The age-herald., 1900-12-17
IN HOTEL LOBBIES
 AND ELSEWHERE

| RANPAANNAN1 day. December r, 1900:
 1 Buy carefully, and ask favors; seek work in the afternoon"
 "Thou wilt have, this being thy birth day, an active, and, on the whole a fortunate year for thy business, which will increase and prosper, but do not travel or speculate, or thy money will waste"
 "A child born on this day will be for tunate and rise in life; it will be steady, l active and persevering"
 Astrologer Raphaels prophecies for Tues day, December IS. 1900:
 Very doubtful"
 Thy birthday is rather quiet and thy affairs will go on as usual, but be careful Of sickness, and those in employ may lose it"
 "A child born on this day will be very quick in temper, but not fortunate by any means, whether in employ or in business for itself'
 "One person Is murdered in Alabama ev- cry Sunday, one every Monday, one every Tuesday, two every Wednesday, one every Thursday, one every Friday and one every Saturday, in every week of every month throughout every year. and in addition to the regular daily murders forty-four per sens are murdered at odd times during the twelve months, when gents who carry con cealed weapons do not please to subdue their desire for man-sport; there being men in Alabama who with deadly weapons hunt other men like civilized sportsmen hunt deer and other game" said man who has had the honor of meeting some of the most cultured and highly esteemed mur- xn-bo of ei, and of human slaughter have added proud lustre to Alabama's S name during the past tF enty years.
 "One person in every four thousand men, women and children in Alabama is mur- dered every year. Within ten years 461O persons, or enough to form two brigades of the United States army, have been mur- dered in Alabama. These figures have been compiled by the Chicago Times Herald one of the strongest and most reliable of all the newspapers but those of us here in Ala bama who observe and study passing events will be inclined to believe that the Times Herald has overlooked many murders which have occurred in this State, and that Ala bamas annual tribute to the gents who go loaded for murder is Considerably in excess of 461 persons.
 Here in Jefferson County alone in one year there were sixty-five men indicted for homicide, and it is notorious that many murderers are never indicted, and that grand juries frequently seem to consider it waste of time to investigate attempts at murder Some of the most notorious mur- ders ever committed in Alabama are not of the lawful records of the courts, because grand juries refused to indict the murder CTS. The only murderers, generally speak ing, who stand in any great danger from juries are helpless negroes and friendless or moneyless whites.
 "The average number of murders in Jeff ferson County, year after year, is believed to exceed sixty a year.
 "At the lowest estimate every murder which takes place keeps out of the county $25,0OO of outside capital. In other words, Jefferson County pays in the one particular of outside capital one million five hundred thousand dollars year for maintaining the Exalted Order of Murderers. This is money loss. There ain't no cash tn morals you know. Birmingham is pub lished by the census bureau to the world as being the most criminal city in Ameri- ca That terribly costly distinction seems to be source of pride to the people, for they manifest no real desire for a change There hasn't been man hanged in Jeffer- son County this year-fully sixty murders, but no hanging! "The Times-Herald's figures show Ala bama, eighteenth state in the Union in population, to be the third state in the average number of murders a year for ten years past; New York, with four times our population, showing only fl more murders double our population more than doubling us in the fine and refined art of murdering men and women. The total annual murders for the United States at large is about 10,- 900. The number or percentage of convic- tions is not given; but no Alabamian will doubt that Alabama is lowest in convic- tions; and then we have Supreme Court re- versals and Governors pardons The table of states is:
 South Carolina ................ 221
 Georgla .......... 3S1
 flOflua ...... ........... 15i
 Ohio ...... ...... ....... ....... 332
 Indiana ....,., 22S
 Illinois ....... ......... ......... 315
 MlcnlSan 2U5
 WlSconSln ...... ........ 154
 Minnesota .s 159
 Iowa ...... ........... ......... 202
 Missouri ...... ...... ......... 362
 North Dakota ...... ..... 29
 South Dakota ...... ...... ... 45
 NebraSka ...... ....... 16S
 Kansas ............ 235