The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-09-19

Bessemer, September 1S.-(Special )-The Bessemer public schools will open Mon day morning at s:4o. Entrance examlna- lions and examinations for those hay ing conditions to remove were held Fri day at the high school building, and the indications point to the largest attend- ance at the opening in the history of the schools. Since the close of the last session there have been several changes made in the personnel of the high school faculty and there will be a number of new teachers in the corps The new additions to the Clarendon avenue school and the Roberts. schools have not yet been completed, but suitable arrange ments have been made to accommodate the grades that will occupy the addi- tions. During the session of 1914-15 there were BOO pupils enrolled in the schools and the indications are that this num- Der will be largely increased this year.
 Interesting exercises will be held at each school at the opening hour and the patrons are invited to be present.
 Much interest Is being manifested in the outcome of the report of the Jeffer- son county grand jury which was handed to Judge Fort yesterday afternoon. and all day groups of business men and citi- zens could be seen everywhere on the streets discussing the matter. Whether the city council will take any action in the matter at its meeting Tuesday night is not known, but it Is highly probable that some of the charges made against the officials of the city will be investi- gated.
 Jack Williams, negro, was arrested this afternoon by Deputies M. F. Parker and George Howton and Detectives Mad dox Ross and Goodwin on a charge of attempting to hold up W. H. Moore, pay master at the chemical works below Old Jonesboro. According to Mir Moore, the negro had been discharged from the em- ployment of the company last week and this afternoon when he was driving out to the chemical works with the money for his pay roll the negro was hiding in ambush along the side of the road and as he came along ordered him to stop. Instead of doing as he was told he turned his horse around and came back to Bes- semer as fast as he could and notified the officers who went to the scene and arrested the negro in the woods short distance from where the attempted hold up took place. Williams was placed in the city jail where he will be held pend ing preliminary hearing.
 An explosion at No. furnace of the
 
 pany shortly before noon caused much excitement in this city, the heavy pail of smoke and the noise of the explosion making the citizens think that some seri- ous accident had happened. An investl- gation proved that very little damage had been done as the explosion was on the outside, and no one was injured, al- though the debris was thrown far and wide. The damage was very slight and no delay in the regular runs of the fur mace was caused.
 All of the Jewish stores in Bessemer have been closed today in observance of Tom Kippur, or the Day of Atone ment, which Is the holiest of all the Jew ish holidays The stores were closed yesterday afternoon at sundown and un- til sundown this evening the people of this faith neither eat any food or drink any water. A large number of Bessemer people attended church in Birmingham while there were services held at Temple