The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1923-12-14
Tuscaloosa Officer Slain In Battle With Car 1heUes TUo S
MERGER OF ALBANY DECATUR
is HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
Consolidation Of Phenix And
Girard Gets O. Knew
Jefferson Court Invalid
STATE CAPITAL BUREAU I
THE AGE-HERALD !
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The supreme court of Alabama In
decisions today held mat acts deal
ing with the consolidation of Albany
ad Decatur are unconstitutional. and
also the act creating a commission
form of government for Phenix and
Girard under the name of Brandon
The act providing for the merger of
! Phentx and Girard was held to be-
constitutional, so that the two towns
are merged without retaining their
new commission form of government
The supreme court also decided
| that local act providing for the
election of county superintendent
| of education for Franklin county is
OF office of the newly elected incum-
bent is concerned. The court /cid
that the county superintendent APP
pointed prior to the passage of the
act could not be legislated out of Of
flee, and that his place cannot be
/ legally filled by electiA until his
term expires. in the absence of i'm
parchment proceedings.
The act creating the court of COM
mon claims of Jefferson county was
also held invalid.
The supreme court further held
that a local act creating the office OF
road superintendent of Morgan coun-
ty is unconstitutional
Phenix- Girard Puzzle.
In the Phenix- Girard case. the
| court upheld the legality of the act
extending the corporate limits OF
! Phenix to include Girard, and aboi-
ishing the old government of Girard
A separate act providing that where
| boundaries of a city are extended to
include another town IN another
county, commission form of gov
ernment shall be established with
commission named by the governor
was held to be unconstitutional. The
result of these decisions in the view
| of legal opinion, will leave Phenix
and Girard consolidated. MINIS their
newly appointed city commission,
and with the old aldermanic govern
ment of Phenix City exercising au-
thority over the enlarged town as
the old government of Girard was
abolished.
The Albany Decatur cases we're:
State ex rel Gus Bassett ct al VS..
James A. Nelson, ct al, appVal from
| Morgan circuit court, reversed ana
remanded, and state ex rel Crawford
ct al. VS.. A. A. Hardage ct al, appear
from Morgan circuit court, reverseq
and rendered. The opinion on botn
cases were writted by Associate Jus
tice Miller.
The Decatur Question.
Justice Miller found the act en-
larging the boundary of Decatur bad.
SAILING: 1.-THE real purpose and main
| design of the act, and It's manllese
effect by the language of its BODY
is to consolidate the area of two CIT
les, Albany and Decatur. into the
territory of Decatur, and to dlslncor-
porate the city of Albany. The SUP
iect in its body is not germane to the
title of the act; it is incongIpous 10
it, and the title gives no clue 10 the
real subject in the body of II.
Four other acts, anciilary to TINS
act, and having to do with the pro-
posed change in boundary were also
found bad.
Act 131 of August 9, 1923. creating
! the new town of Brandon, with a
commission form of government, a
consolidation of Phenix City and
Girard was declared invalid in an
opinion written by Associate Justice
Gardner, who said: Act No. 131. pro-
viding for the form of government is
void in that it is a local act and not
| in compliance with Section 106 OF the
constitution appears"
At the same time the opinion took
occasion to say that Act 100, altering
or rearranging the boundary oil
Phenix City so that the city of Cir
ard is absorbed was a valid one.
The style of the Brandon" case
was State ex rel. Brooks ct al. VS.. c.
B. Gullatt, ct al, appeal from Lee
circuit court, revised, rendered anu
remanded.
In his opinion on the case of the
state ex rel, Griswold VS.. Thomas X
Lea appealed from Jefferson circuit
court, which was reversed and rem
dered Associate Justice William
Thomas took to the ground that the
act creating the court of common
| claims of Jefferson county was pad
in that it violated Section ESQ OF the
constitution that forbids two salaries
to one official. The act makes Two
| judges of the municipal court OF BIZ
mingham ex-officio judges or the
court of common claims.
ALBANY DECATUR, Ala, Dec. 10.
Especial. ALBANY and Decatur re-
| vert to their status before the passage
,by the Legislature of the Patterson
merger bill under decision rendered
| Thursday afternoon by the Alabama
supreme court. The two cities will go
| back to their aldermanic form of gov
eminent, it was stated here early to-
night.
The decision of the high court rem
| dered during the afternoon created
| wide interest and was received with
| Joyous acclaim by those who opposed
| the merger. AS it is understood mere
| Mayor James A. Nelson and the board
| of aid ermen who were in office at tn
| time of the consolidation Will again
| assume charge of Decatur While w. a.
! Britain and the old board of aldermen
will take charge of the city of Albany.