The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-12-13

Mayor Wooding of DanVille, Va. has been fined for contempt by Judge A. M Aiken of the corporation court for walk ing across the court room in a pair of creaking shoes Now in these strenuous days great many people have an attack oe nerves" when confronted by creaking shoeleather but in old Virginia at least one man has found remedy for the evil. It is related that the mayor paid his fine with wry face and also that he Is fined regularly at each term of court for the same offense. It appears that the mayor is determined not to learn the error of his ways, while the judge is equally "sot" in his determination to make the mayor pay dearly for his pre- affection for creaking shoes Unfortun- ately every man who is annoyed by talking footwear is not a judge and can only suffer in silence.
 Sir A. Conan Doyle the man who does ali the thinking for Sherlock Holmes, is not purely fiction criminologist b. any means While it may be said that his Hong suit' is writing detective stories, he has also made a study of criminal conditions in this and other countries with startling results. Sir Conan believes that an appalling state of affairs now prevails in the United States He says: London with six million inhabitants, had twenty-four murders last year; Chi cago with less than two million, had 12s. Of Londons twenty-four nine were hang ed; of Chicago's 12S one was hanged. The single states of Georgia and South Caro- lima each had more murders that the whole British empire" From this 1t will be seen that Sir Conan has h.s penetrating Sher- | lock Holmes optics trained on this country and while he contends that he is intense l ly pro-American, his views are hardly 1 complimentary to the United States. Sir | Conan thinks that reform in the judic- iary would work wonders, but nothing would be more effective than few | dozen detectives like MT. Holmes to make the life of the criminal one horrid night i mare.
 It Is rumored that the pure food bill may not get through congress at this session. Alack! And nation is in sus- pense What matter the Philippinese. the tariff and southern representation so long | as the pure food bill hangs in the bal ance? Even whisky is not whisky these l days and every breakfast food has fallen under suspicion. Let the nation rush to the assistance of Dr. Wiley and de- mand the passage of the pure food bill However if congress is determined that our wishes in this matter shall not be granted until another session, we will manage to worry. along on the adulter- ated products with which our tables are at present loaded
 Another boil weevil convention has set its dire machinery i1 operation at Shreve- port and the boil weevil may well tremble in his boots-if he wears any. No doubt mighty brains will be brought to bear on the problem and there will be the most learn ed discussions, but in the meantime Sir Weevil marches valiantly onward and his ravages are increasing every day Among the interesting ideas advanced the scheme of an Alabamian takes the cake" He would turn the weevile loose on the cotton crop so that the crop will be reduced and the price raised. Unless this original Alabamian is careful he will arouse the suspicion that he is in league with the general of the boil weevil
 army. P. c.