The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-01-01
Shrieking Whistles and CIang-
ing Bells Announce Happy
Birth of 1908
RESUME OF RlOTOUS YEAR.
WHICH HAS JUST CLOSED
Birmingham and in Fact All Alabama
Has Experiences Remarkable
Era of Bcke ;ny and
strife.


ham last night-at midnights hour.
THE King is dead! Long live the
King!" was the silent expression of thou
sands of hearts as thousands of shrill
throated whistles announced the death of
the aged 1907 and the happy birth of
the new 1908.
thousand bells rang out the old and
false, and rang in the young and true,
their heavy tongues changing unsteady
with a mingled dolefulness and joy
spreading the story of a death and a
simultaneous birth.
The man on the street. walking hastily
toward his waiting couch, checked his
pace at the first peal of the BELLS and
the first thrilling note of the whistles.
A keen sensation of sadness was ,..e
first that made itself felt Then a chill
thrilled itself along the spine-for the
moment was solemn, surcharged with
emotion In that moment the man thought
of the dead year, of the dead years
riotous history; of the new year, and
what it might bring to pass.
The celebration lasted for 15 minutes
From all directions came the whistling,
the ringing of the bell and the shouts
of the people and tn. poisterous CONVEX
sation that winged itself freely in the
early matin breezes.
Then there was a dead silence silence
accumulated by the ubiquitous noise of a
moment previous. The bells ceased their
clangor simultaneously As one, the
thousand whistles and the thousand
whistles echo died away, and all
was still. The man who had stood
with hat removed in honor of the late
and the new, readjusting his headpiece,
went on his way-carrying in his breast
nevertheless, even till he slept, an ap-
probation of the solemn moment.
Dead King a Riotous Ruler.
The dead king was a riotous ruler, and
the affairs of city, county and state, dur
ing his reign, were disordered People
madly, without careful premeditation
dashed among their fellows, carrying dis
turbance and distress. There was total
absence of peace, and the populace knew
nothing of what impended or was des-
tined to come to pass. Therefore, there
was a continuous uneasiness, an atmos-
phere of uncertainty, causing fear and
lack of confidence in this instance and
indignation in the next.
The City Council, throughout the year.
was in wrangle. Thinking the trou-
bles of many months sleeping, Mayor
Ward packing his collars and cuffs,
crossed the waters, and stayed abroad.
Returning, he found those things which
he had done undone; found himself and
his committees supplanted. The NUM-
cipal code bill had been adopted, and
Alderman Parker was the chosen pres
ident of the council. But the Mayor,
nevertheless, was full to the brim Of
fight, and when the night for regular
meeting came around forcibly elected
President Parker and again assumed
charge of the affairs of the city in every
department.
Then there came about the battle of the
courts, in which Mayor Ward was again
the loser This struggle, dragging It's
weary length through many months, Left
Birmingham torn and bleeding, and thor
oughly Ill at ease.
Police Commission Wrangle.
But the wrangling of the council was
not the sole disturbing element. There
were numerous other fusilades of grape
fired into the ranks of the people, max
ing them more unrestful and still less
confident
The first of these was the row of the
police commission. Mayor Ward fought
to have the commission elected by the
people busted from office, and with the
assistance of the legislature succeeded
Those elected resumed the battle in the
courts, and after a siege of several
months were restored to power. In the
meantime the chief had been suspended;
the department disturbed in its mind as to
which body to obey, fearing that the one
now dead would soon be alive, was UNI
settled in mind to such an extent that
the discharge of its duty was difficult
to pursue the even tenor of its way, a
manner impossible. This row, after dis
turbing with Its furious din for many
months, was not settled until last night,
the last night in fact of the bitter year.
Heaped on these momentous struggles
came a political agitation of the bitterest
class, in which capital was arrayed against
capital. labor against labor. and church
against church; one in which the old, old
question of church and state slashed
again with its keen tooth and tore leav-
Ing jagged. The result was a victory for
prohibition, and a death knell for the
regulated sale of whisky. The loss of
actual property, the disarrangement of
rents, the vacancy of storehouses, the de-
probation of merchandise and all the
other worries incident to new life added
to the distress, mental and physical, and
frightened confidence, essential and neces-
sary, to further and longer fights.
State Had Its Troubles.
The wrangles of the legislature and
the railroads disturbed the state, even as
the council chickering's gave Birmingham
a long period of unrest. The first SEES
sion of the legislature convened in early
spring, and adjourned for recess until
July. In these sessions laws reforming
the railroads as to rates. passenger and
freight, were enacted. The legislature
adjourned believing it had done what it
had so persistently attempted. But the
railroads, Immediately resorting to the
United States courts, tied up every law
concerning railroads. enacted by the gov
erning body Then Governor Conner called
his extraordinary session of the legisla-
ture and attempted in another direction
to make the laws binding. Again there