The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-10
GREAT INTEREST.
 IN NEW RAILROAD New Line Across Baldwin
 Into Pensacola GOOD TRAIN SERVICE Oates Confers With Officials Relative to Condition of County Charity Institutions-Serva Ques-
 ton Bothers Ladies
GOOD TRAIN SERVICE

Mobile. March Special )-Great railway across Baldwin county. to be operated by electricity or gasoline, be- tween Fairhope and Pensacola, and the information that this line will be eom- pleted at an early date is received with satisfaction by the people who will be benefited. Chief Engineer Procter, for merly with the Big Four railroad, is at the head of, or at least representa- tive of the syndicate, that proposes to construct the line, and work upon the preliminary.survey has already been be- gun. s
 The development of Baldwin county has been wonderful during the past year or two and there is d demand for transportation facilities. both to Mobile and to Pensacola, both of which offer good markets for products of every de- scription
 An interesting conference was held today between the almshouse commit tee and the board of road and revenue commissioners and State Prison Inspec- tor Dr. W. H. Oates, relative to the condition of the county eleemosynary
 
 ing of the board, characterized the poor house as a disgrace to the county and urged immediate and adequate repairs. He stated that under present condi- tions the inmates were living in state of practical Restitution.
 The conference today was for the purpose of thoroughly discussing the matter and it is believed that, as a re- suit, immediate improvements will be made. The county pesthouse also came in for share of criticism, but inn provements at this institution cannot be made until it Is free of inmates. The announcement has been made that. commencing with the opening Of the summer excursion season, the Mo bile and Ohio will in connection with the Alabama Great Southern, operate through parlor car service between Bir- mingham and the resorts in the south ern portion of Mobile county Golden and Bayou la Batre. The statement is made that the companies will make an et fort to divert summer travel from the Atlantic seaboard to the resorts of the gulf coast and that, with this end in view, through schedules will be ar ranged
 The constitutionality of the Alabama oyster law was the bone of contention in an action that has just been decided against the Alabama osyster commits sion by Judge Semmes in the-city court. The case was that against Joseph Parker, convicted in the inferior crim- inal court on the charge of failing 10 pay the cents per barrel tax imposed by the state legislature. Tke court sus- tained the demurrer of attorneys for MT Parker, holding that the law mere ly levied a tax of 3 cents per barrel lon .01A In, l,fp a,ta the legislature had attempted to make the failure to pay such tax a criminal offense the act was unconstitutional, because if the accused did not pay and thereby rendered himself liable to inn prisonment should he not pay the fine imposed, he would be imprisoned for debt. The court also expressed the opinion that failure 10 pay the tax was not a criminal offense, but over ruled the demurrer in this regard ne cause of the fact that the state would have no right to appeal unless upon lconstitutional question. The case will be taken to the state supreme court.
 The ladies of Mobile are up in arms over the servant problem and during the week two meetings have been held at which this question has been thor oughly discussed in all it's aspects The trouble seems to lie in the practical impossbility of getting reliable help, and a result of the meetings employ ment bureaus vii be maintained by the ministers of colored churches, who will undertake to supply those in need of domestics.
 Another question which injected it. self into the discussion was the basket brigade"-the alleged practice of sery- ants of carrying off everything left upon the tables of their employers. Ii was the consensus of opinion that a servant should not supply relatives with food at the expense of the employer, and as result the practice will have to be discontinued. There is some talk of importing domestics from Mexico unless some adjustment of the trouble is reached without delay