The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-06-22
CONNECTS ON ROADS INDORSED IN REPORT
 OF THE GRAND JURY
Continued from Page Five)

(COntinued from Page Ffve) fieient work out of the employed force in Keeping the courthouse clean.
 Public Accounts and Documents
 'The code of Alabama requires the grand jury to examine the condition or the county treasury, and the bonds or the county officials with regard to their cor rectness and suffciency and to report pon the same; to inquire into the sheriff s accounts for feeding prisoners; to ex- anime the fee books of the probate judge; to examine the books and papers Of the co unty superintendent of education. All of this We beg to report that we have not done, owing to the fact that 1t would take quite q long time to do It. In the first place, and. in the second place, we gre not competent auditors ana appraisers of carry on this work. It our under standing that this work Is dcne by em- spioyed auditors
 Payment of witnesses
 'The grand jury would earnestly rec cmmend that law be enacted whereDy witnesses who are summoned to appear in criminal cases be paid in cash, for It undoubtedly works a hardship upon the DC or class of people who are required to come A distance to testify and are paid in scrip which practically has no cash value Gambling
 eve have investigated the gambling lccaditions of the city, and 10 the best 1 of our knowledge there Is Tess open gambling here than at any other time in'the citys history.
 we are glad to state further that after three months of service on the grand jury and close observation of conditions public sentiment in this county is rapidly changing to moro law abiding and law-enforcing common Vealth.
 Solicitors Office
 We cannot speak in high enough terms of Solicitor Black and his assist . ants in the businesslke way in which they go about their duties; and we pre- Gict that with their desire for law en- forcement and their true belief in their oath of office, it will not be long be- fore the criminal element of this coun- t, will be subdued or forced to leave to parts unknown.
 The business men of this county should rise to the support of this young. energetic corps of workers, and lend every effort possible to obtain con yictions in all cases where the evidence warrant such.
 Consolidation of Courts
  opposed to the reduction of the number os judges who now preside in the crimi- nal court. The fact that there have been three judges for several months ms enabled the solicitor and the presiding judges to reduce the number of prison : CTS in the county jail to 1S7 from iSo during the same period last year. wEich represents a saving of about $90O pc: month in the feed bill for prisoners alone. In addition to this, number of bond cases have been materially re- duced. We therefore. earnestly insist that the legislature make provision for the continuation of three judges in the criminal court at least until such time as will give to the state and the men charged with criminal offenses the privilege of immediate trial in all eases. X sufficient number of courts to try the cases, guarantees economy and in- sures the proper administration of jus stice. Speedy trials being the right of both the state and defendant Adequate provision should be made for the en- | forcement of this right. We therefore believe the three divisions of the crimi- nal court at the present time to be an imperative necessity.
 ! Tn answer to a criticism made by one of the citizens of this county. will state | for his and others benefit who are {, la boring under the same impression that the grand jury only draw pay for the days that they are actually in service, and not for the full time in which they are subject to service. We have been in session al days less than the last