The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-03-18
MAY MAKE RATES
 FOR THE COUNTIES Attorney General Garber Makes
 Railroad Ruling VETERAN 112 YEARS OLD Charles Driggers, at Soldiers Home, Has Proof Showing He Was Born
 That Many Years Ago. Other News Items.
VETERAN 112 YEARS OLD

Montgomery, March 17-(Speeial. )-Ac- | cording to Attorney General A. M. Gar Der railroads may haul freight for eoun- ties at rates lower than the schedules, as they may for the United States or for municipalities. The ruling is that a county is a municipality the same as a city organization. Many counties engaged in road building want to get low rates on gravel. The roads are willing to grant such rates if not in violation of the law, which it seems they would not be. Montgomery county has contracted for 22 miles of new road, part of which is contingent upon the ability of the con- tractor to get the low rates on gravel | and other material needed. This question
 is also up in Madison and Cullman coun- ties and the ruling will do much to help the building of the road. Montgomery has let the contract for p miles of new road which will cost $7300O. Of this A. T. Newell of Birmingham gets nine miles, subject to the low rate on gravel hauls. Mitchell Bros. of Mont gomery have three miles. This makes 4o miles in the county now under construc-
 
 mileage already built and kept up. It will make Montgomery the best pike road county in the state.
 Wound In Foot Fatal.
 Along about Christmas time Anthony Harris shot Jesse Smith, another negro, in the foot. Nothing was thought of tho wound at that time. Later, however, it hoI f,,1, suit of it, died. Now Anthony is in the county jail charged with murder He says the shooting was an accident. Information of Vets.
 In reports made to pr. Thomas M. Owen, director of the department of archives and history, is found the fact that Charles Drggers, an inmate of the old soldiers home at Mountain Creek, is 112 years of age. He seems to have the papers and the data to show that this is so. He was born in Marlboro county S. C., and entered the service of the Confederacy in 1862, with the reserve artillery at Eufaula.
 The counties have reported the num-
 Der of old Confederates who are yet alive to Dr. Owen, the names being taken by the tax assessors under a new law. They are Chiffon and Macon. The first, to which is added the inmates of the soldiers home, has 199, the other 11s
 The oldest one of the Macon list is c. H. Tucker, who was born January 10, 1919, in Ebert county, Ga, and entered the war with Major Reavy's battery.
 Though these reports may be made as late as August, Dr. Owen is very anxious to have them in soon and is urging the 1 assessors to report them as quickly as possible. After they are all in he will sort them by names and commands and have in them many rich item of his tory that he had not been able heretofore to locate.
 Unavoidable Negress. Elnora Allen Is negress who cannot
 be made to work w. A. Laprade, a local citizen, paid her out of jail on a fine of
 sl0 for vagrancy. Yesterday he brought her back to Judge Thomas and told him to take her. q could not even make her look pleasant, much less work" said MT. Laprade.
 Figuring on Power. A. J. Welchardt, an associate of the | firm of Roberts & Abbott, engineers of | Cincinnati, is in the state for a few days l His presence lends color to the report | that northern capitalists are figuring on investing heavily in southern water pow | CT properties.
 | Mule Injures Child. | At Phenix City Herbert Cranford, a | small boy, was currying a mule when | the animal grew vicious and began to i kick and bite him. The boy was thrown ] down and the mule came near stepping l on him. However, the youngster came | through the struggle without serious in- | jury.
 Costly Hold-Up. | Will Brooks and Frank Hudson have | been convicted in the criminal court and | given ten years each for holding up a small boy and taking from him the dinner | which he was carrying to his father The | negroes said they had had nothing to l eat for two days and were hungry. The 1 father of the boy made great protest l because he said that he was forced to | miss his dinner and go without food all | Gay.
 Miss Hood Better. Miss Mabel Hood, daughter of flora ce Hood, editor of the Journal was operat- | ed early Tuesday at Denver for ap- pendicitis. Reports from her bedside in- dicate that she is getting along we'll