SCHOOL BILL PASSES It Provides for Local Taxation for School Purposes-The Speaker
 Explains Ruling oh Tem-
 perance Banner
SCHOOL BILL PASSES
BY BERRYMAN G. BETTY

BY BERRYMAN G. BETTY | Montgomery. February 10.-tSpecial.)- For the first time since the present ses- sion of the legislature began the house to- | day departed from its usual custom and | indulged in little bit, of frivolity Even | the speaker of the house, who heretofore has insisted on serious consideration of all pending matters and the most exem- plary dignity on the part of the members, did not refrain from an occasional witti- | cism. and the session throughout the day | was marked with a fair mixture of good humor and business deliberation.
 The chief business of the day was the This bill provides that a tax of s1 a year shall be paid on each male dog and $250 on every female dog in the state over i months of age. The bill also provides for the collecting of such tax and that all live stock killed or injured and all other damage done thereto shall be paid out of 1 the dog tax fund All surplus left in the dog tax fund. according to the provisions | of the bill. shall be paid into the treas l ury -of the county.
 Mastin's Bill
 The bill had been made special order for February S. but the consideration of it l had been deferred by consent until to- l day. When the bill was called this morn | ing a number of amendments were pro- I posed by the members, many of which were of a frivolous nature. The first | amendment was offered by MT. Knight the sense of which was that the provisions | of fhn cIn nltr n | refrained from sucking eggs.
 | The amendment was at once ruled out | of order by Representative Arnold, who | had the chair, and two amendments were read by MT. Mastin. The first of tbese amendments applied one-half of the funds collected from the revenue on dog taxes to | the public schools instead of to the pub lie roads fund of the county in which | they were taken out, and the second was that the other half should be paid into | the county treasury instead of into the state treasury
 At this point MT. Merrill sent up an amendment to exempt dogs from the tax which Had secured from the probate | judge offthe county in which they resided certificate of their good moral charac ter This second playful shot at MT. Mastn's bill was also ruled out of order, though 1t served the purpose of again | creating a laugh on the part of the mem ! bers.
 Longs Objections
 | Mr Long next gained the floor and said he deplored the light vein in which the | members of the house regarded the bill, | and stated that it was serious matter. i He thought, however, that one-half of the | revenue from the dog tax rund should be | paid into the state treasury. Mir Long was not sustained in his objection to this | feature of the bill. i All amendment was theo sent up by MT Rioheson to Submit the question of tax | ing dogs to the people, of the several tcounties of the state. MT. Richeson said | he thought the bill was a good one, but that state-w wide law of this nature should not be passed without first consult | ing the people of the various communi- | ties of the state.
 1 An amendment was offered by MT. Pitts | to exempt from taxation dogs owned by slleriffs and police officers which were l r. .aintained for the purpose of tracking | criminals Both of these amendments were defeated, MT. Mastin raising the 1 principal objection.
 Miners Amendments
 Mir. Milner at this juncture sent up an amendment the sense of which was that the provisions of the act should not apply | tc dogs over 4o years old, or under Is years old. Again the members of the house indulged in a laugh, and 1t was | several minutes before the speaker could | secure order.
 Mir. Thomas secured the speakers at tention when order was finally restored and stated that he favored the bill. He | smoke for some minutes, and when he ltcok his seat Mir Milner offered another l of his characteristic amendments. rms ar, r,endment provided that the act should not apply to dogs with false teeth. Mastin Speaks
 | The patience of Mr. Mastin was by this time exhausted, and he sprang to his feet and said he did not object to serious | amendments, but that he did object to | frivolous amendments by set of smart alecks," and that he wanted the matter taken seriously.
 Judge Almon spoke against the Dill being preceded by Fleetwood Rice, who also objected to the provisions of the act. Judge Almon said hel had never owned a dog and Mir Marlin at once | asked him if his wife had not ob- l jected.
 "Yes," said Judge Almon, that is the | reason"
 MT. Mastin followed Judge Almon and made a strong plea for his bill declaring that the principal objection | to the measure came from those who parted their hair in the middle and scented their handkerchiefs with violet perfume. a A31s
 The bill was fipallv passed by Vote of 47 to 29 witty an amendment pro- viding that a certain amount from the dog tax fund should jae paid to hydro phobia patients
 Local Taxation Bill
 The bill providing for a constitu- tional amendment for the purpose of allowing the people of the state to vote on the question of local taxation lfor school purposes passed the house today by a vote of 76 to ?. The bill was called up by MT. Hollis of Choc- Jaw, who spoke for its passage. MT Page also spoke for the bill. declar- ing that 1t was a matter of much i'm portance to the state at large and that the bill should pass the house with tn ( consent of every member of the house Others who spoke for the bill were MT Smith of Montgomery and MT. Laven- der of Bibb county.
 house was that of Mir. Jackson, to amend section 1894 of the code of Ala bama of 1907. The bill received some little discussion on the part of the members. and was passed with an amendment by vote of 63 to '.
 Almon Explains
 Just before the house adjourn ed | Speaker Almons made an explanati in reference to the motion of MT. Will lliams on yesterday that the temperance | banner, which was displayed in the kgaliery overhanging the floor of the 1house. be removed. =
 The speaker said he had not meant any discourtess-. as ,me of the papers h, bot L l,., 4