The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1898-11-27
NED BRACE ON
HOME AFFAIRS

of the board of aldermen is right or wrong,
it is not for me to say. There is, however,
one thing known to all men. Birmingham
is the worst poiced town in the world.
There are not enough men on the police
force About half of the city never sees
a police officer The chief of police and the
police commission say they haven't enough
money to employ police force of respecta-
bic size. and with the present force they
can only police the center of the city-the
business portion On the other hand, there
are aldermen who claim that the police
force is incompetently handled. They claim
that the police commission the force
for political and other motives. All these
statements have been made in the public
press by men composing the two sides.
There seems to be too much politics in the
whole business, and there is undoubtedly
too little policing of the city of Birming-
ham.
1t is no more nor less than outrage
upon the taxpayers of this city. Burglar
les, robberies, bold-ups, and the like, are OF
nightly occurrence, and 1t is rare that the
perpetrator of one of these crimes is
caught There is something seriously and
materially wrong. The citizens arising
in their might to remedy matters. Some-
thing must be done, and be done quickly.
If the police commission can't give a
good police force, then we should have
other commission or turn over the police
department to somebody else.
Birmingham seems to be the Mecca of the
street fakir just at present. These medi-
cine vendors and jewelry vendors and the
like, should be made to pay liberal license
daily and should be required to give their
performances in vacant lots, instead of
blocking the public streets. Merchants are
not allowed to display their goods in the
| middle of the street, nor are they allowed
to put them on the sidewalks, outside of
certain limit. Why should the fakir be
given more privilege than the home mer-
chant? The fakir should be driven out.
l see Senator Moody is pushing dspen-
sary bill before the state legislature. The
senator wants the state to adopt law
on the order of the South Carolina plan.
| have been in South Carolina and have
seen the working of this plan. 1t is true
it brings revenue to the state, but it makes
drunkards galore and adds largely to the
criminal annals of the state. South Caro-
lima dispensaries are noted for the mean
whisky they dispense. Mean whisky
makes mean men, and mean men often be-
come murderers. The dispensary bill is
good thing to discuss, but a bad thing for
a state to adopt.
1t strikes me that our military mayors
and governors in Cuba are going too fast.
General Wood who is the military COM
mander of Santiago, has just issued an Or
dari r,y,o ci,, f,an 49,
son promoting a bullfght. That's all :
wrong. What would Cuba be without its
bullfghts? The tourists Of this country
would not go there, but to see a bullfightt
The destruction of this Cuban pastime
would mean a serious blow to the steam
ship lines operating between New York and
Havana, and Tampa and Havana. OF
course, we don't want to bring the bullfght
here but we might let it continue for year
or two. in order that our people who go
there may realize something of the old
Cuba. Reform is a good thing, but action
should not be too quick. If the United
States is to allow the Cubans to govern
their own country, as we agreed to do, we
should allow them to continue their bull
fighting, if they care to. AT least let bull
lighting go until some of us have an
opportunity to see the actual performance
once.
Representative Dan Houston, of this
county, is making very VAIN fight down
in Montgomery on the building and loan
association people. He wants to limit all
their interest and premium charges to per
cent. The building and loan people say
such a law would close up every associa-
HI.
are not excessive provided borrowers pay
their instaliments when they are due.
Building and loan associations have worked
great benefits to many communities, not
only in the south, but throughout the coun-
try. They have enabled many working .
people to acquire homes and there is moth
ing which promotes the interests of COM
munity more than for salaried men to own
their homes. However. it is as well 10
keep interest charges within the bounds
of reason, and it is probable that after
thorough consultation, Mr.. Houston and
the building and loan people may agree
upon fair and equitable measure
The Wilmington affair, the South Caro-
lima riot and the Admission miniature bat
tie between white and black soldiers, have
opened up the negro question again. All
sorts OF solutions are proposed. Our abless
statesmen are each and every one coming
forward with ideas-many of them wild.
L was little surprised 10 Senator Nor
gan advocating sending the negro back to
Africa. OF course. everybody knows
that this can't be done. As
matter Of fact, there is
luton to the problem. The Anglo-Saxon
race-the intelligent race-must and viii
always rule. The negro must remain with
us. We can't get rid of him, if We wanted
to, and we don't want to. He fills his place,
and, as a rule, he attends to his business
and does what he is told to do. OF course,
there will always be occasional conflicts.
These conflicts usually brought about
by white men.