The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-10-03
MUST HAVE FUNDS TO RUN THE STATE Mississippi Finances Do Not
 Meet the Demand COTTON CROP WILL HELP State and County Officials VIII Have to Walt for Payment-Hlnds
 County Wants Additional
 Court District.
COTTON CROP WILL HELP

Jackson, Miss, October 2.-(Special0 State Treasurer Miller has struck the bottom of his meal barrel good and hard, and unless the state can sell a few hundred bales of cotton payment Is stopped for a while and even the state officials will have to stand off their grocery bills and wear their straw hats till the cannon fires.
 or course the officials can worry along, but those two or three thousand persons to whom the state is due A pension on the first of November will reel the effect of the default severely. The stipend Is not much, some ss0 to the great majority, but 1t comes In very nicely at this season of the year.
 There are some Is or 20 county as- sessors who will also have to wait while for their money. The last legis- lature increased the salary of the as- sessors from minimum of $500 to $500. but made no increase in the ap- propriation to pay them, wherefore a number are too late to get their sal- aries.
 That same legislature ordered the governor to sell $500, 900 worth of 316 per cent bonds, and half of them are still on hand. Since their issuance times have grown tighter in the money centers and buyers are not looking for bonds of such small interest bearing nature.
 Fortunately Nor a depleted treasury the state convict farms promise about
 
 than they made last, because of the increased acreage devoted to that great plant. Last year the convict farms produced 3S96 bales of cotton, and the trustees. who are in session here today. estimate that they will get 1900 this season, and at present prices that means more than $30O,000, but unfor. tunately for the bare state treasury the cash cannot be secured till the cot ton is picked and ginned and marketed the last of which will not be done till blowing time rolls around again next spring.
 At this meeting of the prison trustees contracts will be let for the heavy gro ceries furnished the convicts They amount to an average of $1O,OO0 per month, and number of drummers for big grocery firms are here with sam pies or rice, molasses, meal, coffee etc and prices on meat, meal and flour.
 New Court Wanted.
 The EIinds county court finds itself seriously handicapped for time, and will not be able to begin to clear I'D it's criminal or it's civil dockets. At the beginning of the term four weeks ago tn ere were 270 criminal cases on the docket. The grand jury turned in 94 more. making 364 in all of that na- ture. There were also 800 civil cases. which brings the total cases to be dis posed of to 664. A number were gotten rid of yesterday, however when Judge Potter continued 80 cases on the crim- fnal docket. These are of a trivial nature being blind tigers, petit larceny and other misdemeanors. These are carried over so that several important civil cases may be heard before the term of the court, which Is seven weeks, is exhausted.
 This crowded condition of the docket here has started demand for the crea- tion of a separate court distri,t in Jackson. It is by far the most iripor- tant court point in the state, not only on account of the large number of cases originating here, but numerous cases are brought here from other counties Dy the Stdl6 OI1lcldlS. Ine only way to ever clear the docket, the lawyers contend. Is to have four terms of court, two for civil and two for criminal business, and making Kinds county a separate court district.
 .. Bishop Galloway Returns.
 Bishop Charles B. Galloway returned today from Illinois, where he has been presiding over the Illinois Methodist conference, and appears to be in the very best of health and spirits. The distinguished churchman had a danger ously close call last winter, but his friends everywhere will be delighted to learn that he has been completely re- stored to health.
 Prosperous Session. Mississippi college at Clinton threw | open it's doors yesterday for the ses- l sion, more than 300 young men being | entered. This is one of the oldest and most popular educational institutions in the state, and many of the states foremost citizens are proud to claim it as their alma mater.