The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-08-19

i which fOrDlbS the sLhAe lIOii engaging III ! any work of internal improvement. Iu i the state of New York it's conservation | commission has acquired for the use of | the state riparian rights on all nayiga ble streams, so as to conserve that great , l asset for all the people of that state. 1 The executive power is hampered in ! carrying out the mandate of the consti- 1 tuition to see to it that the laws are | faithfully executed by being denied the
 authority to appoint or control all sub ! ordinate executive agents. The most m- { portant subordinate executive agent in ! the state is the sheriff and yet the chief | executive has no power to remove him ! | from office for fragrant neglect of duty
 or gross inefficiency.
 Under the present constitution, the i
 state is deprived of the increased eff { 1 ciency and experience which certain pub ! lie officials have acquired by service ! in public office. The attorney general | the superintendent of education, the state l auditor, state treasurer, commissioner of | 1 agriculture and industries and secretary ] | of state are made ineligible for re-eiec- |
 tion If any great corporation should
 make it's principal officials ineligible for ] reappointment after term of four years | | would anyone question that it was hin | | derng instead of promoting efficiency i l in it's service? Would any corporation 1 controlled by sound business principles adopt so suicidal a policy? Can anyone
 contend that actual experience in office, ] 1 that knowledge of detail which can only
 come from service, tends to lessen eff
 ciency and usefulness? The state of Ala bama is the greatest corporation in its borders and yet it deliberately adopts | policy opposed by every rule of success l full business, a policy which would speed
 fly bring any successful private business
 corporation tosbankruptcy and ruin. Ere
 quent change of officials might have had
 some basis of excuse in olden times,
 when there was no system for the ex-
 animation of public offices. The state.
 however now has a very thorough and
 complete system for the examination of
 all public offices and even that excuse
 of this restriction no longer exists.
 Moreover, since all public officials
 under the system that now prevails are
 nominated by a primary, the people
 should not be denied the right to retain
 their services, if their records justify
 public confidence. Political considera-
 tions and not desire to promote the
 efficiency of the civil service must have
 inspired the convention of 1901 in adopt
 ing this provision. It was the outgrowth
 of that old banefu and discarded po- litical theory that party interests were
 best promoted by rotation in office.
 1 By the constitutional provision that no
 county shall be subjected to any charge
 for which it not liable at the time
 of the adoption of the constitution the state is denied the right of imposing
 
 prisoners charged with misdemeanors and ! for whose hire the county and not the 1 state receives compensation. The ten
 denscy of recent legislatures has been to 1 impose unnecessary burdens upon the | state treasury for the support and main | tenance of institutions which are local in their character and for matters which only affect specific counties and which
 they should properly assume.
 Under the provisions of the present con
 stituton. it would seem that the evils Of l the fee system cannot be eradicated
 without a constitutional amendment The | constitution of 1875 did not contain pro- 1 vision similar to the found in the
 present constitution, but left the legisla- ture free to deal with this important sub- ject All limitations on legislative power as to the fees of public officials should
 be stricken from our fundamental laws The general movement for the shor.
 and simplified ballot, which has justly met so much favor in many of the states | of the country, would be checked or
 hampered in Alabama by the require } ments of the present constitution. requir
 ing the election of so many officials by the people The sentiment in favor of the short ballot is based upon recogni- ton of the fact that greater efficiency in the administration of the state govern 5 ment would be secured by more concen- 3 tratio of power in the hands of the gov 2 ernor.s The recent constitutional eonven- ton of New York provided that practi- r cally all state officials of an adminis-
 trative or executive character should 2 be appointed by the governor and this t provision met no public opposition, the oI rejection of the constitution being based e on other grounds.
 h We all recognize that under the sys- 2 tenn now prevailing the mind of the voter n lis confused by the large array of candi- -Iaates for various offices for whom he is ,l expected to vote, of whose capacity or. u l fitness he can usually have no persona e knowledge or information, as to whose e | election he is utterly indifferent with e but faint or confused conceptions of the : duties of the offices that various candi- '. dates are seeking, and with the necessary - result that many important officials are v nominated and elected through chance, V barter or trade, through the indifference V of the electorate the position of their e names may have upon the ballot, or even s the effect which certain name may have
 upon the voter, or through other influ-
 ences, which should not affect the elec-
 ton of state officials
 IT It is generally believed that the people j. would bitterly resent any curtailment of IT their right to select state officials by d their ballots On the contrary there Is v a general feeling of resentment on the l. mart of the voter in being required to II vote for so many offices, for candidates o of whom he has personal knowledge, l. and in whom he has not special interest. |, to make A selection when he knows that l. he is not in a position to make dis |, criminat ting choice. Outside of the office v of governor and United States senator. e he is more interested in his local county e candidate and he would welcome relief l. from the burden of making selections 1t from long array of candidates. The is people are patriotic and they desire that = tfrethod of selection which will most pro- l. mote the public service and secure the t. most efficient government
 B. Under the constitution the state is de- s- !nied the right to any interest on moneys i. which it may deposit in banks. It is ex- st tremely doubtful under the provisions of V inc present constitution whether the pub V lie moneys can be legally deposited in . any bank Both the state and county Il should have the power to deposit public Ie | funds in banks, the deposits being secured y by state bonds or other absolutely solvent J. secureties, and should be permitted to eX- 1T act for the benefit of the public moneys h a reasonable return in interest. If the 1t state borrows any money, it must pay -e interest and yet under the present consti- ,f tuition it has deposited millions in banks j. for which 1t cannot and does not, re- ,- ceive any return. The present limita s- tion from taxation by the municipalities # of the state denies them the power to n assess and collect sufficient revenue to ,f properly maintain the schools, an ade- ,e ouate system of street improvements and m other public utilities, and to properly l., sunnort other important departments of
 the city governments The result is that
 our municipalities are forced to practical
 llv impose the entire burden of the inn