The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-08-13

| excess profits and the coal and Iron ton
 mage tax, will not be back until the end of the week
 When it was discovered that the vote
 was a tie, there was considerable discus
 sion of parliamentary rules, Senator Acker and those voting with him con l tending that the chairman, who had voted as a member of the committee. had l the right to cast the deciding vote iC
 case of a tie, while Senator Mcdowell Senator Ellis and those lined ID fith 1 them, contended to the contrary. The committee not having adopted any rules and not operating under the rules of the
 senate or the house had to follow gen. eral parliamentary procedure and it was | held that the chairman had no vote as
 such
 Thus the session closed with tie vote
 on one of the most important features of the revenue bill.
 The committee will meet at o'clock | tomorrow morning to further consider the bill and if possible to reach some agreement as to the kind of report to be made.
 l Senator Acker insisted that the bill should be reported to the committee to-
 morrow and Senators Mcdowell and Ellis l agreed that it would be if the committee could agree upon the report to be made And there it stands.
 TO CONTINUE WORK The committee will continue it's work | on the bill tomorrow if the senate will I give it permission to do so. l It is the impression tonight that both houses will adjourn tomorrow morning until Monday or Tuesday, as the ieglsla- l ture has accepted the invitation of De- mopolis citizens to attend the cock sale ! there Thursday and many of the mem i bers want to go home not later than 1 Friday to attend to personal matters.
 we are not going to make much progress until the revenue bill is out of 1 the way" said Senator Acker, and to this l the other members of the committee agreed. but at least half of them objected
 to rushing the bill through the commit tee without thorough consideration.
 q am willing to stay here until 1 Christmas, or even to come back here at midnight to work on the bill of necessary" replied Senator Mcdowell. But I am not willing to agree upon anything until I am thoroughly satis- fled that it is for the best interests Of the state and all the people of the state"
 Senator Ellis insisted that the in- come excess profits and coal and iron tonnage taxes be threshed out before considering anything further,
 Senator Acker was equally insistent upon considering of the machinery first.
 The fight is now on in full force. The forces in the senate are under stood to be about equally divided. The admfnistratio is eXerting every influ- ence to put through the revenue bill with the income, excess profits and coal and iron tonnage taxes and to 1 restore the taxing machinery set up in the original bill, which creates a state tax commission, 22 district tax courts and a county supervisor In each | county.
 The senate has already put enough | amendments into the bill to insure a conference when it gets back to the 1 house The house is understood to | be unalterably opposed to continuing 1 the exemptions to water power, ship l building and other industrial con- l cerns and equally as determined to prevent the creation of new taxing machinery.
 ] Only II days remain in which to 1 pass the bin. It must be in the hands 1 of the governor by the forty-fifth ieg-
 islative day and tomorrow will be
 the thirty fifth
 GROCERS GIVEN HEARING When the committee met at 10 o'clock,
 representatives of wholesale grocers and 1 brokers were granted hearing in pro- l test against the brokers license tax or 1 commission merchants or merchandise
 brokers. They contended that in view Of 1 the fact that interstate business was not l subject to a state license or regulation,
 home concerns who would have to pay 1 the license would be seriously handi- 1 capped.
 1 Section was further amended to re- quire the payment of taxes on property
 owned by private schools, churches and 1 charitable institutions which is rented leased or otherwise let for hire or profit. 1 Senator Mcdowell, contending that the statute exempting shipbuilding plants 1 from taxation for period of 10 years 1 was an implied contract, urged that the l exemption section stricken out by ths