The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-10-27

oNefseef can De readily checked
 Convict Hire
 we ma that the revenue received from the old contracts amounted to over ss0. .ooo per annufn, whefeas under the present con tracts lhls amount has been reduced to apout sl9WO per aNnum The revenue de- rived from the hired convicts should be largely increased. Ne present price at which these convicts aAe hired Is entirely too small, and mat erialk affects the fine and forfeiture fund as WI as the so1ie
 tors fund. We are inforhed that when the present board came iho existence the time before the expirationNof the con tracts then existing was too Nmfted in which to advertise properly thoughout the state and place the convicts a4er re- ceiving unsatisfactory bids. It Nould l seem that this same condition will Aise at the expiration of the present contraas 1 as the present board, with the experienAa | of the past before them, has made ndl efforts so far as we can learn to effect new contracts to replace the ones expir- Ing December 31, 1912. We would recom- mend to the incoming board of revenue that if possible some arrangement be made whereby the contracts for con victs are made to expire several months after the induction into office of any new board of revenue. If no better contract can be made than the present one we
 
 women be used on the poor farm and the men on the county roads,
 Law Enforcement
 Use of public highway: We reeom-
 mend that the laws governing the use of public highways be more strictly observed especially as to the passing of vehicles
 Automobile speeding: We find ten- dercy te ignore the law relative to the speeding of automobiles Quite a num- ber of serious accidents have only re- gently occurred that would have been avoided had the laws been prop | erly enforced. We recommend that the | city officials cooperate with the coun- | ty officials in the strict enforcement of | these laws. Human life is considered | entirely too cheap; and we believe when the violators of these laws are convicted the sentences should be at | hard labor instead of fine. This evil in our opinion will never be corrected except through drastic measures Vagrancy: We recommend a more stringent enforcement of the vagrancy | law. A large amount of the crime committed in this county is caused by idleness. for which at tho present time | there Is no excuse.
 | Gambling houses and questionable resorts: Gambling houses are being operated in some of the prominent mer- | cantfle buildings and hotels owned by some of our we'll known citizens. Tho entrances to these gambling places arc arranged with such ingenuity and cum | ming as to render 1t almost impossible | to gain admission, apprehend and con- vict this lawless element. Many so- called hotels arc nothing more than houses of prostitution where gambling and the illicit sale of whisky are car l rled on almost without Interruption and often under the guise of the social club. To these hotels and rooming houses are taken young girls for the purpose of prostitution and in many | cases they are abandoned and become public charges or dependencies upon the charity of the good men and wom- en of this county. Under these condi- tions we are developing a white slave treffic In our county. We deplore this condition: and if the proceedings of this grand jury were permitted to be published 1t would make the owners of these buildings hide their faces and blush with shame. The crime is first upon the owners who wink at the oc- cupancy for sake of the income de- rived. We ask these questions: Is 1t right for the owners to rent their property as a market place for the sale of the virtue of innocent girls? Is it right to rent these places to gamblers where the youth and manhood of this community is debauched, disgraeed and dshonored? It is a felony to pre- init ones property to be used for such purposes; we condemn this and recom- mend that the owners be prosecuted along with the gamblers and the pros titutes who occupy these buildings for the reason that the real beneiiciaries of this traffic are the owners or their families These places have multiplied fIaaf fhaxr encroaching upon the residence section of our cities: and unless some move is made to check 1t the boundaries of tho so-called "red-1ight districts will have to be materially extended. The sheriff's office and the city police de- partment have done some good work, and we commend them for this; but so far the boast of the princely gambler seems to be true. namely, that the sheriff and his deputies and the scity police department are mere toys with which they amuse themselves as pastime between games on the green cloth and the whiz of the roulette wheel If the judges will impose hard labor sentences, rather than fines. this will materially eliminate these crimes.
 Burglary We cannot but deplore tho unprotected area both in county and city, inviting burglars 10 roam at will. The crime of burglary seems to be ever on the increase and many of us can not but feel our families and goods are unnecessarily at the risk of these vandals. This condition should receive the gres test consideration at the hands of the officers and the courts.
 HOmicides and Indiscriminate Shooting
 The large number of homicides in this county should be the cause of deep thought on the part of every law abiding citizen We believe the remedy largely Hes in a prompt trial and speedy conviction. It is true that un- der the present fee system our court dockets are badly crowded, necessarily causing long delays, but we hope wherever possible a speedy trial will always he given Certainty of punish ment without delay is the cure for crime.
 seems that the deputies, con- 'nbles and policemen are entirely too ready to shoot and frequently do not use the proper efforts to make arrests.
 Fee System Vs. Law Enforcement
 For some time past public sentiment has been rapidly crystalizing into well de- fined attitude of opposition to the so- called fee system" as method of com pensation for officials of this county, go much so that this relic of feudal times is now universally condemned except by it's votaries and retainers. It is not the purpose of this body to further accentu- ate the manifest folly of enriching a few officials at the expense of the county and its citizens; that in itself should be suf- ficient to justify it's earliest possible abolishment However. our investigations and observations as to the effects of the fee system on the machinery of our courts have revealed in some instances