The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-10-18
Crack Shots.

Chief of Police Wallace arrived at the very sensible conclusion some time since that neith ;r he nor any of his officers could hit bale of hay He worried over the matter for some time, and finally de- cided to call a conference and see if some one could not outline a plan whereby the marksrlanshIp could be brought up to the standard of an average country regi- ment. Wi,h this end In view, he ad- dressed letters to all of the night force and asked them if they would mind get ting up about II o'clock in the morning instead of at o'clock in the afternoon. The letter was well worded and couched
 in the most endearng terms.
 He stated to the men that he fully realized and appreciated the fact that they were the flower of the army, so to speak, when it came down to real hard patrol duty but he was forced to admit very much against his will that none of them could hit a milk wagon if it was moving, and for that reason he thought a little target practice would help them greatly.
 Some ot the men at first did not agree with the cEief inasJnuch as they stated that the job was looked upon strictly as a side line. and they could hardly afford to lose a good day at the lumber or plumbing trade in order to become ex- pert oOl1t OI lDtIll Sldltd that they only worked for the city on the side, and they would make more money in one week as boilermakers than they could make in month working for the city.
 This seems to have walked the chief ,Ip, and he then asked for a special confer ence., which. of course was granted, pro vided he would serve sandwiches and Schnapps tobacco. He was more than will ing to agree to this and the result was .l. Al..< To-. chiefs office and decided that it would be a good plan to get together and see if something could not be done whereby their marksmanshp could be improved.
 It was finally decided that Jonesboro Creek should be accepted as the camping ground. The chief was not very much in favor of this plan at first, and he said he thought he could get the Bessemer Hot Air Gun club to grant them permission to shoot on the range. committee was sent around to interview Chester Tubb, Walter Carroll and Reid Fulton regarding the permit. aGd these gentlemen stated to the committee that while they were very sorry to have to turn them down, inas- much as they came in such worthy cause, they felt that 1t would forever blast the reputation of the club if the fact ever leaked out that a crowd of po- lice officers had been allowed to go out. mss every pigeon ana tetu HoleS III the ground. The committee came back, sub mitted its report and then Jonesbolo creek was decided upon
 furniture van was hired and the party started. Among those that travelled over the rock road were Chief Wallace. Officers Frank Chiders, Partridge, Diffly, Bishop and one other. We are ashamed to mention his name, since he missed every thing in sight. It was decided not to take George Coins, and old Doc Parsons, as it is we'll known that they can hit any thing in the world, Budweiser excepted. lne party finally got to Jonesboro creek and the chief in short address, told the men that they were there to try and learn how to shoot. and he would feel highly elated if they would refrain from personalities After a good deal of seeking a hogshead was finally located. and put up as a target. Each man was to have 25 shots. and the lowest man was to pay for the conveyance. They all had