Birmingham age-herald., 1895-03-10

unwise and impracticable. However faulty or however much abused the present system of selecting juries may be, such faults or abuses are not in themselves the judges. M. A. MASON.
 The above are sample of the various reasons given me as to the propriety of making the judges jury commissioners. They certainly haven't the time or the acquaintance with the people to enable them to perform this duty as well as the commissioners. Besides it is putting a duty on them without any compensation, which good lawyers say they cannot be forced to perform. Jefferson has twice the population and wealth of any other county in the state, and four times the litigation, as understand, of any other county.
 Neither Mobile or Montgomery, the next greatest counties, use over 1000 jurors an nually, and many not over 200 jurors. As to the auditors bill 1t did not ihave sim gle advocate among the visitors to Mont gomery consulted by me. It created new office with salary of $500, precisely the salary of sthe state auditor, besides office expenses of at least $500 annually.
 The following letter will show that this auditor matter was discussed by our last grand jury and had no friends there:
 JAMES L. NAILS LETTER.
 BIRMINGHAM, Ala. Feb. 28, 1895. Col. John T. Miner Newcastle, Ala
 MY DEAR SIR: The grand jury of the January term of the criminal court for 1895, after discussing the Jefferson county audi tor bill then pending in the general assem- bly,, refused to recommend the passage Of law creating such an office. Very respect fully, JAMES L. NAIL.
 Having fully decided that the jury law and the auditor law ought not to pass de- cided not to pass MT. O'Brien's law re- ducing the time and pay of the commits sioners. He evidently drew up the latter law as suppliment or complement to the jury and auditor bills, as these two laws would have largely curtailed the duties Of the commissioners. It will be seen, how ever, from the statement above made by Commissioners Young and Thomas that even under the reduction, ca proposed in their pay and time, that with the auditor there would have been loss to the county, even admitting that the judges could and would act as jury commissioners without pay. You state that you had passed the law reducing the time and pay of the com missiouers at. the 1923 session. You are mistaken in this. Captain Ferguson intro- duced the bill, Mcqueen amended 1t and you, like myself, only voted for it. 1 in- bills relieving the county of Jefferson from paying an extra salary annually Of $50O each to Judge Banks and Solicitor Fergu- son, state officers. Judge Banks gets $500 more than any circuit judge in the state. Solicitor Ferguson gets salary of 429O0; no other circuit solicitor gets but $2e0O as salary, the extra amounts coming out of the treasury of Jefferson county. The two little bills went over to the house early in the session. They lie dead now in their little white cof- fins in the cellar of the capitol of Alabama. Sleep on little bills; you represent S4000 of hard- earned money to be paid out Of the pockets of the tax payers of Jefferson county in the next four years. 1 secured, as you know, by putting an amendment on a house bill the sstsblish ment of an agri- cultural school and experiment station in the Ninth Congressional district. Jefferson county can get this school if she will try. also secured, after the hardest legislative fight ever had, single handed and alone the working of convicts on railroads in- stead of concentrating them all iu the mines. Many, many of my constituents witnessed this bitter two days fight. So if have done some things, according to your opinion. wrongfully, trust l may have done some good for my people.
 JOHN T. MILNER.