The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-10-21
Chance Now Has Small Chance To Win Worlds Flag

| in this district. The position taken by 1 Chief Bodeker is in line with our idea, except that I do not think the arrests for vagrancy should be classed among | the frivolous. l believe that the failure to make the colored man fill some posi- tion, under the theory that an idle brain is the devils workshop" gets him into more trouble than anything else, and if our municipal departments would see I that loafers were given. to understand that they had to go to work it would l fill many of the places now vacant. l attach hereto an editorial from The Age Herald, which you have probably already seen.
 l" T shall be glad to cooperate with you fully in all of these matters with a view of correcting abuses that are doing great injury to the Birmingham district. Yours l truly
 Causes for Labor Scarcity
 l" The causes of scarcity of labor in this district are numerous.
 I. Natural trifingness of the negro.
 2. Negro laborers are continually be- ing annoyed by officers of the law in- yading the mines and furnace camls, night after night, looking for craps shooters, and those who are not arrest ed are demorallzed through fear; con- sequently they work very irregularly. This evil can be modified only by the abo- lition of the fee system.
 "'S. Negroes allowed to loaf throughout this district and especially in the cities The remedy for this Is for the county and city officials to enforce the vagrancy law, which they can do by spending only one-hundredth part as much energy as is spent In hunting down craps shooters. Should the vagrancy L IL. seek employment, which would insure better results at the mines, furnaces and other industries, and materially in- crease or swell the pay rolls throughout the district. thus benefiting every mer- chant, lawyer, doctor, school teacher, etc. In the entire district
 "4. Negroes are disturbed by being garnisheed for road tax. This evil can be improved by the operators assisting in collecting road tax and see to it that road tax is not assessed against employees who are not subject to road duty.
 5. Men within age of road duty, nov ing into the state and county after April 1, should be exempt from road duty or tax for six months or one year, because the chances are they paid taxes or per- formed road duty in the state or county from whence they came.
 "'6 Every operator should see to it,
 
 not imposed on by insignificant con- stables and deputy sheriffs.'
 Fee System Greatest Evil
 'It will be seen from these letters and we who have made some investigation on the subject are convinced, that the fee system Is the greatest evil we have to contend with. We see in our papers every few days an account of a raid on craps shooters, and 1t is not uncommon for enough men to be arrested at one plant to disorganize the working forces of that plant for days. to follow
 Not until recent years have I known of sheriffs force being organized into a detective agency to hunt down men who are possibly guilty of some trivial misdemeanor such as craps shooting somewhere off in the woods.
 This town cannot grow without more labor. If conditions prevail that demor- alize labor and cause them to leave here, giving good Birmingham bad nmae, then this chamber should lead in creat- ing a public sentiment to correct these abuses.
 ''The chamber cannot engage In a more beneficial undertaking than to organize an active campaign against the fee sys- tem-the abuses of this iniquitous sys- tenn which opens up rich field for graft In Its worse form and expresses the weak
 
 in Jefferson county than any other coun- ty in the state. but to what extent know not, though I have heard much. Pos sibly in many counties there Is no abuse of the system, which makes it the more difficult to repeal or modify by legisla- tive enactment. Those who suffer most should, therefore, work the harder to bring about a reform. I believe every member of the next legislature from Jefferson will do his best to pass such laws as will bring about the desired change; but you have heard of the pow erful compact known as the Sheriffs and Clerks association. Provided with plenty of money to employ the ablest lawyers and lobbyists, makes 1t a formidable power to go against. Public sentiment only can do the work, and it is for this chamber to mould that public sentiment. Will you do 1t? I say organize and make such a fight as was made for Greater Birmingham and the victory will be won.
 Advocating Non-Enforcement
 NO one better understands than I do the danger of advocating the non-en- forcement of law or any particular laws. Some strong prohibitionist who knows that I am averse to the prohibition laws may conclude that T have in mind the creation of a public sentiment against the enforcement of the liquor laws. This
 
 to that proposition take occasion to say thatlI agree with the strong prohibition ist who first mentioned this subject of demoralzed and scarcity of labor to me that it is much less injury to the dis trlct to lock up a man who Is running blind tiger than 1t Is to raid a min ing camp capture bunch of craps shoot ters or card players. and thus disorganize the working of that plant for several days.
 Do not understand me as wanting to dodge the liquor question. All I have to say on that subject is "'Tis pity that public sentiment will not enforce prohibition laws" "There's the rub Sentiment on this question is too even ly divided in large cities and that is why I have always said that prohibition would be a failure in Birmingham. But 1t is not my intention to discuss the liquor question here, and my reference to 1t is merely to show that l am not calling on this chamber to express sentiment against the enforcement of the prohibition laws What I do want and suggest is for the chamber to investi- gate whether or not laboring people are leaving this district. and If so. what Is the cause of dissatisfaction. If the fee system is at the bottom of 1t, find 1t out, say so, and lend your influence to- ward it's abolshment.
 ''Tf 1t is true that working people are leaving here. then there must be req son other than natural conditions, for we understand they receive the same scale of wages paid at all the plants of the United States Steel corporation. We know that we have a lovely climate, good water, fertile soil, rich minerals, etc
 "If we are to have a population of