The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-02-11
Governor Is C0nviic.s He Must Raise" Mon,o 3 nd
 Not Save H,:
.SOLONS HAVE NO
 FULFILLED PROMISE
Have Accomplished Nothing Toward That Economy Programme to Which They Were Pledged
 by Their Platforms
ny HUGH W. ROBERTS

Montgomery. February 1o,--tSpeeial) ! The problem of finance is the great problem confronting the governor,
 In the first place he has on hand old debts amounting to s1,5oo,o0o. In the second place he must conduct the gov ernment of the state. the expenses of which have not been decreased. with | less money than was available last year
 To pay old debts. he stands for q tond issue. The house today by a three-fifths vote, agreed to submit d bond issue amendment to the people should it go through the senate which is considered doubtful-it would yet have to run the gamut of the peo- pie
 But should it eventually be enacted into the organic law and thus quiet the financial waters of the yesterday, the present problem, the business of today. would still appear in terrifying as- pect
 The governors idea is that if the state is not troubled by old obliga- tions it can take care through fail ure to appropriate moneys. of tho cur rent obligations.
 And yet the problem Is intricate Income Is Decreased
 To begin With the state will receive less money this year than was re- ceived last year
 In the first place the prohibition- ists, by enacting statutory prohibi- ton, cut the annual revenue of the state Sl5o,ooU,
 In the second place, revenue through taxation will show a decrease,
 Hard times have forced the people to believe that their property ,s not as valuable as it was heretofore. As q result they will assess it for less.
 And, again, assessments will Ut de. creased by property owners who know that in the near future, through a pro- cess of equalization. it is probable they will be called upon to increase their contributions to the state treasury.
 They are moved by natural desire, therefore, to start out "on the ground floor
 In truth, Governor Henderson is pre- pairing to raise more revenue. He is very anxious that something be accom- plished by committee in recess to i'm prove the present system of taxntion He believes that if every bit of prop erty in Alabama was honestly assessed the treasury would overflow.
 What They Promised
 II has long been q firmly entrenched icea in the minds of the people that the expenses of government should be de creased.
 During recent primaries. every glen and Gale reverberated with cries of "retrencll- ment, retrenchment." Every member of the legislature promised his people ia cut off useless employees of the state The members as a matter of fact, were elected on account of those promises.
 And what, up to the present time has been accomplished? A so-called steering coIxmittee met and drew up q programme of retrenchment which, had it been put through, would have saved the state the sum of s50O- 0o9 each year The programme how ever, "far-fetched" that no one considered 1t seriously. It appeared more d matter of politics than of business As d consequence it failed The effort to abolish the court of ap- peas was frustrated. The effort to decrease the number of supreme court judges will probably be unsuccessful.
 How They Delivered
 John Wallace and his fish ana game department have been made the object | or repeated attack. Still however, both | ejist with colors flying. Little defense | Vas made aga inst the assault on the | department of immigration And yet that | q, partment still exists. The people expected a great deal more, | as a matter of fact. than it is probable | they should have in reason expected
 What has been given them? The head of the department of cotton |
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