The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1899-05-12
MAY CARRY IT TO
FEDERAL COURT
County Commissioners Are In a HumOr
to Fight.
WOOD CLAIMS GOOD CASE
Still Argues That Commissioners We're
0uSted Without Trial.
CONTRARY TO ARTICLE XIV
Says Wilson Case of North Carolina is
Not Similar to Alabama Case-Way
to Remove Commissioners
Was By impeachment.

1t seems probable that the county COM
their case against the new board of rev.
enue to the supreme court of the United
States before they are convinced that they
have no case.
Sterling A. Wood, of the firm of Head &
Wood, attorneys for the commissioners,
stated yesterday that the commissioners
still believed that they had a good case,
and that they would take it to the highest
court if they were financially able. The
commissioners have already gone to a
heavy expense fighting the case to the
the case to the United States court in case
they are unsuccessful, will be something
like $500, and they are little slow in rush
ling into this additional expense.
Still Believes in the Case
Mr.. Wood said that Notwithstanding the
decision which the supreme court of Ala
hnma had rendered against him last
Wednesday, that he still believed his side
has good case and that it would possibly
be fought until the United Sites supreme
court, the highest court in the land, de-
cided that there was no case.
Mr.. Wood claims that the action of the
legislature in abolishing the court of
county commissioners without giving them
a legal hearing was in violation of so much
of article XIV of the constitution of the
United States, which provided that:
mo state shall make or enforce any
law which shall abridge the privileges
or immunities of citizens of the United
States, nor shall any state deprive any
person of life, liberty or property with
ont due process of law; nor deny to any >.
person within its jurisdiction the equal
pr tertion of the law
So = =
The second and third of these inhibi-
tons, particularly the third, are the ones
on which the commissioners mostly rely.
In Favor of Commissioners
In speaking further of the decision Of the
supreme court of Alabama, Mr.. Wood said
that Judge Haralson, WHO rendered the
opinion, had quoted Wilson VS.. N. c., 1859.
U. g., 5Sj, as being a parallel or analogous
case to that of Jefferson's commissioners.
Mr.. Wood claims that this North Carolina
case was one in his favor, rather than
otherwise. In that state the governor was
given the right to remove the railroad
commissioners when he saw fit, without
trial by jury or otherwise, and the SUI
preme coure of the United States simply
upheld the governor when he removed one
of the commissioners.
But in Alabama, Mr.. Woods claims, the
laws provide that the county commission
ers shall be removed in another manner-N
that of impeachment-and not by the SIM
Pile wish of the govern"r or of the legisla-
ture.
S. D. Weakley, of the firm of Cabaniss e.
Weakley, the attorneys for the board of
revenue, seemed very much surprised when
Informed that there was talk of the COM
mssloners taking their cases to the SUI
preme court of the United States He said
that the supreme court of Alabama had
Just decided that the action of the legis-
lature was not in violation of the consti-
tuition of the United States, and that he
believed that the United States court
would DECIDE it in the same manner when
the case came before that tribunal.