The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-09-29
RATE SECTION RESTORED
 ID BILL IN HOUSE
Measure Providing for Ap- pointment of State Fuel Ad-
 ministrator Is Passed By
 House of Representatives

Fly FRED H. GORMLEY
 Montgomery Bureau The Ass- Her

ZZl-Z tirSt Nattonat Bank Building
 Montgomery, September 28.-(Special)- Members of the house of representatives returned to their labors on the tenth legislative day Tuesday with more sym pathy for the preferential rates on raw material, which have been given by the railroads to certain industries, especially Tn the mineral districts since 1907, and before the general transportation bill of 1920 was passed by an overwhelming vote they undid their action of Monday when they spro-fdsd a penalty Sof from $500 to slo,o00 against a transportation company which gave preferential rates and adopted substitute which re-enact- ed that section of the transportation bill of 1907 which gave the Railroads the right to establish preferential rates or the public service commission on peti- tion to other such rates.
 IL was an interesting fight between the railroads, which opposed the preferential rates and the corporations, which favor ed them, the final vote being fifty-four to twenty-three in favor of the latter. The test vote came on the motion of Representative Tunstall to table an amendment of MT. Dansby of Choctaw which re-enacted the section of 19o7 In this vote it could be seen that many members had changed their minds since they cast their ballots against preferen- tial rates the evening before.
 FUEL ADMINISTRATORS
 In addition to the passage of the transportation act by a vote of forty mine to eighteen, with several am snd- ments the chief one being for prsfar- ential rates, the house before recess .:x~1- ;.l,. devoted entirely to local bills, passed Ithe bill of Governor Kilby, providing for the appointment of state fuel ad- ministrator and the making of con- tracts with coal companies in the name |of the public for surplus coal mined in Alabama prior to January, 1923, and the bill of Representative Orr of Jar shall calling an election for the second Tuesday in February 1921. on the sub jecr of whether or not the state pond COY mission may have authority to sell $5,000,000 worth of the state highway improvements bonds at a rate of inter- lest not to exceed six and one half per |cent per annum.
 The coal bill received seventy-six votes, while only seven were cast against it, while the bill submitting the constitutional amendment received |seventyfour for to thirteen against 1t.
 INTENSE INTEREST
 No greater interest has been shown in any measure than in the bill pro- posing the constitutional amendment. Although Alabama voted improvem .nt bonds to the amount of $25, 1000, ,000 Feb ruary 16, 1920, the bond commission. which is made up of the highway com missicners, has been unable to dispose of any of the bonds because the max imum rate of interest is fixed at five per cent per annum. The result has been that road work in Alabama is practically at a standstill. Surveys have been made, but no great construction pro jects can be started until bonds are dispt sed of to obtain money with which to match the federal appropriation
 MT Orr's bill, which was a substitute for the original bill, and the substitute reported by the commission on judiciary provides that the bond commission may dispose of $5.0000O0 of the bonds at 61s per cent or such figure below that as is necessary to obtain buyer for ,ne road bonds.
 The house had been voting with just little more than a quorum throughout the day, but when the Orr bill came up the members flocked into the house ir order that it might receive the ma jority required by the constitution. Many iiitupcio aiip ifdd oppoScu prdIliCdily du measures relating to finance notified the house that they intended to vote for this bill.
 SURPRISE OF DAY
 The greatest surprise of the day came in the reversal of the house of it's posi- tion on preferential rates. The transpor- tation bill came up as unfinished busi- ness, having been considered throughout Monday afternoon. Mir Dansby offered his amendment for the section which struck out preferential rates and the fight started at once MT. Tunstall of Hale led the opposition, while Mir. Dans- by was assisted in the defense of the amendment by the entire delegation rep resenting the mineral district.
 This amendment of Mir. Dansby's re- established the preferential rate section or the Conner transportation law of 1907, with the exception that the words Tor agricultural was added. which gives the railroads right to establish preferential
 (Conti.uea On Page Eleve.l