last regular session of the Legislature, be and they are hereby re-elected and continued in their respective offices during this special session of the Legislature.

Which resolution, under a suspension of the rules, on motion of Mr. Acker, was adopted.

Mr. Griffith offered the following resolution:

S. R. 3. Be it resolved by the Senate, That the Secretary be and he is authorized and directed to notify the House that the Senate has organized by re-electing and continuing in office all the elective officers and employees who were elected at the last session of the Legislature.

Which resolution was, under a suspension of the rules on motion by Mr. Griffith, adopted.

Mr. Carmichael offered the following resolution:

S. J. R. 4. Resolved by the Senate, the House concurring, that a joint committee of two from the Senate and three from the House be appointed to wait upon the governor and notify him that the Legislature is duly organized and will be in joint session in the House of Representatives at two-thirty o'clock this afternoon to receive any communication that he desires to submit.

Which resolution, under a suspension of the rules, on motion by Mr. Carmichael, was adopted.

Mr. Carmichael offered the following resolution :

S. R. 5. Resolved by the Senate that the Committee on Kules shall prepare and present to the Senate a resolution providing for the appointment of clerks of Committees.

Which resolution, under a suspension of the rules, on motion of Mr. Carmichael, was adopted.

Mr. President:

MESSAGE FROM THE HOUSE.

The House has perfected its organization by the election of the following officers:

Hon. S. A. Lynne, of Morgan, Speaker; Mr. Jno. Q. Adams of Dale, Assistant Clerk; Mr. J. H. Stewart, of Randolph, Enrolling Clerk; Mr. Leon Jackson, of Montgomery, Engrossing Clerk; Mr. Thos. J. Fain, of Dale, Door Keeper; Mr. John Herlong, of Lowndes, Assist. Doorkeeper.

Fred H. Gormley,

Clerk.

MESSAGE FROM THE HOUSE.

Mr. President:

The House has concurred in and adopted S. J. R. 4 relative to the appointment of a Joint Committee to wait upon the gov

ernor, to notify him of the organization of the two Houses and for the joint session to be held this afternoon at 2:30 o'clock. The Speaker has named on part of the House, Messrs. Tompkins, Fite and Long of Butler. Fred H. Gormley,

Clerk.

HOUSE MESSAGE.

On motion of Mr. Acker, the above House joint resolution was concurred in and adopted and the President of the Senate appointed Messrs. Acker and Prestwood as a Committee on the part of the Senate.

Mr. President:

MESSAGE FROM THE HOUSE.

The House has originated and adopted the following joint resolution.

By Mr. Green: H. J. R. 3. Be it resolved by the House, the Senate concurring, that while both Houses are in joint session and immediately after the Governor has read his message to the joint session that the two Houses remain in joint session to hear an address by the Hon. Oscar W. Underwood, senior senator from Alabama.

Be it further resolved: that a committee consisting of three from the House and two from the Senate be appointed to notify the Hon. Oscar W. Underwood of this resolution.

Committee on part of the House, Messrs. Green, Tunstall and

Parker.

And sends same to the Senate.

Fred H. Gormley,

Clerk.

HOUSE MESSAGE.

On motion of Mr. McDowell the foregoing House joint resolution was concurred in and adopted, and the President of the Senate appointed as a committee on the part of the Senate Messrs. McDowell and Craft.

RECESS.

The Senate at one p. m. on motion of Mr. Acker recessed until 2:30 o'clock this afternoon.

AFTERNOON SESSION.

The Senate reassembled at 2:45, with Lieutenant Governor Miller, presiding.

On a call of the roll 23 Senators answered to their names, a quorum of the Senate.

The hour for the joint session of the Legislature having arrived, and in pursuance to joint resolution heretofore adopted, and on motion of Mr. Acker, the Senate repaired to the hall of the House of Representatives for the said session, which was called for the purpose of receiving the governor's message to the Legislature, which was read in person by his excellency.

The Lieutenant Governor and presiding officer of the Senate, presided, upon the part of the Senate and Speaker Lynn on the part of the House. A call of the roll by the Secretary showed the following Senators present:

The Clerk of the House proceeded to call the roll of the House, and the following members answered to their names:

GOVERNOR'S MESSAGE.

To the Legislature of Alabama:

Gentlemen:-It was with a feeling of great reluctance that I was compelled to call you together in extraordinary session at this time, remembering, as I did, that less than a year had elapsed since you closed a long and laborious session, and that you would convene when you could not easily spare the time from your private business and vocations. I know many, if not all of you, have been compelled to make great sacrifices in order to be present at this session. I feel, however, that the importance of the matters upon which you are called to legislate will be fully recognized and will justify my action in calling you together.

The immediate occasion for the session, and the first subject embraced in the call, is the emergency created by the ratification by the requisite number of states of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Prompt action is nécessary for the removal of discrimination against citizens of the State on account of sex, in order that the women of Alabama who are qualified under our Constitution may be granted the privilege of voting in the November elections. This matter should receive your first consideration. The second, third and fourth subjects embraced in the call involve merely, the correction of clerical errors in bills which were passed at your adjourned session of July, 1919. The enacting clause was omitted from these bills. It will be necessary to re-enact them.

