The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-02
CAREER MAKES
 RECOMMENDATIONS The Immigrant Law Should Be
 Repealed UNWRITTEN LAW ABUSE Alabama Has no Adequate Trust Laws and Recommends Laws Similar
 to Federal Antitrust

g portant recommendations are made in the biennial report of Col. A. M. Garber, state attorney general, which was re- leased for publication Monday morning. The list in full follows:
 l. Section 6S55 of the code should be re- pealed. This section was enacted in 1867 and has been carried forward in every code since that date It attempts to pun ish an immigrant for leaving the services of an employer without repaying pas sage money and other advances. Fraud Is not made an element of the offense and the statute is clearly unconstitutional and an attempt to imprison for debt, as well as being violative of the present federal immigration acts, and the thir- the United States. The reports made 10 his office do no show that any prosecu- ton has ever been instituted for a viola ton of this statute; but the fact of it's presence in the code has subjected the state to the severest criticism, and may have, and probably has already had, serious effect in preventing immigrants
 
 now, and has been for many years, the policy of the state to invite immigration from other states as we'll as from foreign countries.
 2. A statute should be passed providing that where defendant, indicted for mur- der In the first degree, has been convicted of a lower degree of homicide, and the Judgment of conviction reversed by the supreme court, he shall be placed upon trial as in the first instance, for the highest degree of murder charged in the indictment. The purpose of this sugges- tion is to abolish that rule of decision, that a conviction of lower degree of homicide than that charged in the indict- ment is an acquittal of the higher degrees. A law of this character in Missouri was held constitutional by the supreme court of the United States in Kring vs. Mo-, 107 U. S. 221.
 3. For number of years the attorney generals report has contained the recom- mendation that burglary in the nighttime be made a capital felony. I also sub init this recommendation in the hope that the legislature will take some action thereon, and at least provide for higher punishment for this offense.
 4. Subdivision of section 635 of the code should be amended so as to require the attorney general to make his report to the governor in the month of December of each even numbered year, thereby giving him the opportunity to report at the close of his term of office
 B.. The act of February oS, 1907. (Gen. Acts 107, p. 1857 creating the railroad com mission, provided by section 36 ct seq for an appeal from all orders of the com mission. The act of November 23, 1907, Special Acts 1907, D. 5O repealed The sec tions of the act of February 2S, 19 pro- viding for such appeals, and by the act of November 23, 1907 Special Acts 1907, D. 49) substituted system of appeals only from orders of the commission affecting rates. This last act was amended by the act of August 19, 1909 Special Acts 1909, D 9e); but in both of the acts last referred to no provision was made for appeals from orders of the commission other than orders affecting rates The statute should be amended by providing for an appeal from all orders of the commission whether they affect rates or otherwise. In suits now pending involving orders of the com mission providing for the building of the railroad companies that such orders are void because the law affords the rail- road companies no opportunity to appeal directly to the courts from such orders and while am inclined to think that the point is not well taken, yet the question may easily be removed by extending the present statutes to meet all cases.
 G. Under the statute, the state officials are protected when following the opinion of the attorney general. These opinions cover a period of many years, and em- brace a great variety of questions, many of which are constantly recurring. Many points decided have never been presented to the supreme court for adjudication. Al present these opinions are of little practical value as precedents for the guid- ance of heads of state departments, as most of the reports of the attorney gen eral in which they are printed have not been preserved. It is difficult at present to obtain a complete set of these reports. I recommend the publication of all offi- cial opinions of former attorneys general, under the supervision of the attorney general. in a volume of the size and style of the Alabama reports and in such num- Der as may be deemed advisable.
 '. This Is the era in criminology "when justice has come to be seasoned with mercy and humanity" and I am in ac- cord with the high-mnded effort to keep pace with an advanced civilization, which has resulted in our present pro- insane. Yet, am one of those who hold the opinion that the present practice of submitting the special plea of not guilty, and trying both at the same time, has been failure oftener than a success in accomplishing the humane purposes of the framers of this system. It is now perverted frequently from its true use into an instrument of defense in class of homicides never contemplated. Tech nically, evidence on the issue of insan- ity should not be considered by the jury in passing on the issue of guilt vel non. AS a rule, the special plea is supported of operation or relevancy under the gen cral issue, and only serves to confuse the minds of the jury in reaching "a verdict under this latter plea. It is absolutely impossible to expect a jury, as a human agency in the administration of the crim- inal law, to separate the facts adduced under each separate plea, yet the law re- quires this impossibility at the hands of the jury. Thus, the special plea of insan- ffvy Nft . c1 T0r kI~