The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1903-01-04
HEALTH OFFICERS
WILL ASK SALARY
State Department Will Bring
Question Before Legislature
DR.. SAUNDERS DISCUSSES IT
other Questions That Are interest
ing Montgomery Are University
Trustee Question, Complaints
About Labor, Etc.
Or. SAUNDERS DISCUSSES IT
BY CHAPEL CORY.

| Montgomery, Jan. Especial. 1.-THE
state health department will ask several
| things at the hands of the oncoming leg
islature in the way of amendments to
the present health laws. 1t will probably
cause some surprise when it is stated on
the authority of the state health officer
himself that by far the most important OF
these is a salary for the county health
| officers. AS the law now stands, the COM
| missioners' courts have abundant power
| to provide salaries for these officials but
the trouble Is SO many of them attach no
Importance to the health department OF
| government, and at least one of them
| went back after taking the forward STEP
| 1t was supposed that all the counties
| would follow a lead once established In
| the matter, but they don't, and DR.. Saun-
! ders sees no way out of the present diff
| Guilty except a law fixing salary graded
according to population with a minimum
| below which the county courts cannot go,
and requiring the counties to pay 1t.
| THE health laws and system simply can
not be administered without an executive
| officer" says DR.. Saunders, land there is
no way to get such officers, except to
| pay them"
Smallpox Still RACES.
For instance, there has been no time
within seven years when Alabama has
| been free from smallpox. The larger
counties with paid health officers, like
Mobile, Montgomery Jefferson, Bullock
| and others, have spent many thousands
Of dollars in stamping out the disease,
and have succeeded time and time again
in getting rid of 1t. But, as soon as they
! do somebody comes in with 1t from
another county which has no officer to
attend to the work. and then these up
to-date counties have 1t all to do over
again. With a proper officer in each
county, paid for his services, the whole
state could be freed from the disease
within sixty days. Because the remote
or agricultural or sparsely settled coun-
ties used to get along without such Off
GERS Is no sign they can do it now. 1t is
the poorest sort of economy to allow the
state to suffer any longer because of the
DackWardness or parsimony of a few or
many counties"
Trustees of University.
There are two vacancies in the board
OF trustees of the State University, and
there are no candidates for either. It is
understood however that ]. H. Johnston
mas signified his willingness to serve from
the fourth district, and there seems to be
no other In the same category, SO he will
| get 1t. In the second district Mr. Phares
| Coleman and Mr.. Paul LIE Grand, both of
montgomery, have signified their willing.
| ness to accept If elected, and that brings
on an interesting situation, SO far as
their friends are concerned. These sew
eral friends have ben canvassng the sit
| uat1on, with the result that a pretty race
has sprung UP for the place. Eyerybodv
knows that Mr.. Coleman is the popular
reporter or the supreme court, a member
Oh the advisory board from the alumni,
and active since graduation In his inter-
est IN MS alma mater. Also that he has
strong political and personal friends who
stano Tor him. Mr. LIE Grand is a banker
OF thls city, and a large holder of both
CITY ana county realty. He too IS an
alumnus of the University and a man
| Whom everybody who knows more than
| ilKes. In his quiet and unassuming wav.
ne mas whole lot of political as well as
personai tles. Thus, 1t happens that the
| friends or the two gentlemen are pretty
evenly matched, and, so far as can be as
certained, neither have the advantage So
Iar as outright commttals are concerned.
BUT IN this as In SO many other cases.
| IL is the doubtful or unpledged vote that
Will tell the story. The election can NOT
pc long postponed, for 1t must be made in
tlme TO send the names to the senate be-
fore that body adjourns.
Complaint About Labor,
COILS. s. Scott, now of Auburn. was
mere this week. He Is perhaps fuIIer Of
| delightful "reminiscences than any man in
the state, and has now reached that age
when 1t is pleasure to him to hearken
, nach TO ola times He has good deal OF
literary work in hand now. and will soon
give some OF it to the public. and GER
tainly to those who have read his de-
llghtfully little book of sketches. 'orhe
MoDilians," this will be welcome news.
Col. scott represented Madison county in
the legislature several times before tha
war; ana was on intimate terms with the
great men of that era He got this little
story from his intimate friend, Clement
y; Ciay. LAY was democrat, and Nc
chung was the great Wing leader. The
former was young man and the latter
an old one when they were coIlea pues
from Madison county in the Legislatures
at Tuscaloosa McClung made a Vigorous
| fight against bill to grant a nriviIeee
| Of some sort to a woman, and CLAW cba ro-
pioned the bill in strong speech. Nc
CHUNG, In his reply, alluding to the fact
we'll known to all the members, that Mr.
| Clay was at that time paying court to ths
accomplished lady who afterwards be-
| came his wife, said, "Mr. Speaker. we
| cannot afford to give weight to the views
| Of my young friend in matter where a
woman. Is involved, for it Is well known
that he carries a woman's heart in his
BOSOM" Clay made reply-"Because nv
venerable friend opposes this bill, we must
not conclude that he is hard of heart
Like esuvius, though his head Is capped
with snow, he carries a warm and ever
| burning fire within his breast" AS a re-
| miniscence of the courtly old days this is
| delightful and collection of the like
would be a treasure. But one cannot
help thinking If a similar passage had &C.
Cured in the modern rub-a-dub days be-
| tween, say, VIII Brandon and Colonel
Clements when they sat together for
Tuscaloosa, no human being would have
treasured it up. Have the times changed
or the men?
Republicans Active.
| There Is always more or less complaint
| this time of the year about the labor SUD-
ply In the country, but 1t really seems to
| have more foundation this year than ever
before. Despite all the alleged difficulties
however, land owning has been profitable
and favorite investment. If there has
been any subdivision of the plantations
1t has been very slight. Possibly, when
the negro gets really scarce, small pro-
| prietors may be substituted for the thrift.
| less tenantry which makes I'D the rural
blaclSbelt sort of wilderness Certain 1,
is that only absolute loss from holding
the land will ever make your genuine
Anglo-Saxon part with any of it.
Colonel Scott in Montgomery.
| With the new year comes a revival OF
| activity among the republicans over the
| loaves and fishes. The outs want the
| places of the ms, and there Is no doubt
that District Attorney Reeses place is
| the '-t citadel selected for a stormine