The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-12-22
Conference May Be He'd h
 Montgomery In January
SOME COURT DECISIONS
City Cannot Pass Blanket Ordinance Prohibiting All offenses Prohibited By the State LaWs-Must Have
 Specific Code.
BY HERVEY w. LAIRD.

Montgomery. December 21.-tSpecial.)- A conference for the purpose of agreeing on an a1iti-amendment man for governor is practically certain to be held about the first week in January. Down this way the belief is that Charles Tender son will be run by his friends whether ONeal comes out or not.
 The followers of Charles Henderson are confident that he is strong enough to make his way even if there are others of his side of the family in the running. However. at the January meeting theIp is to be an effort to agree upon man to make the fight against H. s. D. Mallory, an amendment man, and Judge $. 4. Weakley, also on the side of the prohi- bition movement that lately failed
 The state executive committee will meet January 24 and 1t now appears that the primary will be called for August. This is the party law, and there is enough talk about it among men who have power to indicate that there will be no change from the platform. So it ap- pears that there will be an all-summer fight for the candidates. However, they are ready to go against 1t if the date will only soon be set.
 Gifts for Convicts.
 Some time tomorrow or Thursday Gov.
 
 tunate ones who will be let out of the penitentiaries and coal mines as Christ mas gifts. It is usual for the chief ex- ecutive to get together lot of deserv- ing ones at this season and give them release in time to get home to their families for Christmas. There has been the usual rush for places fin the list, and a great many will be disappointed along with the happy ones.
 Some Capitol Notes.
 Judge John Purifoy. who has been at work on the books of the Mobile county officers, says that his race for state treasurer is going along fine. J. A. Will kinson, commissioner of agriculture, and William Garner of Ozark, member of the legislature. are also offering for the place. The next man will receive 5000 a year, at which price it is one of the best offices in the state.
 The big crop of corn on an acre in Henry county that took the first prize in the state contest seems to have been grown on the site of an old house where chicken yards, hog pens and COW lots had been for many years. all of which accounts for it's great productiveness. It is by no means an average acre, thoush the state average in corn yield has been very much increased as result of the contests.
 Court Decision.
 The supreme court has ruled that a city cannot pass a blanket ordinance whereby it proposes to prohibit all the offenses | that state does and leave it at this. I There must be a specific code to be eff ! f1cient. The case grows out of the city of Birmingham against Fred Kraulhaus, 1 who Is said to have violated a state law and to have been taken up by the city un- 1 der an ordinance that undertakes to say , that any act against the laws of the state is against the laws of the city. For that reason the fine of s1S0 and 1So days laid ! to the accused must be held up and the l defendant discharged.
 The city of Birmingham Is not allowed to collect s1O0 Ca year license from the 1 Southern Express company for the reason l that the code sets it at S25o, and the 1 court holds that this is what 1t should | pay, the plea that the municipal code re- 1 peals this part being set aside. The city ! court judge of Birmingham held this way and is affirmed by the higher court, i though Justices Evans and Mcclellan dis 1 sent. It is held. however, that the license of 500 a year put on the Western Union | Telegraph company by the town of Troy ! ls legal, though & showing is made that this is within S37 of what it made in the 1 town, and the same thing is so in Talla- dega with regard to confirming the right of the town to tax the company. i The court finally adjourned today un- l til after the holiday recess, the next call 1 being that of the Seventh division on January 10. The cases put out Tuesday 1 were those upon which the divisions could not agree, and they had to go to the gen. eral conference, which accounts for so | many dissents. In the main the agree | ments are reached short of a. total. the | decisions being by majority votes The 1 points involved are, many of them new and troublesome and without precedent so that 1t was case of thrash them out With the whole bench at hand. This took up so much time the famous case of Seals, police commissioner of Birrring- ham, was not reached, and it cannot be 1 discovered until after Christmas whether or not Mir. Seals is rightfully sitting as commissioner in the Magic City