The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-01-12

practice was established eight years ago and by agreement of the senate will be continued
 MERRITT WILL BE SPEAKER
 Henry P. Merritt of Tuskegee will be elected speaker of the house of rep sentatives and it is improbable that he will have opposition. No name has been mentioned recently in connection with the race except MT. Merritt.
 It seems certain that the anti-amend- ists will not have candidates for any offices in the legislature with the pos sible exception of the secretary of the senate and clerk of the house An in teresting fight has been carried on be- tween Walter F. Miller of Tuscumbia and James A. Kyle of Scottsboro for secretary of the senate. Friends of MT Miller claim he has the support of the incoming administration and that he will be elected. MT. Kyle has been sec retary of the senate for many years, while MT. Miller has been connected with legislatures of the past in several capacities.
 Tn the house the fight for clerk of the house is between Fred H. Gorm- ley, Montgomery newspaper corre- spondent for many years and now council of defense, and Cyrus B. Brown, former secretary of state. It is known that MT. Gormley has the support of the next administration and his informed his friends that he is as- cured of election. MT. Brown has served clerk of the house and for this reason a close fight was made until few weeks ago.
 TWO SESSIONS PLANNED Several important measures will | come before the legislature this year | and it is known that the majority l contemplates two sessions in order that recess committees may work out legis- | lative problems and submit the proper bills It is now contemplated that the 1 first session of the legislature shal l contain not more than 15 Legislative days and that the session shall not continue beyond March 1. The second session of 35 legislative days is expect | ed to begin about June 1 and continue until the constitutional number of leg 1 islative days, 50 have been used. 1 One of the first measures to be of | fered will provide for the ratification of the amendment. It had been though | this measure would be finally adopted l on the day after the inauguration O | Governor Kilby but indications arr | that the 36 necessary states will ratif. during the next few days and Alabam; desires to be one of the states to b. a counter" For this reason the rat | ification resolution probably will b adopted by suspension of the rule during the first days of the session. l Another bill to come before the legis lature on the first day will increase tn governors salary from $5000 to $750( This bill must be on Governor Tender
 sons desk and signed by him befor
 he retires or the next governor vii
 be prevented by the constitution fror
 obtaining the increase. It will be re membered that Governor Henderso has drawn $7500 but the last Iegisla ture decreased the salary to s5000.
 Another resolution to be offered dur ing thet first days will call upon tn
 peace conference to provide for league of nations, charged with tn
 duty of banding all free nations c
 the earth together for the preventio
 of war.
 MEMORIAL FOR ALABAMA MEL
 An interesting bill prepared b
 Speaker-to-be Merritt creates a stat
 memorial commission, charged wit
 the duty of providing suitable me
 morial for the Alabama men who wer
 killed in the war. This bill will al
 propriate $50,000 as the states cor
 tribution to the memorial and will pro
 vide that not less than $250,000 sha
 be spent, s200,0O0 being contributed b
 patriotic citizens. The memorial con
 mission will be appointed by the gov
 ernor and will have final authority
 determining what the memorial sha
 be. Popular opinion now seems to fs
 vor the erection of a state buildin
 for the histories and records of tf
 commonwealth and for the persons records of the men who went into tf