The age-herald., 1901-07-10
The Jury in Damage Cases.

'"C eety LII 0ob'eSS
 "'It seems to me that on matter which should be decided from the stand point of reason, the motives of men on the other side should not be assailed; but 1t has been said here that 1t is being urged by men who want to hold up corporations" Is the way Hon. Frank s. White of Jefferson expressed himself in regard to the proposition to allow nine out of twelve jurors to render verdict in civil cases, a change which Captain White strongly supported in the Consti- tutional Convention" said lawyer yes- terday.
 Happily this extraordinary innovation was overwhelmingly defeated in the con vention on Monday, the vote being but 29 for to 81 against. The reports of the debate show that some very plain, and maybe nasty, talk was indulged in. MT. Long of Walker is officially reported as saying:
 "I can see no good reason why three foHths of the jury should be entitled or allowed to bring In a verdict. We all know very well and we had as well be dllh dIlOIl6 OURSELVES LHhl llio 10 poe a step of some men who are hostile to corpora tions, in order to get large yer diets and unjust verdicts against corpor- ations in the State of Alabama. That Is true, because I can cite instances. and I have in mind now an instance that hap pened in a sister county of mine where a preacher riding on a half fare ticket got jolted little and brought a suit against railroad company, and eleven men wanted to give him verdict for s750o, but one man alone held that jury, and afterwards that preacher gladly com promised the case for $50, and he was not entitled to one hundred and fifty cents.'
 MT. Lomax, in one of the ablest and most convincing speeches yet delivered in the convention. protested against this so- called. reform in the jury system. He made this point:
 "'Ah, MT. President, but these gentle men that talk about reform, my friends, the reformers, have not got the true metal of reform about them; 1t does not ring like the tocsin calling the people to awake
 "As was in a most timely way pointed out in an interview in Mondays Age Herald the jurymajority provision in the constitution would have been disas- trous; 1t would have bankrupted every railroad and every large labor employing industry in Alabama and destroyed every daily newspaper. New courts would have been necessary to try damage suits, and multitude of lawyers would have reaped a rich harvest. The number of damage suits now as the law stands is appalling, especially in Jefferson County.
 "Yet amongst the % delegates voting for the minority report, which embodied the jury-majority proposition, were such able lawyers as MT. Beddow, Mir White and MT. Selheimer of Jefferson, Mir Brooks of Mobile, MT. Dent of Barbour, and former Governor Oates former At torney General Sanford and MT. McDon- aid of Montgomery"
 Hon. Frank p. o'Brien Returns.
 Hon. Frank P. O'Brien returned yes- terday to Birmingham from Huntsville where he had been spending several weeks resting and recuperating Mr. V oTitI S ntdltn IdS BItdlly improved, and he looks as well as ever he did This will be pleasing information to his friends throughout Alabama.
 Two Noted Alabama Families Unite.
 man who loves Alabama and the Ala bamians said last night:
 1.-TWO families which have been very conspicuous in public life and are greatly honored in Alabama are about to be joined in marriage. There will be widespread in- terest in this announcement that Mr. Elm mette A. Jones of Birmingham, son of the late Judge and former Congressman James Taylor Jones of Demopolis, and Miss Maud Reynolds, daughter of Hon. Henry Clay Reynolds and yonnger sister of MT. William B. Reynolds of Monte- vallo, will be married at the brides home, Montevallo at o'clock in the afternoon of Wednesday next, July II.
 Immediately after the marriage, the bridal ones will journey to Verbena, where they will be the guests of Mr. William A. Gayle and Mrs. Gayle at Rolemhie, Athe charming country seat of the Gayes. Like the bridegroom by the way, Mrs. Gayle is from Demopolis, she having been Miss Mary Wynn, one of the most beautiful and socially influential young women in all Alabama a distinc- ton she still enjoys.
 MT. Jones and his bride will proceed from restful Rolemhie to Montgomery, to be the guests of Colonel TisdaIe at Cloverdale Their visit to the Tisdales will last a day or two and then they will journey to Demopolis to visit MT. Jones' mother, Mrs. J. T. Jones, and in Demopo- lis there will be round of entertain ments In their honor lasting week or ten days.
 How wisely and happily-planned is the wedding journey of these two young de- scendants of historic families of Ala bama! How practical and how joyous it Is, how eloquent of common sense. when measured by the average absurd wedding journey to New York. or some other hideous city of savagery in public man. ners! What happy fortnight these two