Birmingham state herald., 1896-01-26
GOOD FOR SUNDAY RIA DING Mayor VanHoose Makes an Ap-
 peal for Help TO BUILD A REFORMATORY All Citizens Asked to Join in Providing the Supreme Need of the City of
 Birmingham.

Mayor VanHoose has come forward with an earnest appeal to the people to help establish work farm and reforma- tory to lift the dead expense of the city in maintaining helpless prisoners. The address reads:
 To the Citizens of Birmingham:
 As unpleasant as it mostly is to you, and certainly is to me, l feel compelled to again come before you in public print. An urgent necessity is upon the city au- thorites to decide what to do with the unfortunate prisoners who are now con- fined in the city jail. The legitimate and predicted result of the inferior court created by the last legislature, has massed on our hands so many long-term prisoners that. all together, as l now write, IA men, women and children are herded in a small, frail building, which was designed merely as house or temporary detention for some forty or fifty prisoners arrested Tor minor of- lenses It is not my intention or design to again revive the memories Of the his- tory of the creation of that court; for 1t is my earnest wish to now get our people together and to work in harmony ana good will in building up here great and prosperous city. But it must in justice be distinctly borne in mind that the may or and aldermen, without dissenting voice, as their minutes will show, opposed the creation of that court, and sent committee to Montgomery to use all hon- orable means to defeat the bill. The committee urged in Montgomery that the city had no adequate court room or jail; had no hospital, baths or yard for exer- cise-in fact, no appliances or facilities for handling the large number Of accu- mulated prisoners which the inevitable operation of that court in beats 37 and 21 would sooner or later crowd upon us We urged that the city was fearfully, almost hopelesSly, then in debt, and could not possibly raise money to build a new jail or court room We were told that the city could make money out of it.; that the mayor and dNaldermen could hire the prisoners out and this seemed so contemplated and provided for in the bill We urged that we did not believe it would make money, and if it diQ, that we did not want money made In that way and by the hire of conVictS. Despite the efforts of the committee, aided by other citizens from here, the court was fas- tened upon the city, and was only at last, and then after some twelve changes made by us from the original draft acquiesced dn by our committee, because we saw the fight was hopeless, and that we had bet ter accept the inevitable.
 As stated above and now distinctly re- peated, this Is not now mentioned to re- Vive painful and bitter memories, but simply as matter of justice to the may 
 of you should have forgotten the position then taken by the city. After the crea- tion of the court I Loyalty and faithfully tried to show it and It's officers all honor and respect, and I feel sure they VIII so bear me record. assi
 But now to the piont. The city does not now and never has wanted to hire out those unfortunate men, despite the seem- ing plain and distinct provision for and contemplation of the framers and vote, for the bill. If we had wanted to he them out and thus make money outpf them we could have done so long go and not have waited until now. Nees- sity now, and 1t alone, demands immdi- ate action. But what shall we do ,itn them? For although I constantly re- lease such as I am under the law aowed to release and although the knd-harteu judge daily imposes as light seIences as he feels under his oath justted in imposing, still they accumulate some of the sentences run as high as 1%) days In other words, this court is noi getting a great many cases which Judgeireene's court formerly tried, convieed and promptly sent to the mines. Te propo- sition to take such prisoners convicted of theft assaults and battery Wth dead