The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-12-05
HEFLN IS WROTH
SOLICITOR TURNS sEARCHLIGHT
 ON HIGDON's FEES.
Jefferson County OnIciaI shows Why So Many Arrests are Made, and the Defendants are
 Oksmfsaed.


 Birmingham, Dec. 4.-(Special )- Solicitor H. P. Hefiin of Jefferson County today gave out a hot interview in which he scores Sneriff E l.. Hig- don for criticising his action in mol pressing several hundred misdemeanor cases growing out of the recent coal mIners' strike.
 Among other things, the Solicitor says in his signed statement:
 '1n published interview last Sat-. urday, Nov. 2S, Sherin Hisdon said that a large number of the strike cases for grave offenses, had been mol pressed in the criminal court. Be- lieving that this assertion was Intended as criticism of my official conduct with reference to those cases, 1 deem 1t my duty to tell the public that the records of the criminal court disprove that statement of the sherifk.
 The court records show that no fel- ony, or other cases of serious charac- ter growing out of the recent coal miners strIke had been mol pressed. One of the cases Of this latter class is now being tried, and others remain on the docket. and will be tried later.
 gFhe cases which were mol pressed, some four five hundred in number, were all misdemeanors; and I assume my share of the responsibility for their being thrown out of court. l recom- mended that they be mol pressed, and Judge Daniel A. Greene, senior judge of the criminal court, entered the or ders disposing of them in that way. For the information of the public, I will say that cases are mol pressed by the judge, at the request of the solici- tor. and not by the solicitor alone, as many, people. seem to think.
 Does the public believe that Judge Greene would have allowed those cases to be stricken from tho docket had they been for grave offenses, fragrant violations, as the sheriff charges?
 "Sheriff Higdon is paid fees for his services, ana. therefore, he has a pe- cuniary interest In every arrest that he or his deputies make and in every case they bring into the criminal court. Let me ask, Is the sheriff in a posi- tion to pass fairly and without bias on a question of whether those cases should be mol pressed or not? Could he, if he tried to do so, decide that question as well as Judge Greene and myself? Both Judge Greene and I receive salaries for our services as public officials and. therefore, could not have any pecuniary interest in the final disposition of any case. Our pay is neither increased nor diminished by convictions or acquittals. We, therefore, are in 0 position to act honestly and fairly, on all matters com ing before the court. and our sense of justice and right is not warped or blinded by any selfish interests.
 "The article of Sheriff Higdon, in part. Is as follows:
 The wholesale nolle pressing of the strike cases appears as a bit too strenuous for me. There were a great many. of the eases which undoub tedly have been noIle pressed, especially In cases where men had sworn out war rants against each other. for. petty offenses as the result of spite, and the solicitor apparently acted wise in not prosecuting them. and thus saving the county great expense.
 There were many fragrant viola tions. however, which were nolle pross- ed. For instance, the eleven negroes who were captured at Adamsville on the night following the morning of the second attack on a train at the Jefferson tunnel. We could only place small charge against them on this arrest, but there was stronger evi- fdence to be brought out, which we be- lieve would have resulted in their in- dictmeptIon further charges, ,But&deA spite the graveness of their offenses, their cases were nolle pressed
 "Sheriff Higdon in the foregoing in- terview makes the statement that many of the strike cases for grave offenses fragrant violations of the law. were mol pressed. But he fails to offer any evidence to sustain this statement. He cites but one instance, namely the case against the eleven negroes ar- rested at Adamsville. and admits that the charge against them was only minor offense. for says he, We. could only place a small charge against them on this arrest. That charge was un- lawful assembly.
 There were no other cases in court