The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-12-27
MONT[ ,AERY HAS ROWDY CHRISTMAS Officers and Dogs Are Kept en
 the Run PREPARE RAILROAD CASES Hearings Against the State Will Be Had In New Orleans Next Month. Nicholson Says Paving Bids
 Must Be Uniform.
PREPARE RAILROAD CASES

Montgomery, December 26.-(Special J. The county jail and the forces of Sheriff Hood felt the force of Christmas holi- days in the great increase of crime chasing involved. Murders, robberies and form, and it was a case of hustle and keep busy with deputies and dogs.
 Ben Rollins shot George Dunstan and gave himself up. The wounded man will likely die Albert Lemon shot Billie Jackson, a woman, and left her for dead. Frank Merkel interfered and got his death from a bullet sent by Lemon the latter getting away. George Wilcox, a merchant probably left his safe un- locked. Anyway he lost s4OO to robbers, along with a lot of whisky.
 Henry Banks, who escaped from the jail at Hayneville, was not caught, although Sheriff Hood sent the dogs and Deputy McCord to give him and his five com panions a chase. Banks dislikes jails on Christmas. He got out of the same bastile just before the 1907 Christmas bad negro and the officers fear he will make trouble before being caught.
 Mass of Testimony.
 When the cases of the railroads against the state are called in the United States circuit court of appeals at New Orleans next month there is going to be a mass of testimony on both sides This is indi- cated by the delay in getting the cases in shape, the clerk of the court having an enormous amount of work to do to get the briefs out of the way.
 These cases were appealed from the district court at Montgomery, and in- volve the issuance of injunctions to pre- vent the state laws from going into ef- feet. The fight made by the railroads was won in the lower court. It is an ticipated that it will take several months to get a ruling after the court of appeals argument is made, and several after that before the supreme court can get de- cision, so that it will be a long time be- fore the questions growing out of the controversy can be settled. In the mean time one set of railroads are charging one set of rates and another set another schedule, and the public Is wondering who pays the freight after all.
 Uniform Paving Bids.
 Quoting Murray Nicholson. city engi- neer of Birmingham, it is suggested that
  vertsing for bids single definite kind of paving has to be offered and not prices on several kinds, as are asked by many cities He thinks that plans of Mont gomery and other cities in seeking bids on many kinds in one ordinance Is con- trary to the act which is section 124,
 MT Nicholson also thinks that the practice of asking a guarantee from pay ing companies will not hold, for if that is carried out levy Cannot properly be made by cities to abuttng property City Engineer Gilchrst of Montgomery says this is gotten around here by the use of the term maintenance" for so many years, which produces the same results and is safer However, the whole ques- tion is mooted and may yet make trouble for those cities that are not carefully regarding the laws demands.
 Money for Teachers.
 So far this month the state has paid out s324,OO0 for teachers, not including that of Mobile county, which does not figure in the regular channels.
 Ragan Not Sold.
 Report pf the sale of Outfelder Ragan to New Orleans is still news to President R. J. Chambers of the local ball club. He was offered some time ago to Frank of New Orleans for $500, but the offer has not been taken so far as known. However. this well-known and popular player can be had by any club for $o00 the offer to Frank not being exclusive.