The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-10-13
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menC IS, WlLHln lISell, d plo"o cast invitation for thieves to come, break in, and steal. The boastfui Magic City of the South, whose growth within the last thirty years is incom- parable presents the woeful appearance of being at the mercy, not of daring highwaymen, not of gluttonous trusts, not of military despots. not of graft ing council or other city officials, out of the pilferer, plying his trade unmo- tested In the night season. The homes of the citizens of Birmingham are at the mercy of thieves
 And this is nothing new. It IS fact known for years, admitted, lh- deed. in time gone, by members of the executive family. Why, therefore, the condition of affairs has been tolerateo' what indeed, has restrained the tax payers of the city, making the gov ernment possible, from uprising ID their wrath and revolutionizing affairs, is more than one can imagine. It sur prises the citizens themselves, no donbt. when to them the cold facts are thrust home.
 The chief reasons of many minor ones for the weakness and ineffective ness of the right arm of the executive government might be presented in this fashion:
 a) The police department numbers men too few.
 nf cutting Off the inefficient patrolmen save by twice convicting them of gross misde- meanor.
 (3) There is too great leniency in the selection of new patrolmen as to their moral, physical and mental per lection and attainment.
 f4) The government of the depart ment is slack and altogether irregular, making of the police body number Of individual patrolmen instead of com pact organization.
 Let it be understood in the begin ming that in this article mo arralgn- ment of any member of the depart ment, be he private or commander, is intended. nor is the fixing of the blame material or relevant.
 It is simply matter of common in terest to the taxpayers of Birming- ham, the people who have builded this district to it's present greatness, and whose homes. scattered from the city proper to the furthermost highlands, constitute the fundamental foundation of the community. to know that thelr protection is inadequate and inefec- tive and that the department of police in this city is not what it should be, nor what they, as the common people, deserve.
 Furthermore, let it be understood that there is no attempt to picture Birmin I'm at the muzzle of high wayman's gun nor in the power of the professional burglar aiming directly at banks with cool and premeditated intention of killing in case of moles- tation; nor, really, in the grasp of the less expert cracksman, entering stores and establishments for the contents of cash drawers and other pelf. If is the common thief, the embry- onic highwayman and professional cracksman that has Birmingham by the throat, he who steals from the people anything on which he puts hls hands be it pair of shoes or gold watch. It is admittedly true that there is no small thief caught in Birming- ham. Of the innumerable reports turned in at police headquarters. not one in thousand results in a thief taken. and the patrolmen and detec- tives, be the charges minor, are wont to consider them immaterial on &C., count of the general belief that to land the culprit and recover the goods is a matter impossible. Be the thief a fool to pawn his loot, the property stolen is often recovered. Be he a still greater fool to attempt re- demption of his pawn, he is often cap- tured But if he wears the shoes, or the clothing, or sells the watch to neighbor, the thief is free to continue his plundering, and the people of Bir- mingham are always the losers.
 
 There is no effort on the part of any person connected with the police de- partment to deny the charge that too few men, considering Birmingham s size and importance, and the outside population from which 1t continually draws, are employed in the police de- partment.
 Exclusive of the officers and de- tectives, patrol wagoners, two mount. ed men and office clerks, the Birming- ham police department numbers GO men. There are but three-score men who do regular patrol duty in Bir. mingham.
 These 60 men, which is admittedly nroper. are worked in three shifts of eight hours each. As might be ex- pected. the more numerous shift is employed in the night. This largest shift numbers, on the average, less than 25 men.
 Twenty-Five men on the beats of Birmingham in the night time,