The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-11

The showing up of so many instances of fake, trivial and fool damage suits in. Birmingham during the last few months the publication of details of the whole degenerate structure" of the damage suit business-as it exists in this community today, has caused decided reaction against conditions which have been pre- vailng so long in the Jefferson county courts
 A number of radical changes are on foot 'behind the seenes;" tangible re- suits are coming to. light, although the campaign against the rotten conditions here has been in progress little less than six months. Ppblic sentiment Is now thor oughly aroused against. any and all fraud ulent and bolstered up claims, and, as As sociate Commissioner A. o. Lane has ob- served "an awakened public sentiment against this evil is the best means to ex- terminate it. The public needs. to be in formed as to the facts and fgures-that Is all that is necessary
 And the public Is being informed. A realization of the heavy odds against which the business interests of Birmng- ham are fighting has been driven home by the published facts. It is frequently said: "There is another side to all this business-knock the other side as we'll"
 The Judicial Point of View Both sides are being given in this Series of articles, viewpoints of many men. bus mess men, judges and attorneys. The fact of the existence of the disease itself, has been, however, the core of the dis cussion. How to eradicate that? There is the question. A man may have a game leg, a broken arm a cataract in his eye all sorts of sad things. Which is the ill to give first treatment to? The damage suit business here in Bir- mingham has all sorts of things the mat ter with it. Certain companies are just and humane in dealing with injured em- ployes; others are as likely as not to be unjust and inhuman. Some claim agents are fair and square, open and above board, and some are not. There are law yers in this district who are the very salt of the earth, and then again there are some so-called lawyers who are the scum of the earth. ksas4s Granted.
 The first evil to strike in this entire maze is obviously the fake and fool dam age suit, which, like an octupus, tangles and poisons every path.
 A plan was accordingly inaugurated to fight this particular evil in the public prints, thus in open field, with clean cut weapons, for the benefit of the public at large. It is no hap-hazard undertak- ing. but carefully and definitely out lined, with each article in the series. long or short, having a direct relationship to the preceding one, and to the plan as a whole.
 For instance resume of this outline dscloses the following particulars:
 The Ground Covered
 First, the opening introductory article, dated January 22, stated the problem as Birmingham has to deal with it. Statistics were given involving many weeks 1a- bor, having reference to practically all of the industrial mercantile, manufacturing, mining and transportation interests of this district This table showed 1195 out standing suits involving $11,57O 400 in No vember, 1910 in the city, circuit, Bessemer and United States courts of Jefferson county, were carried over into the new year.
 This was news to most people-an amaz- ing figure.
 Then followed survey of the field in specific detail; the publication of many columns of facts and figures which spoke for themselves.
 Long List of Companies
 complete list of the railroads and local concerns mentioned in this connec- tion is as follows:
 Atlanta Birmingham and Atlantic, Ala bama Great Southern, Birmingham Southern, Birmingham Belt Central of Georgia, Ensley Southern, Illinois Cen tral, Pullman company, Seaboard Air Line, Louisville and Nashville, Southern, St Louis and San Francisco railroad