The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-11-04
All Are In Sympathy With the Movement To Put An End To the Awful Grimes in Birmingham Which Are Traceable
 Directly to the Pistol Toting Habit
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%~~+~<<*<.***%*~%.%+%%*.+% l> While we are at it let's pro- .
 < hibit the greatest evil that grows '
 < and send it out along with : lt whisky"
 < The man who carries a pistol . i> is a coward" '
 % Let Birmingham take the in . Y itiative in putting the accursed . < thing out of the Slate" |l< T will introduce the ordinance '
 Y eradicating as far as possible . < this murderer from our city ' These and other expressions were readily spoken by aldermen, minis ters and citizens when interviewed yes terday on the campaign which The Age Herald has always waged against the pistol an dhis friend and protec- | tor the "toter" There is strong sentiment in favor of the suggestion
 made on The Age-Herald editorial page yesterday morning by Ned | Brace.
 Mayor Ward was one of the first | questioned. While the idea suggested l IS HeW anu DtlltAG IL lo d | good one" said he.
 'If the law provides that no pistol | shall be sold with a barrel less than | fourteen inches in length, the gun | cannot be hidden on the person, and | the unarmed citizens will have plenty | of warning when he meets the pistol | toter,' If it is 8 good thing one time l ic f11 1it1y | is about as good a time to try it as any other.
 "Of course, the important part of | such a law is the jail sentence. The | only way to reach the pistol carrier is | to put him in jail and make him stay there six or twelve months. Paying ] fines or getting executive departments ' to pardon or reduce will not break it | up. Making it compulsory jail of fense to sell, carry or be seen with a l gun less than fourteen inches in length
 would certainly decrease crime in Bir-
 mingham."
 Wier Wants Sale Regulated.
 Chief w. E. Wier. the man of all in Bir- mingham who has to meet the pistol with it's worst companion, said: "I am always in favor of anything that will stop the l sale of pistols. I think there should l be some regulation by which a mans character would have to be proven by . several witnesses before the Probate l Judge or some other officer before he could buy pistol, and within 90 minutes afterward he ought to have to register ! his name and the pistol with the police court. In this manner a record could be kept that would aid the officers in en- l forcing the law.
 The idea of selling the dangerous | weapon to boys. criminals and negroes is | outrageous, and should have been stopped l long ago.
 ''So far as the police officer is con- 1 .cerned, I think the pistols which they use should be the property of the city, of 4 . uniform size and carefully registered by numbers so that they will not get out l of the officers hands. This plan is fol-
 lowed with success in Atlanta, Jackson vile, Nashville and other cities.
 q approve of the regulation of the pis- l tol business in entirety. The subject was taken up at the last meeting of the . chiefs when many spoke of the bloodshed . that is caused by the indiscriminate sale
 of pistols in different parts of the coun- . try.''
 . O'NeiIT Would Introduce Ordinance. Alderman John w. O'Neill, when ques | tioned as to his opinion, immediately said:
 "I would be willing to introduce the or
 dinance if one could be legally drawn ! Birmingham. State movements always ! begin in localities, and I think the best