The age-herald., 1900-07-04
THE COMMISSION
 AFTER GAMBLERS Arrests to be Made Under Va
 g"7ncy Act. BOARD INSTRUCTS CHIEF Women of Ill-Repute Are to be Notified to Keep Out of the Thorough
 fares of the City With
 Their Teams
BOARD lNSTRUCTS CHIEF

night for the purpose of acting on Chair
 man McCarys instructions to the chief of police to arrest gamblers upon the charge of vagrancy instead of the charge of lott ering as formerly. The instructions were
 prompted by the assault upon Walton Sat
 urday. The board promptly endorsed the action of the chairman and the course of 1 the chief, who had made a large number 1 Of arrests under the instructions referred l to. The board seemed determined that the 1 gamblers should be severely dealt with. The question of lewd women driving in i their traps through the principal streets of the city was also taken up and the chief
 was authorized to notify these characters ] that they must make themselves less con- | spicuous in the future.
 Order of Business
 At half past eight o'clock J. H. McCary, chairman of the Police Commission, called the board to order. Besides the chairman
 there were present E. L. Bridges, Dr. R. | V. Mobley and S. H. Norton Chief Aus tin was in attendance and Desk Sergeant | John Rowlett was at the clerks desk The chairman stated that in view of re-
 cent happenings he had instructed the
 chief of police to arrest gamblers under the Vagrancy law, and that he had called | this meeting in order that the board might
 take action, and if it saw fit endorse his ! course. He said that he and the chief had employed young man to obtain evidence against the gamblers, and that this man had succeeded in getting much good evil
 dence. After the assault Saturday he deemed it necessary that the chief should have authority to act with stronger hand and hence his instructions.
 Chief Austin submitted few remarks, 1 in which he characterized the gamblers as | desperate men, who had no regard for hu- | man life. He explained that the charge | or lettering was not effective, but that if he were clothed with authority to arrest | gamblers on the charge of vagrancy he 1 could make headway in breaking up the gambling business.
 At the conclusion of the chiefs talk MT. | Bridges arose and said that he heartily | endorsed the action of the chairman and | the chief in this matter He said that he
 had seconded the motion made at q pre- | vious meeting, which restricts the chief
 to arresting gamblers on the charge of
 he was ashamed of that action; ashamed |
 that the board commend the chairman | and the chief for the course they had pur- | sued; that the former motion to arrest l gamblers for lettering be rescinded and
 that the chief be now given authority to l arrest gamblers for vagrancy. He expressed
 himself as being in full sympathy with
 the chief in his efforts to rid the city of
 gamblers. After a brief discussion Mr. Pti6 ..1 | to.
 | MT. Bridges again arose to ask if some | action could not be taken to keep lewd
 women from driving in their traps through | the principal streets of Birmingham These
 women were making themselves obnoxious, | he said, to the decent people of the city, | and it would be a shame to permit them | to continue to do so. The chief yentured
 some pertinent remarks on this question, | and said that the nuisance complained of | could be stopped, certainly minimized
 by making the objectionable women keep
 out of the city thoroughfares with their teams and drive only in unfrequented sec | tions of the suburbs-if they must drive. | He had stopped them from riding the
 bicycle and he could stop them from driv- | ing up and down the streets.
 | MT Bridges moved that the chief Of po- | lice be directed to notify all women of bad l character who were in the habit of driving l about the city that they would be arrest | ed for vagrancy if they continued this | habit. The motion was carried
 MT. Bridges said he intended to call up at every meeting the report of the chief of police submitted at the last meeting until the recommendations contained therein were acted upon. But the chair decided
 that as this was special meeting the re- port could not be considered
 At a few minutes past o'clock the board adjourned