The age-herald., 1900-12-12
To the Public.

l see that circular letter is being sent to the voters of Birmingham advising them to vote for c. w. Austin for chief of police, J. H. McCary, James E. Scott and z. T. Rudolph for Police Commissioners.
 The said circular states that If you want to build up character for young men and keep them from being demoralized and de- bauched" in the city of Birmingham, elect the four above named gentlemen to office. 1 also see a letter in the Evening News of the 10th, purporting to be from the Epworth League, echoing about the same sentiments. Having been former chief of police of Bir- mingham, and being for reelection, 1 feel that the good people of the Epworth League would not intentionally do me a wrong if they were properly informed of the truth in the matter When l was chief 1 did not play to the galleries through the news papers, but did what l deemed my duty, and can say without fear of contradiction that 1 apprehended and convicted more criminals and prevented more vice than any man who ever had charge of the police department of this city.
 If there are not more places where our wives, daughters and sisters can be in- veigled and debauched, more gambling hells where our boys can be debauched with all their vices if more murders have not been committed and their perpetrators not ap- prehended, more men held up and robbed, and burglary committed, and no one brought to justice for it in the past eighteen months than ever before in the same length of time, satisfies of which can show on private application, then I will withdraw from the race and give way to man more worthy of your choice. am free 10 admit that there has been less whisky sold on Sunday for the past eighteen months than there was during any eighteen months dur ing my term of office. But l ask the public to remember that there was no law by which a man could be convicted for selling whisky on Sunday during my term. A very strict and efficient law was passed the night after l went out of office. l wish to say that during the campaigns through which l passed in seeking the office for which l again stand, l was never guilty of any misrepresentation of facts. There were seV- eral very damaging islanders perpetrated on me during my last campaign, which leaked out afterwards. l learn that oth- CTS are being circulated now. l ask the good people of our city not to cone:Ss me on hearing one side of the case. II you hear anything detrimental 10 my charac.ts, oo me the justice to make a fair invsss gation of the charge, and if I cannot refute II let me stand, convicted. In a circular gotten out in the interest of the present chief of police and his candidates for Police com misisoners, it is necessarily implied that the way to protect our homes and the char acters of our young men from debauchery is to vote for the parties named in that circular. Can any one who knows w. T. Simmons, William H. Lodge and Thomas w. Gathwright possibly conceive of any way in which they could be induced to run police department in a way to debauch our women and young men?
 It is no slight qualification to me, and should be no small assurance to the public, that I have the the support in my present candidacy of all the Police Commissioners under whom I worked during three terms, six years.
 Some people may say that the reason that more crime is committed is that there are more people in Birmingham than there was during my administration.
 The present force of the police department is one-third stronger than it was when l left office. and certainly the city of Bir- mingham has not grown one-third larger in eighteen months.
 s.+ T. c. MDONALD.