The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-12-31
THIEVES INVEST SELMA
poxSCp AND CITIZENS WORRIED -- Ry PETTY LARCENiss.
necsra ef Thiefts which Have Occur req In the Recent Past shows Astonishing Condition of Az
 fairs.

..-a as Thfefts Which Have Occur-
 ,ea m the Recent Past shows Astonfshing Condition of Af-
 fairs.
 Advertiser Bureau,
 Selma, Dec. 30. ~, ,s infested with thieves, who sr tk. maiority of cases are small ne- -~n hovs They are undoubtedly the v,ost offensive class of criminals the rolice of this city have ever had t. deal with.
 Nowadays the average Selma police vnan's time is taken up bringing the vounr negroes to justice. The police at that are not alone in their troubles with these culprits. It is the hardes. proposition of a lifetime to conv,ct them after they are brought into court, Offtimes trials have to be postponed an,l continued, and then the youthful Attendants and their parents hold that they are not ready for trial on account of the absence of one or more witnesses who have gone to Columbiana, Mont ronnery, Talladega or some place Tar from the courts Jurisdiction. Evi- dences of misrepresentation and per jury which could never be proved. AS a matter of fact it would take Pnii- adelphia lawyer to unravei some V. the testimony in favor of ana agains. the offenders, when score or negro witnesses are aligned on both sides.
 If has been said that there are more bicycles fin Selma than in any small city in the United States. Like wise more bicycles have been stolen in this city the past two weeks. possibly, than in any other city, large or small The police have given citizens of Sell ma a moral in the past few days that 
 is worth bearing in mind.
 That moral is: Don't leave your bicycle on the sidewalks when you enter your house or a business house for a few minutes; neither in your front yard nor on your front porch. Another moral is; Don't let your COW or your horse stay in sight of the street or public throughfare at night time If you don't observe this you run the risk of losing your valuable property, or having to appear in court several days afterwards to iden- tify your property and testify against n negro youth, who will plead inno- cence and ignorance.
 Mayor Atkins fails to understand the cause of so many thefts of bicycles. cows and the like. This morning he sent out a warning to negroes who have a mania for stealing. One warning read: '$100 or 90 days" Another read: 1915 or 20 days Still another: "s10 or 20 days,' and so on.
 "I will fix the limit of the law on such defendants. and the court will do all in it's power to abolish the prac- tice which has become more than a nuisance" said the Mayor this morn- ing.
 Here are some instances of thefts In the past few weeks:
 Bicycle taken from yard of D. F. watson's residence. found in posses sion of Irwin Russell. Both Irwin Rus sell and Son" DeYampert fined in court. and warrants will be issued for others.
 Bicycle taken from the home of a suburban. John ToomeE negro boy, fined s.
 Bicycle taken from sidewalk in front Of repair shop. property of Dan Brislin, Ernest Williams sen- fenced to street labor for 90 days in default of payment of s1o0 fine.
 Bicycle stolen from sidewalks in prominent part of the city. Case will be heard tomorrow morning.
 Cow stolen from plantation several miles from the city, brought into Ssl- ma. and sold for s7. Jim Banks, in Jail for complicity and case contin- ued.
 Drugs and articles of general use stolen from q pharmacy on Broad street. Joe Singer serving 90 days on his confession.
 Groceries stolen from a freight cal in railroad yards and sold to a negro merchant.
 The first of these offenses dates back about a month. but the others were of very recent occurancs In two
 
 found the bicycles, and in one other case the wheel was said to have been given to defendant. Joe Singer admit ted stealing the drugs and said he had no idea what he intended doing with them. Jim Banks said he knew his partner stole the COW. he helped tc bring it into the city, but he was ig- norant of the law. 'I pleads guilty of helpin' to bring de COW here" said Banks. Ernest Williams admitted taking Dan Brislin's bicycle, that he knew the law. that he was trying to evade the authorities. and said that he expected tn be arrested and punish ed.
 There have also been several cases Df burglary recently. but the burglars are still at large. A bakery on Broad street was entered the night before Christmas. and 100 pounds of cakes stolen; a boarding house was entered and one boarder lost several dollars and a few nights ago a burglar stole whiskey from saloon
 Baseball Games Scheduled.
 With the advent of the New Yea, D new schedule of Basket ball game: will be made by the Young Men. Christian Association League.
 Two games will be played nsx month. which will complete the sched nle of seven games already made There are four teams of nine member. zach. Challenges were issued to tn, Yale team, which is making a touI of the South, but the Northerners de rlined to come to Selma after tn, guarantee had been made by the loca team. The Y. M. c. A. boasts one o the best basket ball teams in tho South, having made splendid showing 2. against Montgomery and Mobile. Il Is expected that game with Birming, ham will be arranged before the close of the season.
 Gymnasium class work at the Y. M c, A., under the direction of Physica Instructor Franklin. will be resume, the first of the year.
 Jones Is Only Survivor.
 Charles O. Jones, a prosperous pJan ter. of Dallas County, residing nea Browns Station, is tine only survive of the class of 1854 of the Universit, of Alabama, so he says. MT Jones wa in Selma yesterday
 According to this Dallas County pio neer he is the only one of a class O DE2EAGES OE WFAAME