The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-05-14

S7,000yO00 additional city bonds
 and of 3 mills additional tax for
 interest on school bonds and
 maintenance of schools. thronged
 the Jefferson theatre last night
 for the first public debate on the
 important issue, and the first
 public appearance in Birming-
 ham of a woman in argument of
 question political or whatnot
 with another of the other sex.
 The debate was held under the
 auspices of the Junior Chamber
 of Commerce.
 commissioner Mary Echois former member of the board of education addressed her remarks in behalf ot the proposed bond issue, while op- ponents to the issues were upheld by c. F. Beddow. prominent local at- torney. Charles Allen, president oi the Junior Chamber of Commerce presided. and before introducing Mrs Echols. the first speaker, explained the purposes for which the organiza- ton was originally organized, name iy' to do things that will promote the best interests of Birmingham so that
 
 to live. President Allen stated that in the minds of many of the member ship of the organization no greater issue has ever come up for settlement by the citizenry of the city than the proposed issuance Of $7,000,000 addl- tional bonds.
 Mrs Echo1s was greeted with ap- plause, and after stating that she came before her hearers not as the representative of the school boards or the city commission. although I would consider it an honor to do so.'' but upon the invitation of the special committee headed by Robert F. Chad wick, member of the school board She reviewed the amount and pur- poses of the four separate bond js- sues aggregating s7,ooo, 900 and the tax issues of 11 mills each to take care of bond interest and mainten- ance.
 eThis S6.O00.00 bond issue for
 additional schools and equipment
 fH snid by opponents to be a Dig,
 thing, and 1t K, bnt some of the
 arguments used to block it's pnS- sage on May 22 are not .big,,o declared the speaker.
 mmissioner Echols then spoke at length on the unfairness of the argument against the proposition made by her opponent. and others that President D. D. McLendon, of the city commission. left his taxes for his wife to pay, that the others paid little and that she and Com missioner ". B, Cloe paid no taxes at all. Its an awful thing for Mrs. McLendon to have to pay the family taxes and for mo not to- continued the ardent speaker who asserted that if officials were so censured and the objection followed to its logical conclusion that 1t would inevitably work out that only tho rich man shall hold office and only the rich can vote.
 Comms ssioner Harrison was the labor candidate and would have been untrue to his constituency had he been paying large municipal tax; as for Commi issioner W, E. Dick son, he belong to the class of toil- CTS, the school teachers. and under our present system he Is to be con- graduated if he pays anything at all: Cloe boiled bigger vote than any of us. and since he pays no taxes there must be lot of poor people in our city. It does happen that I own my home, but I let my iiucOdHu iiNc tHCIc anu no Piyb tdA- es. and incidentally, I own property two blocks from some owned by MT Beddow and pay moro taxes per front foot than he payA~
 "But what has all this to do
 with the crying needs of our
 children in our schools, who arc
 part of us and upon whom
 the future of our great city de-
 pendsf" she contended in stat-
 ing that it was n personal ate
 tachment. sT think my oppon-
 cnt. MT. Beddow, an honorable
 and upright man, law abiding
 and a capable lawyer, hut if
 he Ia at tho bottom of this wild
 propaganda which has been
 thrown into the path of this
 progressive measure, either he
 has been grossly nisiuformed or
 ia misrepresenting the fncts."
 It was argued that under law only the school board had authority over the $5,o00.00 school bonds, that the city commission only arranged the election, and although the commits sion stood solidly and believingly in favor of such an issue. 1t had noth- ing whatsoever to do with the ex- penditure.
 ~They sny we are inefficient
 and incapable. and I'm inclined
 to think it true after the nnscr-
 ton from Hunter Armstrong, whose visionary powers enabled
 him to see me last year during the election campaign. standing
 m the steps of St. Paul's Catholic
 church handinx out marked dOl-
 lars, when I was at home In he'd. He's the brilliant, capable and industrious gentleman. who
 with his genius and ambition has
 risen to the exalted position of Register in Chancery."
 The charge from opponents that 1t was unjust to send out bond pro- paganda through school children as unfair, was anwered by Mrs. Echols, who spoke of the time when under the regime of pr. Barrett such practice was instituted and no russ raised.
 Tribute was paid to tho per-
 sonnel of tho school board in
 answer to the arguments that
 they were hysterical in this cam- pairn. The speaker said in part
 "that w. J. Rusht0n was about
 as cool as one of his own cakes
 of ice, nnd that as for R. B.
 Chadwick, prominent hank pres ident of Ensley, had been hys-
 tericnl only once and that was
 when he married . daughter of
 c. F. Beddov.
 "A-school -a-year with the present funds on hand, they advocate. but at such a rate 1t would be 10 years be- fore proper educational facilities could reach hundreds and thousands of our youth. when 1t would be too late. The time to educate children is in youth, childhood. and 1t is up to you"
 The s75o,ooo for a library was left to J. W. Donnelly. president of the library. board. and the other issues yara orly traotAd ltrhtly hy the Af-