The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1905-03-31
FIST FIGHT WAS
BARELY AVERTED
Atlanta Park Board Was Scene
of Disturbance
FAMILY TROUBLES AIRED
Atlanta Police Court Spends the Day
In Adjusting Differenees-Young
Man Is Killed BY a
Live Wire.

came near being a fisticuff fight at the
meeting of the city park board this morn
ing Commissioner w. e. Dunn made the
charge that Councilman William Old-
know a member of the board was trying
to usurp authority and run all the parks
of the city according to his own notlon.
Oldknow denied the charge, and Dunn re-
affirmed it. Oldknow said 1t was not
true, but he was not looking for any trou-
bic. IF you want trouble, you can get
it." said Dunn, as he started for Oldknow
preparing to punch him. At this point
several of the other commissioners stepped
between the belligerents, and the scrap
was declared draw.
Killed by Live Wire.
A NJ. Thompson, a young white man
q years old, an employe of the Atlanta
Water and Elecnsc Light company, was
killed today by severe shock from an
electric wire which he inadvertently
caught hold of while in the performance
of his duties He Is survived by his wife
and three small children. The accident
occurred at the company's plant. at Nor
CANS Falls, eighteen miles north of the
city on the Chattahoochee river.
Family Disputes Are Involved.
| The session of Atlanta's police court
! this morning was quite unique in that
! 1t dealt with only four cases all of which
involved family disputes Mrs. Sarah
| Sherman who had a quarrel with her
father Henry Denham. over the possess
sion Of her child. was before the court
Her child was ordered sent to the Home
70 In Toria al h.
her was dismissed.
Mr.. and Mrs. T. r. Smith of 10 Fow-
Ter street, were before the recorder on
the charge Of neglecting their four child
rem. Smith had told his wife he was
private detective whereas he is a car
penter.
why did you deceive your wife," ask
ed Recorder Broyles.
Because there are some things wo-
men ought not TO know" was Smiths
reply.
What would you think of your wife if
she followed your eXample?" he was
asked.
why 1t would be all right" said
Smith, IL don't want to pry into my
wifes business and l don't want her
noslng into mne'
The recorder dismissed the complaint
with warning to both.
A. W. Brown was up charged with
abandoning his four children. It was
shown that two of them were in the
Home for the Friendless while the other
two were being cared for by a friend
| Brown contributes nothing to their sup
| port He was ordered to do better
Three of the children of L. J. Swinney,
a carpenter of q Fulton street. were
ordered sent to the Home for the Friend
less because the father has failed to pro-
vide for them.
Evans VIII Deliver Address.
Gen. Clement a. Evans, who is lieu
tenant general commanding the army of
the department of Tennessee, u. c. v,
has been chosen by the Ladies' Memorial
association as Memorial Day orator on
April 20 next, and he will deliver the
usual address at the Confederate monu-
ment at Oakland.
Preparations are now in progress for
one of the most complete celebrations of
Memorial Day ever witnessed in Atlanta
State Treasurer r. f. Park, who will be
grand marshal of the parade, and his
chief of staff, Lieut. Col. j. VanHolt
Nash, are busy sending out invitations to
many who will be asked to join in the pa
rade and other features of the celebra-
tion. and 1t is expected that prominent
| Georgians will be here for tine occasion
| from many parts of the state. Several
visiting militia companies are expected to
| join with the troops of the Fifth regiment
! now here. The four camps of Confederate
| Veterans will turn out in fun force. All
| of the available carriages In the city will
be called into service for the Ladies'
Memorial association, and the Daughters
of the Confederacy.
| There will be no special exercises at
! the capitol under the auspices of the
Daughters of the Confederacy> this year,
| because they have very few crosses to
distribute TO veterans. and those which
are to be presented will be given out at
the Confederate monument. All energies.
therefore, will be devoted to making the
parade and the exerciss at the monu-
ment an unprecedented success.
Governor Terrell will not be able to
| participate in the celebration in Atlanta
because he has accepted an invitation to
deliver the Memorial Day address at La
| Grange.
Tax Receivers Protest.
| number OF the tax receivers of the
state, particularly those who have not
long been in office, are entering violent
protests against a duty which has been
assigned to them, apparently for the first
time this year though it is one which
they have been called upon by law to
| perform since 1877.
| Tax Receiver Marcus Baker of Chatham
| county comes out in an open protest, stat
| ing In an interview that this duty Is one
which would require almost as much time
as taking the tax returns, and, besides,
there Is no compensation provided for
| It,
| The law in question. enacted February
"a, 1877, directs the comptroller general to
require all receivers of tax returns to
make each year returns of all insane per-
sons idiots. epileptics, all births and
deaths and the causes of the latter This
year for the first time in several years.
n blank page has been inserted in the tax
digests upon which the receivers are ex-
pected to make these returns. and this is
why some of the tax receivers who have
been in office only a short while are in
revolt. They claim that it Is too much
TO expect Of them. as in many instances
II would REQUIRE the services of another
clerk. and no provision is made for pay
ing the expenses of securing such inform
alton.
AS matter Of fact Comptroller General
Wright has published this requirement in
his annual instructions to tax receivers
ever since he has been in office, but so far
very few of them have ever paid any at
tenfion to II. The law provides no pen
altv for failure to perform this duty, nor
does II nut any penalty upon the tax pay
or who refuses to give the information
regarding his own family should II be
sought. These facts have naturally made
the law a dead letter. and seldom have
anv of the Georgia tax receivers paid any
attention to IT, The consequence is the
Information which the legislature thought
TO collect when 1t passed the law, has