The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-04-07
CULLMAN CASES
 AGAIN IN COURT Attorney General Only Gan
 ReStol 6 to Docket HE TRIBUNALS DECISION
1t Is Believed That Prohibition Law Will Have More Respect Now That 1t Is Held Good By the Supreme
 Court-No Extra Session.

Montgomery, April 6-(Special) 1.-The attorney general of the state is the only officer who can bring and legally pursue an action to have restored to the docket of the Cullman county court the more than 150 cases which Judge R. l. Burke mol pressed without the consent of the so- licitor. This Is the ruling of the supreme court
 When the local option bill went into eff feet Judge Burke thought it uneonstitu- | tional and issued licenses to sell liquors. The court held the laws good and many. indictments were returned. These indict- ments, coming up before Judge Burke, in the county court, were mol pressed by him. Effort was made in the circuit court to have them restored, on the ground that he was incompetent, having ex pressed opinion on the law. Failure fol- lowed the court holding that the attor- ney general Is the man to file the suit
 The supreme court has also ruled that the franchise tax act fought by the rail roads, is a property tax, not license, this being in the nature of a modification of recent ruling. J. Finley Howard, tried at Andalusia for killing man and given fifty years, Is denied a change of venue though allowed a new trial The right of J. s. Fowler to the office of circuit clerk at Decatur Is established, the court re- fusing to change it's ruling to the effect that he had a right to withdrawn his 1 resignation before 1t was acted upon. The 1 law establishing the fifteenth circuit is also sustained.
 l An injunction to prevent the commits i sioners of Limestone county from erect i ing a new court house to cost $96,O 900 is made permanent, on the ground that this
 debt would bring the total of the county past the constitutional limit. This was in l the face of the fact that the county had
 levied tax to pay the cost. the ground ] being new in the opinion written by MT. l Justice Denson. This is one of the most important cases for some time before the
 court.
 The papers on the sheriff of Mobile
 county, against whom impeachment pro-
 ceedings are brought, must be served by
 the coroner of the county, he being the | only man who by law can serve papers on
 a sheriff. The trial of Sheriff Cazalas will | be the first under a new law passed by
 the last session of the legislature to put 1 into execution the constitutional pro- vision.
 Outlook For Prohibition. The impression here is that there will be | a more general disposition to enforce the
 general prohibition laws, now that the su- preme court has held them to be in every
 way valid. It Is an open secret that there
 has been no real attempt to enforce the l law in Montgomery, Mobile or Birming-
 ham. However, it is said that now there l will be pressure put on so that officers
 will have to see to 1t that the laws are
 kept in much better way than they are | now.
 No Extra Session. 1 It is pretty well established that there
 will be no extra session of the legislature | soon, the validity of the prohibition bill making it unnecessary for action of this | kind to be taken, in the mind of the gov ernor. With the passing of the likelihood | of an extra sesison there will be an easy ! feeling among the business men, who had | begun to fear the effects of the meeting | that was to be called.
 Those Rate Cases. What will be the next move in the rate cases? This Is the question: It looks | as If the railroad commission may now | proceed to make rates and the railroads l have still the dight to enjoin them. though | the enjoining must be against the rates | after made, not against the making of them. The state may find itself in about as bad fix as ever the only thing being the right to do a little more litigating 1 The great winning is, however. the state ment that matters of this kind must be 1 fought out in the state courts before they are taken to the federal tribunals.