Birmingham state herald., 1897-01-13
4 HARMONIOUS MEETING Was That of the Board of Police
 Commissioners. MESSERS LANE AND k SER The Recently Appointed COmm . CTS Sub
 scribe to the Oath of e. CHAIRMAN STEVENS wF 2 REFLECTED Secretary Garrett Also $ sisnation and Election-A Fine Rem1osed-One Re-
 quest Disallowed = Chief Mc-
 Donald's Annual Report.
CHAIRMAN STEVENS wF , REFLECTED

The board of police commissioners held an important session last night.
 The new commissioners, Former Mayor A. O. Lane, and MT. E. Lesser, subscribed to the oath of office. Chairman Stevens was reelected. He made an eloquent speech of thanks, and said he regarded his reelection not only as a compliment, but as an indorsement. He promised faithfully to execute the duties of the of- flee and gave the new members a cordial welcome. He hoped the spirit of 1lar- mony would prevail and all work for the interest of Birmingham.
 MT. w. c. Garrett was reelected secre- tary, and salary CD the same.
 Reports of committees were received Messrs. Stevens and Garrett reported that they had seen the mayor in regard to paying the force on the 1st and 18th in- stead of once a month. The mayor was personally in favor of the change and would lay it before the board of mayor and aldermen. The committee was con tnued.
 The case of Officer McCullom was call ed. He had been charged with insubor- dination, that is, insinuating that the pooAo ShpWCu ldhOllllSiil pdyiuS cers. He had been fined five days, $1o. In view of the fact that Officer Culom had large family and other extenuating circumstances, the fine was refunded.
 Petition from Nathan Byars, patrol man No. 15, was read. He had shot and killed the little negro girl, Lizzie Durr, who was stealing coal. The board had fined him $60 He had been called be- fore the grand jury, and no indictment found, as the shooting was accidental. He asked that the fine be refunded. MT Lesser moved that petition be not al- lowed.
 MT. Lane said judging from newspaper reports the shooting was outrageous too little regard was shown for human life and especially for the lives of ne- groes, who were helpless. This shooting however, may have been accidental.
 MT. Lesser said that while the negroes committed 75 per cent of crimes they ought to be protected against officers.
 MT. Garrett said 1t was conceded that the shooting was accidental but the officer ought not to have taken out his arms Claim unanimously disallowed.
 The bill of Robertson & Heflin was re- ferred to MT. Garrett.
 Officer Duncan pleaded guilty of be- ing intoxicated and rendered his resig- nation, which was accepted. Supernu- merary No. l Thompson was elected to MT. Duncan's place. as patrolman No. 31. The election of supernumerary No. then took place, with the following ap- plications: J. w. Fitzpatrick, W, H. Gar ner, s. s. Powell, J. B. Fair, c. H. Cole, Wm. A. Howard, J. D. Bryan, w. R. O'Rourke. Fred w. Herman, c. W. Low cry, B. F. Burgin, D. H. Cumming w. J. Leach, s. E. Barron, Wm. J. Willis, J. c. Bartley, J. H. Mingea, A. V. Me- Alpine, James Mcknight.
 James Mcknight was elected super numerary No. 2. The vote stood, Me Knight g. Leach 1, Mingea 1.
 The annual report of the chief of po- lice was received and referred to com mittee composed of Messrs. Lane and Garrett. Following is the report:
 CHIEFS REPORT.
 Birmingham, Ala, Jan. 1, 1897. To the Honorable Board of Police Con-
 missioners, Birmingham, Ala.
 Gentlemen:--I have the honor to sub- init herewith my second annual report of the police department, for the year 1896 together with some suggestions to which reference at this time may not be deemed improper.
 CONDITION OF FORGE.
 It gives me great pleasure to again tes- tify to the increased efficiency of the force, though hampered by the fact that it is not as large as it should be- necessi- tating long, hours of service and large territory to be covered by individual of- ficers, yet the service and results for the year past have been gratifying in the ex-. treme, and while not believing that we have yet reached that point where all ef- forts to secure more efficiency, better dis cipline, greater loyalty and pride in the service should cease, we can feel justly proud of the fact that the force today is In better condition than ever before, and better prepared. to protect the lives and properties of our people. For this condition l want to thank your honorable body for the interest you have taken in the discharge of your duties, and assist ance lent to effect this end.
 DISCIPLINE.
 It would be strange, indeed, if in body of nearly forty men there should not be those that err in judgment and fall short in discretion. The policeman is human, with all the attributes and qualities good and bad--whch belong to the race. That he should make mistakes is natural, but having been selected in view of his special qualifications for police service it is fair to assume that he will, in a measure at least, set a wise example for sobriety and straightforwardness <The policemanS career is filled with tempta- tions, and he must bd strong man to withstand them all.
 The new appointee is usually selected as the victim. It is a trifling matter, ap- parently for him to accept a drink, but from the moment of its acceptance the alluring hospitality makes him subject to orders from without Instead of within headquarters.
 Intoxication, neglect of duty, illegal ar rests, unnecessary violence and kindred viola tions on the part of members of the force should, of course. not be tolerated and the citizen that has good ground for complaint ought to be afforded every means tn secure prompt redress. The list attached to this report of the number tried and fined, shows that no inconsid- erable amount of attention of the mem bers of the force had been received at the hands of the board in the past year.
 The city has been visited this year by numerous tramps. but we have continued the practice of gathering them up and putting them to work on the streets, and now the city is practically free from annoyance from this source.
 M GAMEWELL SYSTEM.
 We will soon have in operation the