The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-09-14
Brings About a Mixup That
May Have No End
RULE NISI IS ISSUED
Judge Samuel Weaver Directed to
Show BY What Right He Assumed
Jurisdiction In John Viii
liams' Case.

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associate railroad commissionership. It
is hard to tell who will have the office
when the whole matter is thrashed out
The Alabama law says that no two men
from the same Congressional district shall
be appointed or elected to the position of
railroad commissioner in the state, and
thereby hangs the complication.
To begin with, ii. c. Compton, who
lives in Birmingham. is contestng the
nomination given Mai. John G. Harris,
on the allegation that Harris is in real
ity yet citizen of the Second district,
which is the home of Charles Henderson,
the man who lead the ticket. Two are to
be elected.
But what of Mr.. Compton? He Is a
resident of the same county as the Pres
ident of the commission, B. B. Conner,
and could not become a member of the
commission, 1t is said. Certainly Mr.
Conner would not resign until he goes
| into office. If he does not, how could Mr.
Compton, in the light of the statute, be
elected?
And then comes along the situation of
r. ]. Lowe, the man next below Comp
| ton. Though a lawyer of Birmingham for
years, he moved his residence back to
his old Barbour county home to be out
side of the Ninth, where Mr.. Compton
holds forth. Gould he not come along and
say that both Major Harris and Mr..
Compton are barred, the one by residence
in the Second and the other by residence
in the same division with the president
of the commission. He has already an
nounced that he will not contest the
nomination of Major Harris, but he would
likely not keep to this determination with
Mr.. Compton the next man.
loves Position.
| And then might not Mr.. Compton make
the same charge he makes against Major
Harris that Lowe is really citizen of
the Ninth, as he only moved to Barbour
a short time before the primary And if
this should hold good, would not Walter
| White, the man next below Mr.. Lowe,
\ get into the mill and demand rights that
would seem to come to him.
However the milk in the cocoannt
seems to be the position of Major Har-
| ris Mr.. Compton has set on foot a con-
| test with the state democratic committee
| to GUST Major Harris and this will be
| watched with interest. He makes the
charge that Harris has never moved from
the Second district in reality is, legally,
not a citizen of Hale, where he claims
| citizenship. The Majors friends claim
| that he has not exercised the right of
| suffrage here in fifteen months. However,
one of his cards to voters early in the
campaign seems TO indicate to the con-
| trary. In it he said:
1T is known to you that I am a can
| didate for associate railroad commissions
err. 1t is beyond my power to visit you
In your homes or places of business,
hence, this address. 1t would seem that /
have some claim on my own county peo-
Pile being the only candidate from Mont
gomery. For twenty years | have lived
among you My history and character
are known to you. Montgomery city and
county, are second to none in Importance
within the state. Why not they be rep
resented on the commission"
Following this Major Harris sets forth
his platform This is one of the state
ments Mr.. Compton is using to the hurt
of the Major in the contest.
Issues Rule Nsl.
Under instructions of Chief Justice S. ID
Weakley, Robert f. Lyon, clerk of tn
supreme court, today issued a rule mis-
directed to Judge Samuel Weaver of the
criminal court of Birmingham, directing
him to show by what right he assumed
jurisdiction in the case of John Williams
convicted Of the murder of r. L. Hipp, in
Cullman, and under sentence of death.
The case is familiar to all of the people
Williams was to be hanged at Cullman
The night before date of execution an ap-
plication for a writ of habeas corpus was
allowed by Judge Weaver and the hearing
set over for some days. The result was
to delay the hanging and to send the
whole matter back to the supreme court
which will now hear testimony on the
right of Judge Weaver to interfere in the
mandates of the courts. The order fol-
lows:
Now, in compliance with the foregoing
order, the rule nisi hereby issues to Hon.
S. L. Weaver as a Judge of the criminal
court of Jefferson county. commanding
and requiring him to appear before the
supreme court of Alabama, on the first
motion day of the next term of said court,
to-wit on the 18th day of November 1906
and show cause why a writ of prohibition
should not be granted by said supreme
court, prohibiting and restraining him
from trying or directing the trial of John
Williams upon the question of his sanity
vel non; and why he should not be direct
ed and commanded to dismiss said petition
|
him as a judge of the criminal court of
Jefferson county. and remand said John
Williams to the custody and control of the
circuit court of Cullman county.
1.-THE Hon. S. l.. Weaver, as judge afore-
said. is further ordered and directed to
suspend all proceedings in the matter of
the application for habeas corpus on be
half of said John Williams, and the trial
thereof, until further order and Judgment
of the supreme court of Alabama"
Capitol Notes.
Governor William d. jerks is out of the
city, having gone to Union Springs to at
tend the funeral of a relative. He will be
back tomorrow.
The first motion day of the November
term of the supreme court will be Novem-
Der Is. Interest is aroused In this by the
fact that the John Williams case will be
called on that day
| w. G. Campbell of Bellwood has been
appointed a clerk in the office of State
Auditor Carmichael, to succeed Cyrus
Brown, who resigned to become chief
clerk to the secretary of state.
The expenses of H. C. Gunnells who
ran a lone race for superintendent of edn-
cation, were s210, according to statement
filed with the governor.
w. r. Reynolds has been appointed
| notary Duhle n Granville