The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-08-08


 fortunately for, Hale county they have very efficient prosecuting attorney for the county. The gentleman should look one county higher. to the county have the honor to represent, Greene, and see that the fees were over s1, 800. and he may go through the list Thefe are counties where the solicitor han no opportunity to prosecute for ant other crimes than felonies, and his fees are necessarily low. but it is the only way you can have high crimes and heinous crimes prosecuted.
 MT. Foster-Is 1t not a fact that also in these county courts the excess over the solicitors salary is paid into the State treasury?
 MT. Coleman-I was coming to that: these are legislative provisions. It is not because the people do not get the benefit of the lee system. The excess goes to the county and not to the State
 MT. Graham-Will the gentleman al- low me to ask him question?
 The President-Will the gentleman from Greene yield?
 MT. Coleman-I will once more yield.
 MT. Graham (Talladega)-Is it not . fact that in all these county courts, with possibly one exception. the solic- itor gets all the fees the one exception being Pike County?
 Mir. Foster-No, sir.
 Mir. Coleman (Greene)-Mr. President and Delegates of the Convention: My information is that the fact is exactly the opposite. The people of the county get the benefit of it. But since the gen. tleman has seen propcr to interrupt me, do not wish a statementt as reported by the stenographer of his speech yes- terday morning to so unchaNenged. It is reported here that he said: We want to say that the solicitofships in this State are not hereditary on that line.' and when I read that this morn- ing, l was reminded of what old Polo nius said about Hamlet, still harping on my daughter" and he went on to say, but they are hereditary on the line that if men whose fathers or broth- CTS or friends are men of political tn- fuence in the State, and they happen to say that a certain man shall be put upon the slate for a solicitorship, he goes upon it without reference to qualil fications or whether the people want him or not"
 I ask the gentleman the question, who is is that has been put upon the slate and elected by the Legislature without having qualifications? I think, Mir. President, that the nominee of the Democratic party in the district where tiC TGSlUcS IS HIS equal point of law, and I do not think there is any cause for complaint upon the &C., tion of the Legislature in selecting a man who has the privilege of being an opponent of his. l say, if he had in special view any one man when he made these declar ations. it was with out Justification.
 Now. MT. President and delegates of this Convention, the people of Ala bama had no idea that this Convention would undertake to re-establish the system of county solicitors. In my own county, there Is not a man who could be induced to take the office who Is competent to fill the office for the salary you could pay him for perform ing it's duties. There are counties around me where they have more crim- inal business, where they have com- petent men who are filing the office acceptabfy and well, and I do say that the great ends of justice would be de- feated by re-establishing the system of county solicitors. It is net fair to the State. It Is not fair to the counties in this State, who had no such view in contemplation. Why not leave it to the Legislature, where it is and where 1t has always been? What wrong, has been done? Why the gentleman speaks of a court up here in Clay County. That was done, of course, through the Leg islature, and I hope the delegates of this Convention will remember that those occurrences cannot be repeated any more under the provisions of this Constitution.
 MT. Pitts-I would like, to ask how many counties are in the Seventh Cir cult?
 MT. Coleman (Greene)- Idon't know.
 MT. Pitts-Are there not six, and haven't they got four county solicitors in these?
 MT. Coleman (Greene)-I don't know, I am speaking on general principles. It Is hardly fair to me to ask ques- tion and not let me answer it fully, but know very we'll where there are cities and towns where it would pay a good lawyer to represent the State. Shall the interests of the State be sacrificed for the benefit of a few counties or cities in this State? The gentleman speaks of the prosecuting attorney for Montgomery. Who elected him? The Legislature and not the people. There are cities in the State where if it is relegated to the people who will defy law and order, the beer saloon, the rum seller and the gambler will elect him. and law and order will be over thrown, but so long as it is trusted to
  in your prosecuting attorneys. l wish I had half an hour.
 Mir. Boone-The delegate from Walk CT said that there are good many men in this Convention and hereabouts who had aspired for the position of solici- tors and had failed, and that there were a good many hereabout with sore toes I would say that 1t seems to me that there are more toes in this Con- vention that are afraid of getting bruis- ed than there are sore toes. Now, want to ask you. gentlemen, what would be the condition in this State, SO far as the enforcement of the crim- inal law is concerned, if we did away with all of the county solicitors or deputy solicitors in the State of Ala bama from and after the adoption of this Constitution? Don't you know it is a fact that those men who are in the counties and who prepare the cases. who put them before the grand jury, " ho are conversant with the witnesses. who know the character and the stand ing of the men who are to testify on the one side and the other know more about preparing that case and what Is the proper way to treat that case in the selection of the jury than the solicitor of that circuit who is not in that county.
 MT. Coleman-Don't you know 1t 10 be the law that when a justice of the peace tries a case he must take a note of the testimony and send it up for the use of the solicitors?
 MT. Boone-Yes. sir; I know that is "a to az