purchase of real estate at a price of more than $10,000.00 the Governor shall cause the same to be appraised by three disinterested and competent men of his selection, the expense of such appraisal to be paid as hereinafter provided for the payment of expenses, and no purchase thereof shall be made, except by condemnation, for a sum in excess of said appraisal. If after such full investigation as he deems necessary is made, the Governor approves such acquisition, purchase, lease, or the erection of such facilities, he shall indicate it by endorsing his approval on the plan, or by letter to the Comission, and thereupon the Commission shall go forward with such project. If, however, the Governor disapproves, the Commission shall not have authority to begin such proposed improvement but may make other and further suggestion or amendments to the Governor from time to time. The plans heretofore approved by the Governor and any and all other plans hereafter submitted by the Commission and approved by the Governor may be amended, changed, or enlarged by the Commission with the approval of the Governor, such approval being manifested by his endorsement of the fact on such amended, changed or enlarged plan, provided the total cost of the entire development shall not exceed ten million dollars. The State through the said Commission shall have power to acquire, own, lease, and operate tug and pilot boats, to locate, install, construct, acquire, lease, own, hold, maintain, control, and operate at seaports a line of terminal railroads with necessary sidings, turnouts, spurs, branches, switches, yard track, bridges, trestles, and causeways and in connection therewith or appurtenant thereto shall have the further right to lease, install, construct, acquire, own, maintain, control and use any and every kind or character of motive power and conveyances or appliance necessary or proper to carry passengers, goods, wares, and merchandise over, along or upon the tracks of such railroads or other conveyances. The State, acting through the said Commission, shall have the right and auhority with its terminal railroads to connect with or cross any other railroad upon the payment of just compensation and to receive, deliver to and transport the freight, passengers, and cars of common carrier railroads as though it were an ordinary common carrier. The title to all property acquired under the authority of this Act shall vest in the State of Alabama, but the Commission, with the consent and approval of the Governor, may dispose of, sell or lease to others, at reasonable prices and for reasonable compensation, any of said property, equipment and facilities; provided that the proceeds of all such sales shall be returned to capital account. The proceeds from all leases shall become a part of the operating fund. All leases of real estate within the boundaries of the approved plan or within the boundaries of any amendment

or extension thereof, for port or harbor improvement in and by the State of Alabama, acting by and through its agency, the State Docks Commission, and also all structures and all improvements and all other permanent facilities erected, installed or located, by lessees, or their successors or assigns, within the boundaries aforesaid, shall be free and exempt from all State, County and municipal taxation for such period as may be stipulated in the lease or in any renewal thereof, but not longer than the terms of the lease and/or its renewal. The Commission with the approval of the Governor is authorized to exchange any property or properties acquired under the authority of this Act for other property, or properties usable in carrying out the powers hereby conferred, and also to remove from lands needed for its purposes and reconstruct on other locations, buildings, terminals, railroads, or other structures upon the payment of just compensation, if, in its judgment, it is necessary or expedient so to do in order to carry out any of its plans for port development approved by the Governor. The power of eminent domain shall apply, not only as to all property of private persons or corporations, but also as to property already devoted to public use, provided, however, the said Commission shall have no authority to acquire without the consent of the owner thereof any property now operated and used for port purposes or such purposes as the Commission is authorized to acquire and use property for, unless an actual necessity therefor be alleged and proven. It is provided, however, that said Commission shall not purchase, lease or acquire by exchange any property in which any member of the Commission is financially interested, either directly or indirectly, whether as a stockholder of a corporation or otherwise. The Commission with the approval of the Governor is hereby authorized to bring and prosecute, for and in the name of the State, all such suits, actions, and other legal proceedings as may be proper or necessary for the enforcement of the rights of the State growing out of any of its transactions or operations authorized by this Act, provided that the Commission, so far as practicable to do so, shall utilize the labor of residents of this State in the construction of the works provided for in this Act.

Section 8. For the acquiring of rights of way and property necessary for the construction of terminal railroads and structures, including railroad crossings, wharves, piers, docks, quays, grain elevators, cotton compresses, warehouses and other riparian and littoral terminals and structures and approaches thereto needful for the convenient use of same, the State, acting through said Commission, shall have the right and power to acquire the same by purchase, by negotiation, or by condemnation, and should it elect to exercise the right of eminent domain, it may proceed in the manner provided by the general laws of

the State of Alabama for procedure by any county, municipality or corporation organized under the laws of this State, or in any other manner provided by law.

Section 9. The operation of all harbors and seaports within the State and the improvements and faciilties hereby authorized shall be conducted in the name of the State Docks Commission. In such operation, the Commission may contract such current indebtedness as is necessarily incident to the prosecution of the work in accordance with the terms of this Act. The Commission may adopt rules not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act for the purpose of regulating, controlling and conducting the said operation.

