The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-06-05
Connfx Tax Rate Fixed.

County Tax Rate Fixed.
 The Board of Revenue and Road Com, misioners met at noon today. the full membership being present The meet | ing was for the purpose of fixing the | tax rate for the fiscal year. on motion of Commissioner Bauer the rate was 1 the assessment imposed by the State 1 on licenses. The book of assessments was received and is now open, accord inc to law. Immediately after adjourn ment of the session the Board recon vened for the purSo of examining er- TOTS and insolvencies and will continue l from day to day to hear opJections un- | til the entire list is gone through with. | Mobile County Hard Labor Convicts. County Attorney eco. J. Sullivan and Attorney Charles r. Bromberg have re- turned from Birmingham, where they went to appear before Judge Samuel Weaver in habeas corpus proceedings against the Sloss-Shefheld Steel and tvs hard labor eonvicts now in the the hands of the defendant company. The
 habeas corpus was refused, but on
 Thursday, 1t is learned from the attor-
 Supreme Court of Alabama. The fol lowing statement was given The Ad-
 vertiser by the attorneys this morning
 Upon the hesssins of o.tis the ,n napsSs Rirs
 Weaver, after a fuli argument upon
 both sides of the legal question in volved each side offered their evi-
 Upon this hearing Judge Weaver admitted all of the evidence which | and Iron Company and excluded prac- tically all of the evidence which was offered by the Mobile attorneys, and
 the Probate judge had declared the contract annulled for cruel and inhu- | man treatment of convicts. and re-
 the Probate Judge had declared the | contract terminated. because of the in- l sufficiency of the bond of the Sloss- | Sheffield Steel and Iron Company; and | refused to allow 1t to be shown that 1 the Board of Revenue Commissioners | had annulled the contract, because of violations and failures to carry out the
 same on the part of the sloss-sheffield i Steel and Iron Company, and refused 1 Hall. Chaplain of the State Board of | Convict Inspectors who testified as a witness that Charles ossie and other Mobile convfcts had been cruelty and | inhumanely treated by the hirers or l to be shown. that Abe Brown. a Mo l bile County convict had been unusually l and cruelty treated and whipped. and
 that shortly after this whipping he Judge Weaver ruling that he would l not allow any proof of cruel or inhu-
 msnf rhe sehoss .sheeld % Se % Steel and Iron | Company offered no evidence to dis prove any of the charges of cruel or l inhumane treatment.
 The contention on the part of the | Mobile attorneys were:
 First. that there was no contract, | and never had been legal contract 1 for the hire of the Mobile County con- | victs.
 'second, That if there was one. the contract had been terminated either by | the Judge of Probate annulling the l contract. or by the Board of County Commissioners annulling the contract. or by the fact of cruel or inhumane treatment of the Mobile County con vict on the part of the Sloss- -Sheffield Steel and Iron Company, or their em- ployes: which the Mobile attorneys contended annulled the contract. An application will be presented to the Supreme Court next Thursday, | bearing unexpected delay, renewing the application for habeas corpus which Judge Weaver refused" City Court Grand Jury. Hon. o. J. Semmes. presiding, the City Court for the June term was con- vened at noon today. The grand jury
 was empaneiled with the following
 members sworn in: Henry B. McMil.
 Ian. foreman: William F. Davis. Paul
 Jones. George W PistoIe. Harry Ma ierskf. Robert P. Devoine. stephen J. McCarty. William Smee John Hyland. Benton c. Rain. Jr.. Mastin Costello,
 Thomas J. Potter. James L. Cawthon,
 George W. Tutwiller Judge Sernmes |
 gave an exhaustive charge to the jury |
 The grand jury will have much work to |
 go through with during its delibera-