The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-09-21

usual number of distinguished men chosen
to either branch of the legislature by the
summer election OF 1851 when the gov
ernor. unopposed, succeeded to second
! term. The supreme court, now composed
of Stone, Clopton and Sommerville. made
itself renowned in the national literature
of Jurisprudence. This happy condition Of
public veal and political health was in
| large measure due to the character of
the governor and its Influence The nat
ural optimism of the men had been. culti-
waited by experience in exhaustive revolu-
ton. The simplicity OF his methods in
spiled courage in the masses The open
directness of his purpose removed him
from the bane of popular suspicion and
captious opposition.
| A worthy and potential factor in the
situation, so enviable, was the governors
Official secretary. Robert Mckee, the gov
ernors right hand This secretary was
a type of man In the place which, until
him, the place had not known There
We leave him, in the close of many years
of pre-eminent practically gratuitous pub
lie labor; a leader of men while all walked
Thus in 20 brief years from Appomattox
stood Alabamai The uprooted sources of
her strength restored. the alien para sites.
feeding upon her vitals, discarded for
ever, her fountains of virtue gushing
forth. The Intelligent world was chal-
lenged to confess that the cause which
these veteran promoters were unhappily
forced to suspend at Appomattox, was
in truth the animate soul of American
liberty ouenchless
But the state government alone did not
dpntine the political articulation of Ala
bama Senator Morgan after years of
redeeming leadership within her boun-
daries, had passed on to the arena where
he was equally effective in giving en-
phasis to her federal attitude. To this
later fact We shall recur, presently. In
recall of part of his ifiustrious career.
The legislature of 1SS4-5 reflected the ex-
ceptionally high character of the person
mel of the several departments of the
state government. The bills offered bore
evidence of systematic premeditaton upon
the general scheme of government. The
friction, that wears away the energy of
the Legislators and demoralizes the legis-
lative body. known as local bills" was
limited. Even the one-fourth space in the
volume, Acts 1SS4-5,' which those bills
occupy, is given largely TO subjects of
great dignity, and often of general inn
port. Among these was the Birmingham
amendment"
A unique legislative experience may
claim record here in the matter of the
five "stranguated" counties, counties that
We're victims extraordinary of the period
Of military reconstruction The legis-
lature of 1922, it has been explained
found the counties of Chambers, Lee
Tallapoosa, Randolph all in the northeast
ern section, and Pickens in the WESTERN
b1tr ad xx5itIa oid Jab+ fo
upon them by those earlier abnormal po-
litical conditions. The United States dis
trict court had interfered and lodged the
county officers in jail, in one instance,
for failure to collect judgment against
the county. This legislature had taken
up the case of all the counties by COM
promise with the Wall street holders of
the bonds. The state agreed to pay 10
cents on the face value; the holders had
paid less The terms of the settlement
with the bondhoders devoted the state
taxes of the counties seyerally to tile
liquidation of the debt of each. An act
was now passed to recoup the state treas
ury. 1t added one-fourth of l per cent
to the state tax of each of the strangu-
lated counties to be applied to the benefit
Of the treasury.
This series of acts is happily Illus
trative of the fact of advantage to be
derived by smaller components of a con-
sttutional system in their connected re-
lations. There is a counter argument
found in the operation of the same system
which would prove the effectiveness of
division of the whole by distinct and
prescribed parts for the security of lib
erty The constitution" at last is. to be
relied ON to arbitrate the limits of con-
solidation and the bounds of natural
rights in their contact in governments
constructed on the theory of division of
powers
The constitution of 1875 in all its feat
ures was constructed under the bane of
the second period of reconstruction, to-
wit: the period from 1874 to 1901. The del
egates who held their seats did not ex-
pect their hands or their feet to be
chopped off or their eyes put out as in
France in earlier times by an avenging
King, but they knew General Grant was
President, that he would be President for
two years, that he aspired then to re-elec-
ton. and they knew that this President
regarded with extreme disfavor the pur-
pose of the convention itself because of
conflict between that purpose and the
Presidents interest in Alabama politics.
The most excellent peace and prosperity
providing constitution of 1865 had been
ruthlessly blotted out with General
Grants approval.
So when the constitution of 1875 named
the outside rate of state taxation at 70
cents on the $100, assessed valuation, that
figure was fixed in apprehension that the
| result of the election of 1874 might be
lprecipitately reversed, that as the Leg
| islature and entire civil government of
| the state was legislated into office by
| Congress-, a few years before, the same
Iusurpation was liable to recur Fixing
| the state tax rate at the utmost limit that
| would allow collection was supposed to
| be prudential in view of the then en-
| loved authority of General Grant and
| mis- known aspirations for it's perpetuation
! for years to come.
/ The revenue act of 1884 fixed the tax
rate at IS cents, but failed to go into eff
/ feet, as we have seen. The governor
/ congratulated the public upon the fasco.
/ declaring the state could not live on that
/ lowered rate The revenue act of iSS4-5
/ fixed the rate at 80 cents. This act of 81
! elaborated sections, sought by enforce
i ment of more equitable assessment and
more diligent collections to compensate
for the reduced rate
There were two correlated acts intend
ed to justify the re<1uced tax rate. one
Of these was to be found in the scheme
If the Coleman reform penitentiary sys-
lem which concentrated the whole in the
governor 1t had dawned upon the legis-
! lature that the rapidly increasing peni-
tentiary labor might become a public
| revenue producer consistently with an ad-
| vanced penology. The. starting point was
| to create head in the chief executive.
| The warden's ancient prerogative of hir-
| ing out convlcts and collecting dues from
| contractors was dismissed from the sys-
! tenn.
! The other of these two adjunctive acts
,f,h fha off rf