The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-04-28

4 all public notices made by civil Off
GERS should be printed alone in the Sc
lect papers. The governor under the
act might select a newspaper of Mobile
to publish the legal notices of Blount
county, for example. The object was
10 force the patronage of the county
| legal notices into the building up and
support of a republican party press
This ingenious attempt at oppression
was broken up by an act repeating the
| original law
| The habit of carpetbagger and scala
vag holders of county offices to abuse
the duty of making valid official bonds
| had exerted a baneful effect upon the
efficiency of those officers. For example
Woolfe, carpetbagger tax assessor OF
Montgomery county, had for surety on
his official bond Pat Robinson, scala
wag tax collector for the same county,
while Robnsons bond was not moro
respectable. In so low repute were the
county officers generally that they were
| compelled to seek sureties on their Of
ficial bonds in remote parts of the state
among partisans, federal officeholders
and the like. The legislature prompt
| ly required all official bonds TO be made
III the county Of the residence of the
bonded officers. This was far-reach-
| Ing reform. The effect was to purge
the offices of irresponsible tenants A
case in evidence came UP in Marengo
| county. w. b. Jones. the notorious seal
awag disturber, was elected Novemb er.
1874, probate judge. He could not make
tile necessary bond and lost the of.
| flee to his democratic competitor at
the polls, who received the appoint
r1ent of Governor Houston.
1t had been the habit of the car
pctbaggers to hold more than one office
at time. A deputy warden of the
lpenitentiary, drawing his full salary.
obtained the appointment of doorkeeper
| of one of the branches of the legis-
| lature on the full salary. The car
| petbagger sheriff of Wilcox county was
| a senator from that county and a mem
Der of the faculty of the university of
| the state at the same time. The pro :
| bate judge of Choctaw county held an
office in the custom house at Mobile.
BY act of the Legislature the incumbent
Of one office became thus ineligible to
another
! An act was approved by Governor
Smith on October 10. 1868, authorized
three persons, W. w. Boyd, Charles
d. jackson and George w. Parrott. to
| open statewide lottery Connected
with premiums and prizes to the cit
liens of Alabama for "the best essays
in science and art and the most deserv-
ing works of art and the most use.
ful inventions in the mechanical
sciences" The condition precedent to
opening the lottery was the payment
''y the managers of $1,000 into the ed
rcational fund of the state and the
| same sum annually. The act was not
now repealed but the general revenue
law enacted that every agent of the
concern should pay a tax of $4,000 for
| the privilege.
The reform upon which the general
system depended was in the amended
election law. EligibIes must register
and vote in the beat where they live.
Each man presenting himself for re g
lstration must be known, at least by
reputation to the register. The regis
tration lists must be deposited with
the probate judge and be held open to
public examination at all times More
over the probate Judge must supply a
certified copy to any citizen on de-
mand. Any bystander might challenge
voter, thus charging the right from
the previous control OF board OF
partisan challengers. Up to the pass
nge of the new law 1t had been the
practice of the radical managers to
print some plain sign at the head of
tthe ballot of their party to be readily
understood by illiterates The same
| party sign came in course of time To
appear on the democratic ballots to the
confusion of the inventor A desper.
ste effort was now made in the legis-
| lature to make felony of the trick.
The toll and the art of substituting q
sound and wholesome laws upon which
the virtuous energies OF the people
might rebuild their industrial and So
cial structures We're wisely directed.
Without the toll and the art irrepara bl @
ignomy and dry rot must have been our
doom.
JOHN WITHERsPOoN DuBoSE.