The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-10-05
Board of Revenue to Be
Asked to Remove 1t From
Business District
NUMBER OF PLANS
ARE SUGGESTED
Matter Will Be Considered at Meeting
of Board of Directors of Chamber
of Commerce Wednesday.
Many Interested
BY CLYDE w. ENNIS

BY CLYDE w. ENNIS
A plan to persuade the board of revenue
in some way to remove the county jail
from its present location to a point out
side the business center Of Birmingham
will be considered at a meeting of the
directors OF the Chamber of Commerce
next Wednesday. That announcement
was made yesterday by three or -four
directors who are interested in removing
the "carbuncle" from Twenty-first street
What action will be considered has not
been announced. but it is possible that a
plan will be figured out by which the
county need not spend more than sSo,oot
solving the whole problem and perhaps
not that much. A score of persons whose
property interests on Twenty-trst street
are large are heartily In favor of re-
moving the jail and many who do not
own property have indorsed the idea II
is stated that the owners of property on
Twenty-frst street who have from time
10 time considered means of improving
that street are going to participate in the
fight on the present location of the jail
Could Sell Lot
II Will be suggested, It is rumored. thai
the county may sell the lot whereon the
jail is now located for twice as mucl
money, perhaps as would be required tc
build a new Jail after acquiring suitable
space elsewhere. 1t is stated that be-
tween the Frisco railroad tracks north OF
Eighth avenue there is a space which Is
no possible use except as coal yards and
warehouses which may be acquired by
the county at a nominal cost. 1t Is
+ further asserted that a space almost as
large as the city jail grounds could pe
secured for about $4,000 A brand new
Jail could be bulit at a nominal cost and
the Increased taxable values ~ land on
Twenty-first street and FolEth avenue
and in that vicinity would bound upward
In the past when futile efforts were
made to cause the jail's removal the bono
issue was injected into it. Failure al
ways resulted. Now it is planned tc
finance the scheme without any bond is
sues or in just the same way that the
annex to the courthouse was financed
The reason for the beginning of this a9
itation, according to those interested
comes from the recent suggestion of DR.
w II. Oates, state prison inspector, thai
the jail must be improved He suggested
building two more stories TO the present
TAIL That idea has attracted the mos
raustic condemnation, for it is asserted
the Jail is bad enough as it now loomi
up. and to add to such an unsightly ant
Objectionable structure would be eX-
sremely undesirable. 1t is pointed on
that the county could. if SO desired, de
ftrov the buildings on the present site
retain the land for future courthouse pur
poses. or sell the lot and finance the nev
scheme.
Harding Favors Removal
such a plan, ii is believed, will receiv
favorable consideration at the hands o
the Chamber of Commerce directors
President w. p. G. Harding of the Cham
her of Commerce is heartily in favor o
removing the county Jail. He Will, it Il
expected. make some statement within
the next few days or perhaps after th'
Chamber of Commerce committee take!
action 1t is understood that he vii
head the delegation of influential and rep
resentative men to so before the boart
of revenue and ask for some action look
ing to the removal of the jail from Thu
business district.
In addition to Mr.. Harding, other mer
equally as influential are strongly in favol
of some action of this kind. Everyone
to whom the proposition has been sug
gested is very enthusiastic. The asser
tion is made that the present members
of the board of revenue are men of civit
pride as we'll as good business men ant
that they can see how futile it will bt
to retain the jail on its present site ano
how progressive its removal would be. Il
is believed that they viii take view
something like the Chamber Of Commerce
and that the "carbuncle" will be de-
stroyed effectively.
AT this time there is every argument
against retaining the Jail where it is now
Since the bond issue was defeated for q
new courthouse and Jail, there has beer
phenomenal changes Twenty-f1rs
street The improvements on that artery
OF traffic and nearby have been remark
able. Realty values. however in the vi
cinity have been held In check simply
on account of n Jail built when Brming
ham was about the size of Silver Creek
Ga. The jail was far enough removed
at that time but as the years passed
Birmingham, as Is obvious, grew consid
erably. The city was forced to remove itl
Southside Jail and build modern struc
ture for city criminals. The county jai
IS as bad II not worse that the old city
Jail on Avenue Il near Twentieth street.
Not Result of Selfishness
Few Birmingham men own more thai
one or two lots on Twenty-first street
SO the desire to remove the Jail canno
be charged to the selflshness of any Sc
of men or group of property owners
There is everything to be gained, it i
asserted, in removing the jail, and moth
ing to lose for the jail cannot serve tn
county there any better than elsewhere
whereas If removed there Will be no harm
done.
II is believed that the present time i
ripe for the agitation to remove tn
jail At this time when Birmingham i
afire with contagious enthusiasm and op
timism, when year is about to be round
ed out filled with remarkable achieve
inent, it is believed that there could b
no more fitting finale than the remoya
of that building which DIR. John w. Stag
long and appropriately referred to a
the 'carbuncle.