The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-01-30


 numerous acts of the legislature of 1913. which were passed as general laws. but which. in fact. on account of classification as to population, were local in character. Section t06 of the constitution, requiring publication of local laws, not having been compiled with The opinion was prepared by Justice Gardner and concurred in by all the justices.
 The bill was filed to prevent, by in- junction. the treasurer of Chiffon county from paying to the judge of the county court of that county an in- crease in salary of $500 a year, which was provided by the act approved Sep tember 30. 1919. The lower court held the bill had equity, and it's ruling thereon Is sustained by this decision.
 The act provided that counties hav- ing population of not less than 2S,- 150 and not more than 23,250. accord ing to the last federal census, or any subsequent federal census. the judge of the county court of such counties shall receive an annual salary of $500, whereas under the provisions of the act of 1915 tpage 603) the salary of judges of said courts including Chill ton county, received only $500 per an- mum.
 The classification as to population was fixed by the act under review at the narrow margin of 100, and the court holds that 1t judicially knows, consulting the federal census of 1s1o that it could only apply to Chiffon county at this time. The opinion reviews numerous previous decisions of the court touching the ques~ tion of classification as to population, and as to what is a local and a general law within the meaning of Section i10 of the constitution. Summing up the re- suit of all these decisions, the court said: MUST BE IN GOOD FAITH ''The effect of all of our decisions, in short, has been that where there is a substantial difference in popula- tion, and the classification is made in good faith, reasonably related to the purpose to be effected and to the diff ference in population which forms the basis thereof. and not merely arbi- trary, it is a general law-althoush at the time it may be applicable to only one political subdivision of the state; but that if the classification bears no reasonable relation to the difference in population, upon which 1t rests, in view of the purpose to be effected by such legislation, and clear ly shows it was merely fixed arbi- trariiy, guised as a general law, and, in fact, is local law, 1t is then in plain violation of the constitution and cannot be upheld
 In commenting upon this particular act, the court said:
 There can be no pretense whatever either of logic or common sense, why in those counties under S,0o0 popuA- tion, and yet lacking 15o or 200 popu- lation of coming within tho figures as arbitrarily fixed by this act, the coun- ty court judges should still receive only s3O0 per annum (Acts 1915, D. 6na), while in this particular county the judge of tho county court should receive $500 additional. The classification as to
 population has not the semblance of
 necessity, reason or substantial merit
 upon which to stand. It was merely
 arbitrarily fixed 50 that under the
 gnise of general law this local leg islation was enacted.
 Concluding, the court said
 we fully realize it is a solemn thing to strike down a statute, and we reach this conclusion with unusual reluctance because of the fact we are
 mindful that other enactments passed by the same legislature come within the influence of this decision and must likewise fall. Some of them have an even narrower margin of population 1 than that here under consideration. ] Indeed. to illustrate the extreme to 1 which such legislation seems to have l gone, it is not inappropriate to call att l tention to one of these acts in par l ticular, which is made to apply to l counties where the difference in popu- lation is but one. Such legislation as we are here considering has been very
 properly characterized as 'ciassiiica- stien run mad To uphold 1t would be but to sanction the utter emasculation
 of these provisions of our constitution
 and this court will not hesitate to strike down an act so palpably viola tive of our fundamental law"
 The act was held to be local law pure and simple, and Section los Of ths constitution not having been compiled with, was declared void.
 1 It is said by those conversant w'tf matters of this character that numerous acts of the recent legislature are affected by this decison--many of which increase the salaries of different county officials and provide for expenditure of puolx moneys. On account of It's effect upon these different acts, which are more thar
 a score in number, the above decision IS of wide interest throughout the state.