The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-12-05

4katuHS those eieVen negroes. Every man in Jefferson County knows (unless sherin Higdon Is an exception) that a case must necessarily be pending in court before 1t can be mol pressed. Therefore, it follows that one case only was mol pressed against those ne- groes, and it was the one abovs men, tioned for an unlawful assembly, which is a misdemeanor.
 Under the facts as shown by the records of the Criminal Court. how could Sheriff Higdon truthfulIy . say, but despite the graveness of their of- lenses. their cases were nolle pressed
 After the strike was over, Captain Frank S. White, as attorney for the strikers, and Mir. Walker Percy. Mir. John Tillman, Mfr. Watts and other lawyers, representing the different and myself list of the misdemeanor strike cases that both sides desired to have mol pressed, Judge Greene and I finally decided that under all the cir cumstances it would be best to let them go off the docket. As the strike was ended, we felt that the prosecu- tion of those petty cases would tend to widen the breach between capital and labor, and mol pressing of them would tend to bring about better feeling between the companies and their employees. We knew also that in most of those cases no convictions would be had as they were counter prosecutions, and the summoning of witnesses setting and continuing tho cases from time to time in attempting to have them tried would have been a great and useless expense to the county, for, in my opinion, they would finally have had to be moi pressed.
 "why is Sheriff Higdon dissatisfied? Did he wish those misdemeanor strike cases to be kept on the docket, and set down for trial so that he could summon witnesses, and make addi- tional fees? Or Is he sore because those cases were mol pressed without requiring the sheriffs fees to be paid by the defendant? What does tho pub- lie think about that? Had his fees been thus collected and handed over to him in cash. would he have com plained then that the cases ought not to have been mol pressed. Would any murmur of censure have percoiated through his lipsf May be so. but doubt 1t.
 "sheriff HIgdon ought to be satisfied with the cash money he has already got out of the recent strike. He had at that time, as I am informed, be- tween six hundred and eight hundred deputy sheriffs. paid by the com panies. for which he received a profit of $1 per day, each, which money he collected without authority of law. He charged the companies a3 per day for each of the deputies, but paid them only $2 per day each. and put the other $1 in his own pocket. The companies were required also to pay all expenses of board and lodging for the deputies; therefore, the S1 per day on each of them that he shipped down into tine recesses of his own pocket, was clear profit
 What does the public think of the sheriff making money in that way? Does not the office pay enough with out grating? And was not that a clear case of holding up the conn panies? Did he not take advantage of those strenuous times to extort money from the companies? But what could price, as they needed deputy sheriffs to protect their pr6perty, and he only under the law, has the power to ap- point a deputy sheriff.
 Besides the large amount of money collected out of the companies. as be- fore stated. Sheriff Higdon will also get S6 for every arrest he or his depu- ties made during the strike, where the party was put in jail. and afterwards made bond. Where the party arrested was not locked up in Jail, he will get % TUT every 6EECSt. 4ho AOSb oAAoWS0 him are as follows: Two dollars for each arrest: $3 for locking the prison CT in the county jail; $1 for turning him out of jail. and an extra $l fee for Approving his bond. And I might here remark that these fees apply not only to arrests in the strike cases, but to all other arrests made by the sheriff. When the trial comes on, if the arrested party be convicted and sent to the penitentiary the sheriff gets his fees paid at once by the state. If the party is sentenced to hard labor for the county, he gets his fees paid as soon as the prisoner earns enough to settle the costs of the court. If on the other hand. the defendant is acquit- ted, he gets his fees just the same, and forfeiture fund. in which case payment is delayed for about one year or a little longer.
 '"The fact that the sheriffs fees are paid regardless of whether the defen- dant be guilty or innocent, convicted or acquitted, Is & strong incentive for him to make all the arrests that he can.
 "Knowing this. the public may judge for itself why many arrests are made on evidence insufficient to justify con- victions. Such cases, however, when brought into court, have to be tried at great expense to the county, or else mol pressed.
 HI. P. Heflin.
 Solicitor for Jefferson County"