The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-10-07
.STEGALL CASE IS
NOT YET SETTLED
Legal Fight May Continue To
The Supreme Court
POSITION OF JUDGE FIFE
Should New Gauger Be Sent to
Dade County the Fight Be-
tween the Courts Would
Begin Again.

Atlanta. October ESPECIAL 1.-The case
Of Ganger Charles E. Stegall, who was
sent To jail in Dade county by Judge
A. W. Fife of the superior court, because
he refused to testify concerning an al
legged liquor distillery operated there by
one Cureton, and who is now before Judge
w. T. Newman of the United States court
on writ OF habeas corpus, may yet de-
velop a casus belli between the state and
federal courts. if Judge Fite should at
tempt to carry out a threat recently
made.
If there is a distillery maintained in
Dade county the federal government will
have to send another gauger there to
take Stegalls place, Stegall having been
promoted to the position of deputy col
lector for his fidelity to duty much to the
disgust of Judge Fife, who comments on
the 'insolence of the negro collector"
1t would be a comparatively easy mat
ter for Judge Fite TO have this second
gauger arrested and likewise sent to jail
for contempt IN the event he refused to
answer the question as to what is manu-
featured in the aforesaid distillery.
Just what would happen in that event
is a question for interesting speculation
inasmuch as it is known that there was
a party of deputy marshals waiting here
in readiness to go to Dade county had not
Judge Fite recognized the federal courts
writ and, if possible, to bring back Ste
gall by force. If the party of deputies
&c uafd
have meant a little trip for troop of
cavalry from Fort Oglethorpe, Chicka-
manga Park, to whom descent on the
Dade county jail would have been in the
nature of a picnic
So If Judge F'ite should arrest the sec
ond gauger and adhere to his position this
is what may yet happen.
In the meantime the Stegall case will
come up before Judge Newman again this
week, and Attorney General Hart will
urge the states contention that Stegall
was subject to a rule for contempt for re-
fusing TO testify. There are indications,
however, that the court may hold the
other way and decide that Stegall cannot
be forced to testify in court to matters of
which he became cognizant only in the
course of his official duties. Possibly the
state will in that event, appeal to the SUI
preme court of the United States, and 1t
4 will make very pretty question for nnal
+ decision.
Lee viii Make Race.
Indications are becoming stronger that
it is the intention of Congressman GORDON
Lee of the Seventh congressional district
again to make the race, although he was
4 CT would
again be in the running.
But since Hon. G. r. Hutchens of Co
dartown, who was recently appointed on
the prison commission has gotten out OF
the way, it is reported that there is an
organized effort on the part of Congress
man Lees friends to keep him In the
race.
1t looks, therefore. IL the contest will
be between Lee, Judge Moses Wright OF
Rome who has long been recognized
candidate. and Hon. NJ. L. Johnson, rep
resentative from Barlow county, with pos
sibly a fourth entry-either former Solic-
itor General S. P. Maddox of Dalton or
Judge A. w. Fite of Gainesville.
It is not definitely settled that appoint
ment to the prison commission has taken
Mr. Hutchens out of the congressional sit
uation When asked about the matter he
merely said a lot of things could happen
In Six InOnlns, sIilHeu anu Spdleu Hc hau
nothing to say on the subject at the
present time.
No Cure for PeIIaera.
Atlanta physicians generally DO not give
any attention or credence to the report
published in connection with the case of
Mrs. Sarah Miller, who is said to have
been afflicted with an undoubted Gaze of
pellagra. but who is, apparently, much
improved and on the high road to recoy-
cry.
The physician in question has declined
to make public his method of treatment
or to discuss 1t on the ground of ethics,
though some physicians say that If he
has really been successful in the treat
ment of a case OF this disease, which is,
as yet, quite mysterious, the most ethical
thing he could do would be to tell the
world all about It.
Again, it is pointed out that there is
not infrequently either Improvement or
recovery in chrome cases of pellagra
which are almost as mysterious as the
disease itself.
Secretary Fl. F. Harris of the state
board of health Is making as thorough
and careful a study of the disease and
its treatment his opportunities will per-
nit 1t was he who diagnosed the first
case of pellagra In the SOUTH and he has
kept pace with the latest development
in the science of its treatment
The arsenic treatment is that most COM
monty accepted now In cases of pellagra,
but physicians here state that the great
est medical scientists of the world who
have devoted their utmost energies to the
subject, have as yet discovered no GER
fof a11ra