The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1919-08-23


nue. bill now before the legislature was
drawn up by the dulget commission
and the administration force.
The bill went to the senate with
out engrossment when the house, BY a
large majority, voted this action The
bill was not without its enemies in
the house.
MYSTERY CLEARED AWAY
The veil of mystery which had been
| thrown around the Administrations at
titude toward the measure was said
to have been cleared away when Rep
resentative Lynne of Morgan county,
the administration leader in the house,
voted to adopt the amendments of Mr..
Dansby, which the majority leader said
would kill the effectiveness of Lhe
measure by voting them down. On the
! final vote, however, Mr. Lynne, after
the vote had been announced, asked
| that he be recorded as favoring the
| Orr measure
Speeches brought out the fact that
the governor and many representa-
| tives had gone on record as being OPP
posed to the leasing of the convicts.
However. the administration is said to
favor bill of Senator Rogers of Sum-
ter county which will put the convicts
| on state-owned coal lands at the uni
| versity
Bringing up of the bill as special
| order for the thirty eighth legislative
day. Friday, caused one OF the most in
| teresting fights on the floor of the
| house.
Representative Dansby, the chief OPP
| ponent of the bill, was a member of
the investigating committee. He and
Representative Green of Dallas county,
the other member opposed to the bill,
submitted minority report of the IN
vestigation of the convict camps. Mr.
Green was i'll Friday and could not
| take part in the discussion.
Beginning with the statement that
| the convict lease question had been an
| issue in political campaigns for the
| past % years, Representative Orr said
| that IS per cent of the lawmakers had
| told their people they would vote to
take the convicts from the mines, p1ac-
| ing them on the public roads. He then
went into details of the bill inform 4 g
the house that on and after January
| l, 1928, all convicts must be taken out
| of the mines and places to which they
| are now leased by the state
NO STONE LEFT UNTURNED
THE recess Investigating committee, of
which l was a member, left no stones
unturned TO get fair and impartial
report of the condition surrounding the
| present SYSTEM said Mr. Orr. I'VE WIS.,
| tied the state of Georgia, where the
convicts are working on the roads. We
found that Georgia has a good system
/ OF public highways, due to the working
! OF the convicts on them. The beginning
of the new system brought many hard
ships to Georgia, but these soon were
eliminated. and the new system now is
| a success"
| He told of the Endorsement given the
bill by the Birmingham civic association,
newspapers Of the state and other, or
CARNATIONS and associations. He com
pared the present system of the leasing
and beating convicts to the practice in
vogue in South Africa years ago.
THE present system is relic of bar
barism; you would turn these men from
| the hell holes if you had seen what 1
| have seen in the mines and convict
| camps said Mr.. Orr.
| At this point there was loud cheering
in the gallery, and Representative ]. Lee
Long of Butler, who was acting as
| speaker in the absence of Speaker Mer-
! rift, had to call for order in the gal
| lery. Many women-cheered.
Mr.. Dansby then offered hiA first
amendment Of the day. 1t would have
amended section of the bill. permitting
the governor of Alabama to use his own
| discretion as to the number of men to
The placed on the roads and taken from
1 the mines. His people were opposed to
the taking of the convicts from the
| mines and the placing of them on the
roads, the matter, he said, being unwise
and impracticable at this time, necessi-
| tating the spending of large sums OF
| money which the state has not got at
| this time. Mr.. Dansby admitted there
was some abuse of the convicts but he
| did not see conditions they were seen
by Mr., Orr. ne said.
J. Lee Long of Butler county said ''the
\ zef II,
| isolated cases of cruelty in the convict
camps. The people of Alabama, Mr.
| Tang believed, would not approve such
a colossal escapade as that provided for
in the Orr measure.
"Al candidates from the governor
down to the minor officials promised
they would take the convicts from the
mines. and l shall not vote at any time
to work the convicts in the mines owned
4 by the state of Alabama said Repre-
sentative Milford of Walker county. the
coal mining district of the state.
| Representative w. NJ. Shaw. of Col
bert county approved the bill and be.
lieved that the people of Alabama ex-
pected the legislature to abolish the
present system.
Mr.. Milford made a emotion TO table
the Dansby amendment to section g. The
first test vote was then taken. the
amendment losing by vote of "A to SO
Representative Lynn of Morgan county
voted against the tabling of the Dansby
amendment.
WANTS LESS HOT AIR
At this point Representa- tive Preston
interrupted and told the speaker thai
he favored more work and less 'ho
air." Loud talking and much confusion
caused Speaker Merritt to ask the door
keeper for order. The doorkeeper was
not at his desk and the speaker asked
that search be made for the door
keeper.