The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-12-12
HENDERSON WILL NOT CALL AN EXTRA SESSION OF SOLONS Problems Will Confront the Next Legislature if Bond
 Issue Fails to Carry
100 PER CENT TAXES
 HIGHLY PROBABLE
Governor Has Practically Thrown Down Gauntlet to Those Op- posed to Issuance
 of Bonds
By l.. $. BETTY

1 Montgomery, December 11.-(Spe- cial. With the next session of the legislature nearly four years hence, political observers of the state are aI-
 ready beginning to speculate on the probability of the enactment of cer- tain legislation at that time. All such legislation however, is predicated upon the outcome of the bond issue election next month Should
 the bond issue fail to carry, there will l be but two conclusions to tbe deduced. 1 First, those to whom the state owes
 money must wait
 1 Second, the next legislature must in-
 crease the rate of taxation to 100 per cent
 1 In his statement today, Governor Hen derson made it very plain that the fail
 ure of the bond issue will produce the l first result Should the state itself pro- vide this money to settle it's obliga- 1 tions, he said, "or should it require those to whom it is indebted to carry I it for the state?"
 1 And in conclusion, he declared that regardless of whatever action was taken
 with reference to the bond issue "it will present no impelling reason for the reassembling of the legislature"
 WILL NOT CALL EXTRA SESSION l Governor Henderson thus makes it evident that he will not call a special session of the legislature. It may be 1 said that he throws down the gauntlet i before those who are opposed to the 1 issuance of bonds. Either they must as sist him in seeing that justice is done, or else bide the consequences. And there will be no extra session Inf 1nc c1et1 ha Therefore, the second conclusion in the event the bond issue fails, assumes precedence.
 The states deficit is something over
 g, ,500 000, according to the governor, or
 was at the beginning of the present fiscal
 year, In a previous statement he has
 announced that he hopes to reduce this
 deficit to $15O0,00O by the end of his ad-
 ministration, leaving future administra-
 tions the task of paying off the new bond
 issue at the rate of $15O,000 a year for
 10 years
 However, if the bond issue fails there
 will still be a deficit at the end of the
 present administration of S1.500,0 ,000 or
 more, and thus the next legislature will
 be compelld to make some arrangements
 for the cancellation of this debt.
 INCREASE TAX VALUATIONS In the opinion of a large number of fnanclerS, pohtlclanS, and other state leaders, the legislature at it's next ses- sion, if confronted with so large float ing debt, will be able to cancel the states obligations only by increasing the rate of a assessment from 60 per cent to 100 percent. This increa sed tax rate, while working hardship u0on every property holder of the state, will furnish the only means, it is declared, of canceling the states floating debt, and already it is predicted that the raise will be authorized at the next regular session if the bond issue shall not be approved,
 However, it is not believed that such a contingency will arise In fact, such a possibility is considered rather remote, for it is generally conceded that the bond issue will carry But in the event it does not carry, then there is every reason for the belief that the next legislature will increase the tax rate to 100 per ceHt.