Section 10. In order to provide funds for the purposes herein authorized, the Governor is hereby empowered to execute and, with the advice and concurrence of the Commission, to sell the State's bonds in such amounts, not exceeding in the aggregate the sum of ten million dollars, as may be necessary for said purposes, but under and subject to the following provisions. The said bonds shall be appropriately designated as Harbor Improvement Bonds of the State and shall mature and be payable in equal annual installments, at such times as may be designated by the Commission, with the approval of the Governor, not more than fifty years from the date of the issuance thereof, the first installment to mature not more than ten years from the date of issuance thereof. They shall be in denominations of One Thousand ($1000.00) Dollars and multiples of one thousand dollars ($1000.00), the number of each denomination in each lot of bonds executed to be determined by the Commission by and with the consent of the Governor. They shall be signed by the Governor, the State Auditor, and the State Treasurer and attested by the Secretary of State, and the Great Seal of the State shall be affixed thereto, and said bonds shall be issued either in the coupon form or registered form, and they shall all bear interest at such rate, not exceeding five per cent per annum, as may be determined by the Commission, with the consent and approval of the Governor, which interest shall be payable semi-annually, the interest on coupon bonds being evidenced by interest coupons attached, each of which coupons shall be authenticated by the facsimile signature of the State Treasurer imprinted thereon. Bonds bearing interest at five per cent per annum shall be sold at not less than par. Bonds bearing interest at less than five per cent per annum shall be sold at such price that the cost to the State of Alabama, including annual interest and amortization, shall not exceed five per cent per annum. The State Treasurer shall keep a complete record of all bonds issued under authority of this Act. Bonds issued in

coupon form may be exchanged for fully registered bonds or bonds registered as to principal only. Coupon bonds and registered bonds shall be interchangeable. Upon the issuance of a coupon bond for a registered bond, all matured and unearned coupons on said bond shall be by the State Treasurer first clipped from said bond and cancelled. The Governor is authorized to prescribe regulations for the registration of bonds and for the interchange of registered and coupon bonds and to fix a charge of not more than fifty cents per thousand dollars for registration of bonds and not more than one dollar per thousand dollars for interchange of bonds. The Commission, with the approval of the Governor and Attorney General, is authorized to prescribe the exact form in which said bonds shall be issued. The State Treasurer shall keep a record of all registered bonds, including the names and addresses of the respective holders thereof. The said registered bonds may be transferred only by an appropriate change of registration in such manner and form as may be prescribed by the Commission and approved by the Governor. The interest on all registered bonds shall be paid by check or draft of the State Treasurer mailed to the holder at the address shown by the registration records. The interest on the coupon bonds and the principal of all bonds shall be made payable in gold of the present standard weight and fineness, or its equivalent at the State Treasurery or such other place as may be selected and named by the Commission with the approval of the Governor. Said bonds shall be emitted and sold only when and as funds are needed for the carrying out and accomplishing of any plan or amendments, changes or enlargements thereof, which have been submitted to and approved by the Governor as herein provided, or for the payment of temporary loans and interest under the provisions of this Act. Each sale of bonds hereunder shall be for only such amount as is reasonably necessary to pay interest and temporary loans as herein provided, and to cover the cost of carrying out the plan or plans theretofore submitted to and approved by the Governor, it being intended to so provide that the obligations of the State hereby authorized shall be emitted only when necessary to supply the funds required for said purposes, provided, however, that the act of the Commission and the Governor in offering such bonds for sale shall be conclusive evidence that the proceeds are intended for use only for the work of internal improvement in promoting, developing, constructing, maintaining, and operating harbors and seaports, within the State or its jurisdiction. Each issue of said bonds shall be designated by a distinctive series number, letter or other designation. The proceeds of all of said bonds issued and sold under the provisions hereof shall be paid into the treasury and kept by

the State Treasurer in a separate account and in a separate fund and paid over to the secretary-treasurer of the Commission from time to time in such amounts as in the judgment of the Commission the purposes of this Act may require and the money so paid over to the Secretary-treasurer of the Commission shall be held and used only for the accomplishment of the purposes of this Act. The State, at the request of the Commission approved by the Governor, may borrow from time to time such sums of money as may be immediately necessary in its general operation, or in the development and improvements hereby authorized, or for the payment of interest on outstanding bonds or other indebtedness lawfully incurred; and the Commission, subject to the approval of the Governor, acting by and through its chairman and secretary-treasurer, is hereby empowered to execute notes or other like obligations of the State, but in its own name, for all sums so borrowed. No loans so obtained shall run for more than six months or bear interest at a greater rate than six per cent per annum, but they may be renewed from time to time as may be necessary. The proceeds of all loans so obtained shall be paid to the secretary-treasurer of the Commission, ond be held and used only for the accomplishment of the purposes of this Act. All temporary loans so obtained shall be repaid from and out of the proceeds of the next sale of bonds hereby authorized or other funds in the hands of the Commission which may be available. At no time shall the amount of outstanding obligations of the State issued hereunder, including bonds, notes or other evidences of debt, exceed in the aggregate ten million dollars. The secretary-treasurer of the Commission shall deposit such funds as are received by him as such secretary-treasurer from time to time in such bank or banks as may be designated by the Commission and approved by the Governor; provided, that such funds shall not be deposited in any bank in which any member of the Commission is interested either directly or indirectly. The Commission shall require that any bank or banks receiving such deposits shall secure the same by a deposit of Harbor Improvement Bonds authorized by this Act, or by State Bonds of the State of Alabama, United States Government securities or such other securties as may be approved by the Governor and the Commission. The Commission and the Governor shall if possible require interest to be paid on such deposits carried in any bank or banks. Provided temporary loans made under the provision of this Act shall not exceed two hundred thousand dollars at any time. The emission and sale of bords under this Act and its predecessor (Act of September 18, 1923, which Act is codified as Chapter 44, Article 4, in the Code of 1923), shall be conclusive evidence of the fact that the conditions