The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-08-01
RATE IS CUT ID TWO CENTS A TON
 AND PROSPECT OF
 REMOVAL BRIGHT
Tax Opponents So Confident of Defeat That No Effort Is Made to Secure Re- duction in the Rate
 on Iron Ore

cial. )-While the coal tonnage tax is retained in the general revenue bill as it will be report ed by the committee of the whole to the house of represen- tatives tomorrow, it is at the reduced rate of 2 cents a ton. The iron tonnage section was mot changed, those fighting the imposition of the tax deferring any further efforts to defeat it until the bill comes up in the house of representatives. How ever the first step tomorrow will be a motion to reconsider the section and it is still hoped the tax will be removed.
 The first test vote on the coal tonnage tax came on a motion to table Mir. Ben ners motion to strike the coal and iron tonnage sections from the bill. The vote on the motion to table stood A against to 43 for, thus bringing the question back to the original motion to strike.
 Those voting against tabling MT. Ben ners' motion were, Alexander. Arnold, Barganier, Benners. Calvert. Christian. Christopher, Clayton, Collins Edwards of Dallas, Edwards of Pike Fletcher, Guy. Hall of Henry, Hall of Marion, Hale, Hardaway, Hare, Harrisons Hawkins, Hollis, Howle, Jones of Montgomery, Lee ,f Perry, Long of Butler. Longshore, Mat hews of Wilcox. Wilford, Mcdonald, oliver, Orr, Parker, Partridge. Peters, Ross. Salter, Sherrod. Smith, Stewart. russ, Trlnstall, Van de Graf, Williams aad Woodward. Aotal A.
 Fer tabliAg the rrotion- Speaker Merritt Jams. Albright, Allen, Andrews, Baker, EsAunt. Bracken. Brindiey, Carnley, Cilett. f,,bbs, Dansby, Ellis of Bullock, Ellis or g more, Faullx, Gilbert, Graham of Autau- 9 Graham of Clarke, Green, Holmes O.
 aldwin, Ingram, Jones of Escampia, Tones of Marengo, Johnson, Jordan. Long of Sumter, Lynne, Matthews of Clarke. M,rphree. Mcleod, Oakley, Putnam Preston. Russell, Shaw. Simpson, Stod- dard. Sparks Tompkins, Trammell, Whor- ton, Wilson. Total S
 MT Alexander of Hale offered anamend- .nent. reducing the tax from live to tWo cents a ton and this was adopted by vive voce vote, two-thirds of the members rot knowing what was before the com Ynfttee at this time The greatest con f1,sion followed the announcement SoI ti~ vote. MT Benners MT. Tunstal, MT van 6e Graf and others contending that al amendment will not lie to motlon ~ ~trJxe hut the chairman ruled that II hafl already been put and carried and that +bs or,v question then before the commit +ee was that of the adoption or the sec lion as amended. MT. Benners moved .o strike the section as amended, ana more confusion followed It requlreo sevela, rninutes and the efforts of the chairman and haIf a dozen members to stralgntea ,t out and as the vote was being taker ~o,,,a of the members kept calling ous xhat if was a vote on the two-cent ldA-
 There were number of defec-
 lions from the adminis israt.on
 forces during the day and the m
 aications now are that when the
 .veru> J,iu comes before the house
 the tonnage sections will De str1ck
 >,, omt In fact so confident or tnis were the opponents of that form
 of taxation that they made no ef-
 fort to reduce the rate on ron orc.
 It was confidently predicted even
 h~ror~ fhe vote was taken on the
 Benners motion that the tonnage
 t.r would not he retained In the
 hill when finally passed by Dotn
 houses.
 pr. Brooks Lawrence came to Moht- EomerY yesterday anu dHiiouHSSo he opposed a tonnage tax on mlnerais, helievine 1t to be unjust, unfair ana discriminatory. and whether this 1act had anything to do with results in the committee of the whole today or not certain of the administration leaders charged it to be fact. One of the sneakers. when advocating the imposi- tion of the tax. charged that the War wick of Alabama politics was brought here to help defeat the tax and to knock down the men whom he had set up.
 SPECTACULAR FIGHT
 There were discussions of greater or lesser length over several sections in the license schedule, but the spectacu- lar fight of the day came over the ton- mage tax MT. Benners of Jefferson, MT. Van De Graaf of Tuscaloosa. MT Harrison of Jefferson. Mir. Arnold of Jefferson and MT. Stewart of Bibe. farmer, vigorously opposed the tax, and it was equally eloquently advo- cated by MT Tompkins of Houston, Mir Green of Dallas. MT. Dansby of Choc- taw. MT. Faulk of Geneva and others
 When the committee adjourned at o'clock tonight it had not completed
 (Continued on Page Eleven)
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