The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-05-24
BOOKER TALKS ON
 TIE FEE SYSTEM
Points Out Evils Existing In
 County Affairs
TAXPAYERS BEAR BURDEN
Chief of Police Thinks Increased Jail Room Would Not Be Necessary if Fee System We're
 Abolished.


 ishing of the fee system there has been
 no solution suggested for the relieving
 of the burden upon the people, said Chief of Police George II. Bodelker last
 night If the fee system Is simply stopped in regard to paying the officials
 there will still be no relief for the peo-
 pie and it can only be secured by the
 cutting down of the cost fees collected.
 By all means do away with the fee l system, not only la the sheriff's office,
 but in every department of the govern
 ment-the city courts. circuit courts. pro-
 bate courts, justice of peace courts, cor l oner's office and others. If this is done 1 1t won't be necessary to erect sky
 scraper jail,I while reform homes for
 youths from Is years of age and up and l for first offense eonViets and for fallen l girls can be established instead with good
 surroundings.
 By placing the different offices on a
 salary basis you will find that just as l good if not better men may be secured. l l mean no offense to any of the men now
 holding fee offices. many of them being l warm friends of mine, but could any of l them earn the thousands of dollars they
 are now drawing from the county If they
 were in the straight business walks of l life2 Is 1t right that a small county l official should receive several times the l salary paid the governor of the state? 1 "Place the sheriff's office on a $500 l month salary. This would be exceptional 1 ly good pay and there are plenty of l good men in the county who could fill l the position we'll and who would be glad l to get It. Have the deputies on a stipu- l lated salary of not less than $100 per
 month and if he Is a good man pay him | even more. Good men could be secured l then. A much better man can be secured 1 for salary of from $1o0 to BPS per 1 month than from $50 to $9O. 1 Tt would also be found that the num- | Der of arrests would be greatly dimin- 1 ished. Trivial arrests would not then be l made Just to secure fees. Better men
 being secured at higher salary, It ] would be found that more judgment
 would be used in making arrests. The l law also says that an arrested person
 is entitled to bond. to be given without
 his going to jail if it can be made If | the person could make bond by going | to a place but short distance away | the deputy could go with him and get 1 1t without taking him to jail just for the
 extra $2 turnkey fee. It Is my honest
 opinion that but half the usual number | now confined in the county jail would
 be there with the fee system cut out
 ''Does 1t look right for the clerk of the
 court to receive anywhere from two to | | l highest salary paid judge is 5000. For
 each supoena issued the clerk receives 25
 cents, while the sheriff receives 25 cents
 for serving it. This Is all added to the
 costs, which must either be paid by the
 defendant or the county. By the time
 the costs are added up they amount to
 not less than $S7. .50 on the smallest fined
 cases. For instance, therea have been a
 number of cases where a negro who was | arrested for some small thing, and who
 was fined only $1, had this amount of
 costs against him. Then notice the hun
 dreds of cases in which the defendant is
 discharged, throwing all of this heavy cost on the county.
 }"One thing which I have always advo- | cated is to give the solicitor at least two good detectives, men of ability, who would 1 be paid not less than $125 per month. With | these two men great work could be ac- | eomplished by the solicitor, small cases | could be investigated quickly, and if of l no merit be thrown out at once without
 allowing them to clog the court records. 1 Mysterious cases could be investigated
 with a degree of success.
 l Take the great number of murders | which have been committed in the county | without the murderer ever having been ] captured because there was no proper fa-
 cility for the searching for evidence. Take
 for instance the murder of Mrs. Jane | Wilson at Morris Good detectives on this | could undoubtedly have secured evidence 1 leading toward the real murderer with B 1 few weeks hard work on the case As it I was an altogether innocent man was ar
 rested and the county put to quite an | amount of expense In the investigation 1 by the coroner.
 Instead of building a skyscraper jail l the present one would be found ample to 1 hold the prisoners with the fee system cut 1 out, and the $500,0o0 proposed to be used
 for this could be used In the building of l reforma tories. The Boys Industrial school :, at East Lake Is great institution and
 is badly in need of help. The school.
 however, only takes boys under 10 years l of age, and what we need is reforma- | tory for both white and black youths over l this age Place them in it. keep them
 there until they are 21 and teach them 1 trade while there.
 ."rhen, instead of placing the tirst-of- | fense men In the ward with hardened
 criminals and then In case of conviction l sending them to the coal mines, place | them in the reformatory home for fal l len girls from 15 to 20 years of age is
 also badly needed. This should be place
 of attractiveness, where the girls could
 be kindly treated and taught some meth 1 cd of making an honest living.
 "This Is not impossible. The half mill 1 lion dollars would go a long way In this 1 direction and would serve to decrease the | criminal element by making splendid cit | izens out of these persons.
 "The coroner's office should also be l placed on a salary basis. say $150 per l month. A good man could be secured at l this. Without casting any reflection on l the present coroner, during my 29 years 1 residence in Birmingham there has never 1 been a holder of this office who could l have earned $50 per month in another 1 business.
 System is also needed in the hand l ling of the work of the coroner In- yestigations should be held as near the 1 scene and early as possible. The coroner receives 25 cents for each per 1 son summoned, and in one case there were as many as GO witnesses. While one Killing occurred some 20 miles from l Birmingham the investigation was held l in Birmingham and all this number of l people brought here to attend 1t. The 1 defendant was not proven guilty and l the county had heavy expense to stand without any definite cleW as to the real
 murderer. The solicitors detectives could 1 have done good work in this case. 1 "Another thing which I don't think is 1 just is that the sheriff should receive l profit out of furnishing deputies for the 1 paid ss per day for them and only give 1 them s2 And I don't think 1t right for 1 these special deputies to be allowed to | perseeute one side, in case of strike. 1 The mine operators have a right to pro l tection of their property, but don't think ] 1t Is just for them to have to pay for l protection The miners also have right l to strike and I don't think it just for officers to order them off the highways