.

The fifth subject relates to the gas inspection bill. It will be necessary to pass a new bill to meet constitutional objections to the bill you enacted at the July session. This bill is necessary for the protection of citizens of Alabama against the dumping of inferior grades of gasoline and similar products into the State which cannot be sold to the people of other states that enjoy protection through such inspection provisions as are contained in the proposed bill.

The sixth subject relates to what is commonly called the "blue sky law."

Subject number seven relates to necessary repairs to the Capitol building and the executive mansion. I advise an appropriation of $25,000 for the Capitol and $2,000 for the mansion, a conservative estimate of the cost of repairs necessary for the preservation of these buildings.

We have incurred an expense of $4,310.17 to cover the cost of a fireproof vault in the State treasury department for the protection of valuable securities deposited there. The unsafe and non-fire-proof condition of the old vault has caused insurance companies to remove securities therefrom to safe deposit vaults in banks of Montgomery. These securities should be in the immediate custody of the State treasurer as required by law.

The eighth subject is for an increase of the appropriation for law enforcement. From a communication recently submitted to me by the State prison inspector, based upon the monthly county jail reports and other special information given by sheriffs, it is shown that during the first six months of this fiscal year there has been an increase in commitments to the jails 33 1/3% over the same period for the year 1918-19, distributed as follows: white males 29%, negro males 38%, negro females 29%, and a decrease of two white women. As compared with the corresponding period of 1917-1918 there is an increase of nearly 50% as follows: white males 48%, negro males 53%, white females 51%, and negro females 37%. This marked increase in commitments indicates an alarming increase in crime. In analyzing the causes assigned for this increase the report suggests that, we, in Alabama, along with the people of other states, are in a condition of unrest and perturbation such as, unfortunately, follows all great conflagrations. There is no clearly defined cause for this state of being. It is clear,

however, that it is the duty of the State to afford its citizens every possible protection against this wave of lawlessness. Present facilities for enforcing the laws are entirely inadequate. The law you passed last year providing for the fixing of salaries of chief deputy sheriffs by county governing boards at not less than $300.00 and not more than $1,500.00 per annum to be paid by counties has been ignored in many counties, and where observed, the amount allowed is usually insufficient to secure the services of competent men. The minimum salary should be raised to not less than $125.00 per month, and a penalty provided for failure to comply with the law.

The provision you made for a law enforcement force has been very helpful. From November 1, 1919, to August 31, 1920, 692 arrests were made by it, of which 483 were for violations of the prohibition laws. Property seized and destroyed is as follows:

Beer, 70,382 gallons; near beer, 2,989 pint bottles; whiskey, 767 gallons; stills, 124; fines assessed, $18,962.

Calls for men from the law enforcement department are made daily, but it has been possible to respond to only a small percentage of them, the most urgent, because of the smallness of the force. There are now on the desk of the chief more than two hundred urgent calls for assistance from citizens in different parts of the State.

I recommend an increase of the appropriation for the maintenance of this force to $50,000 per year with authority to employ as many men as in the judgment of the governor may be necessary for the enforcement of law, the number, however, at no time to exceed thirty. This may seem a large sum to use in supplementing the efforts of county officers to suppress crime, but the advantages to the people of proper enforcement of the law cannot be measured in dollars and cents.

Constitutional Convention.-During recent years it has been found that much progressive legislation, earnestly desired, has been restrained because of some constitutional limitation or inhibition. This has occasioned the submission to the people for approval at almost every general election one or more amendments to the Constitution, with the result that we now have a considerable amount of confusion and a great lack of co-ordination in the fundamental law of the State.

From almost every section of Alabama there has come a demand that the people be allowed to say by their votes whether or not they shall be permitted to amend or alter their Constitution so as to bring it up to the requirements of the day, to meet modern ideas of government and avoid the necessity for so many recurring amendments. They ask of you the privilege of exercising a right guaranteed to them by the Constitution itself. In the language of the Bill of Rights: "All political power is inherent in the people and all free governments are founded upon their authority, and instituted for their benefit; and therefore they have at all times an inalienable right to change their form of government in such manner as they may deem expedient." Just what changes in the Constitution are desired by the people it is not for me to say. It is not within the province of the Legislature to call a constitutional convention. You have merely to submit to a vote of the people the question of whether or not and when a convention shall be held, prescribing in the resolution submitting the question a plan of apportionment of delegates to the convention. Objectors to a convention, while with practical unanimity admitting that the present Constitution is a bar to further progress and that a new one is sorely needed, contend that the present is not a propitious time to submit the question because of the state of mind of the people, unrest, and so forth. That is tantamount to saying that the people are beside themselves, out of their mind, so to speak, and cannot be trusted to decide a matter that deeply concerns them. I do not take that view. I have confidence in the wisdom of the voters of Ala