The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-10-27

suggestion that we legislate 1t out. The
legislature has been in session too much
now-we have too many laws. IN other
words too much technicality and loop
holes exist in the laws we have, and not
enough Thou shalt not steal" and six
days shalt thou work and on the seventh
rest"
These people that refuse to work have
several different names: some call them
"easy-getters." They get money easy
and get away with 1t. Some call them
slick ducks" The right name for them
is Migrants" of which we have more
than our share. In fact, we shelter
enough of them to terrorize the whole
city both day and night. There are at
least 25,000 mothers in this CITY, who
when dark comes, live In absolute fear
of this set, If their protector-the hus-
band or father--is late arriving home
They bar the windows, lock the doors and
listen for some 'vagrant' to break in any
minute. The time has come when we will
tolerate this no longer. We have all the
laws we want,
For the benefit of the people who do
not know. 1 give you below few SEN
tences of the laws on the statute books
of Alabama that apply to these easy
getters." This is part of vagrant
warrant:
Being over the age of 16 years did
wander or stroll about; did live in idle
ness; did lead an idle, immoral or profia-
gate life; did loaf. loiter or idle his time
away in city, town or village, upon a
public Highway, about railroad station,
or public place, or where Intoxicating
liquors were sold; or being without any
regular employment mot to work but one
day In the week, but 1 want to lay par
ticular stress upon the words regular
employmentD; was common drunkard
Tor that the said JONES' as the case might
be). being an able bodied person, was
found begging, or did abandon his wife,
child, or one OF them without just cause,
leaving them or either of them without
sufficient means of support in danger OF
becoming a public charge; or is keeper
or employe of a house of i'll fame; or is
keeper, proprietor or employe of a gamb-
ling house, being able to work, but hired
out his children or allowed them to be
hired OUT
There it Is in plain English-all the laws
you want. Being conservative, Birmlng-
ham has at least 5000 daily violators of
this statute, who are going to live some
way at the cost of the man who works
The city cut 2S men off the police force
the other day. That's all right No spe-
cial harm in that. Rid the town of these
vagrants and they can cut off three times
% and be great deal safer than they
are today, and you will not hear any
more about girls and young ladies' who
work downtown, being knocked in the
head and robbed in front of their own
door. or after they get off the car to go
home after dark.
RThe idea of city of Birminghams S
progressive assumptions tolerating such
actions is a little bit surprising. Right
here l do not want you to misconstrue
my attitude toward the rights of a citi-
zen. 1 believe in a man that works for
living spending his hours off duty as he
sees fit. If he works six days in a week
and wants to go fishing on Sunday, l say
fish! 1t is not my purpose to turn the
city hall into Sunday school tabernacle
for the Holy Rollers" If a man works
and makes money, provides for his FAM
lily and has money left, If he wants a
glass of beer, 1 say drink the glass of
beer. have no axe to grind and would
not have any office in the state so I am
at liberty to. say what please and speak
the truth and state the facts as they are.
7 know of what l speak: have followed
criminals for living. / got my expert
ence lying in the alley when the snow
was falling, waiting for a criminal to
show up, when the people who are read
ing this and those who propose legislat-
ing the matter out, were in bed asleep.
| do not like to take part in public issues,
but l do not consider this as such.
consider this vagrant allegation a next
door neighbor nuisance (as you would
term iD that behooves me to speak as
do
There is a remedy that can be applied
that will give relief Immediately. We
have an inferior court with hard labor
jurisdictions-we need the daily service
of this yagrant element out yonder on
the public highway. The women to wash
the overalls and cook, while the men use
the pick and shovel. Judge Abernethy
is one of the judges of this court; he has
stayed on the bench and listened to their
stories and heard them swear lies year
in and year out until he is one of the
greatest judges of vagrants that ever sat
on bench. He has absorbed this work
and has his first time yet to ever make
mistake and sentence the wrong man
or woman to a term of hard labor.
The City of Birmingham and society
(my reference to society being civiliza-
ton and well organized homes and fire.
sdes) demand at once that he, Judge
Abernethy, has at least six men to work
directly under his instructions to elm
mate this element These men are to
be taken off all other work and concen-
trate their time, energy and efforts to
the getting jobs of these people that
cannot find work. You cannot work a
man one day on a street crossing; the
next day at the state fair; another day
chasing a traiMobber, and another day
scouting five miles on bicycle and ac-
complish any special benefits whatever
from his time The day of Jack-of-all-
trades is over with. / have seen the
time out in the country when a man
could be doctor, justice of the peace
preacher and blacksmith for the whole
community. But not any more. The day
is too fast-too much gasoline and high
power. Today we have specialists, GRIM
inal lawyers civil lawyers, surgeons, who
do nothing else but use the knife, and
practitioners who do nothing else but
prescribe at the bedside of the sick. l
saw an account of where one young lady
wrote 125 words a minute correctly on
a typewriter for one hour. showing what
! can be accomplished when you specialize
on one class of work. L am giving this
| to show you that these men should be
| left alone to look after these vagrants
under the supervision of Judge Aber-
nethy. This system once instigated these
people will not wait to be sentenced to
hard labor, but will leave town on every
available means of transportation.
| l say this: In my opinion the chief of
| police, the sheriff, the solicitor. the pa
| trolmen, the constables and all concerned
have been doing the best they could |
am not censuring any of them-they have
| their hands full. We have a large ter
ritory here developed in short length
| OF time with SO many people and so
\ much money concentrated here in these
few years that we cannot apply the "old
| law" to them. By this mean to wait
! for an indictment from the grand Jury.
| the case to be docketed and set down for