Birmingham age-herald., 1895-09-05
THE MUNICIPAL STATESMAN The Harris Case Was the Piece
 de Resistance. THERE WAS SOME HOT >TALK The Matter Settled by Resolution Exoner- ating Harris of Intentional Wrong and
 Restricting Garnishments.

A regular meeting of the city council
 was held last night, with the following
 members of the board present: Mayor
 VanHoose and Aldermen Ward, Harring ton, Duncan, Ullman, Enslen, Pearce,
 Jackson, West Kettig, McCartin, Gill lespie, Meade, Parker and Jones. All
 dermen Sims and Mcknight were absent.
 Mayor VanHoose said he had seen MT.
 Jemison of the Behren's park street car
 line and MT. Jemison informed him that
 the line had been operated at a loss, and ii requested to either operate the line or
 take up the track the latter would be done.
 He said in Investigating the matter of lights at railroad crossings he had found that other roads than the Kansas City, Memphis and Birmingham needed look ing after and suggested that the matter be referred to the judiciary committee. MT. Civil, advance agent of Sells Bros. circus, by permission, addressed the board with reference to license. He said he l found the license was $200 for each per l formance and asked that the license be reduced. The matter was referred to the | miscellaneous committee, with the mayor | added with power to act.
 At the called meeting last week the | resolutions introduced by Aldermen Me- 1dI LII diiu AStllS Wlli lClSlCHSC lO OiA | Tax Collector Harris were made the spe- l cial order for the evening and Aldeman 1 Kettig requested that the regular order 1 of business be dispensed with until the resolutions were disposed of, as he was | unable to remain with the board late. i Alderman Harrington read a letter from | a man named Murphy who worked at the | Birmingham Rolling mill, but left and | went to Pttsburg in March. He returned | later and the first notice of a poll tax l was a notice of garnishment for $5.75 | He read another from Frank Hartman, | who claims that Poll Tax Collector Har-
 ris had told him that his name had been | taken from the registration list | Alderman Ensen said the question was | whether the garnishments should be dis | missed. As the justices of the peace had | already decided the cases there was noth- 1 ing for the board to consider. Alderman McCartin said at least three | garnshments were pending. Alderman Gillespie-The resolution | that precipitated this discussion was in | troduced by Alderman McCartn at | late hour, at the last regular meeting. had investigated the law and was famil- jar with what MT. Harris was doing, though l did not know every individual case The next day I spent considerable time Investigating the matter and found that the most, if not all, garnishments wrongfully issued, had been dismissed. The resolution further says that no SdfnlSnfnent snail De issued W1InOuC the sanction of the mayor and chairman of the finance committee. I submit that is not fair. If adopted it may result in the poll tax collector failing in the collection
 of some taxes that he might otherwise collect.
 Alderman Harrngton--When MT. Har- rs went to the directory and found the mems name he could have found their addresses just as well. But he didn't. He did not serve notice on the men before swearing out the e~rrnishments Alderman McCartin-Evidently MT.
 Gillespie don't understand the question. He said if man were wrongfully garn-
 isheed all he had to do was to go before the justice and it would be dismissed. That might be the case should it be MT. Gillespie or the chairman, but with the laboring man it is different He loses time anywhere from a day to a week. MT. McCartin produced receipts from several parties who had paid their taxes and were later garnisheed.
 Alderman Kettg-I regard the first clause of the McCartin resolution as the most dangerous one ever introduced in
 this board. If passed 1t will clog the collection of taxes. and. we need them badly. To let it go out that the tax col lector has not been sustained in these garnishments will demoralize the col lection of the poll tax. I think it the duty of the board to sustain the collector,
 and if any injury has been done I am
 
 Mayor VanHoose called Alderman Ems
 len to the chair and took the floor to say a few words. He said Mir. McCartin should have consulted with him before introducing the resolution under discus sion, but he did not. He said the adop- ton of the resolution would be a virtual impeachment of a city official without q hcarng.
 Alderman McCartin took exception to Mayor VanHooses talk, saying it was personal attack on himself and a run ming talk, in which both showed conSid- erable temper.
 Alderman West wanted more time in which to consider the matter. Evidence offered during the meeting had changed his mind, and he was not satisfied to
 vote for either the resolution or the sub- stitute
 Alderman McCartin withdrew that part
 of his resolution which provided for the having been informed that none were
 pending, and Alderman West offered the balance of his resolution as an amend ment to the Kettig substitute, and the substitute as amended was adopted, AL derman Gillespie voting no. The substitute eXonerated Poll Tax Collector Harris of any intention of wrong and urged the necessity of speed fly collecting all poll taxes The amend ment provided ithat no garnishments
 should be issued except on instructions from the mayor and chairman of the finance committee.
 All pay rolls were ordered paid. and 1t
 being 10:30 the board adjourned by reso-
 luton.
 
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