The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-01-11
LETTERS TO EDITOR
Salaries for Constables

To the Editor of The Age Herald.
 After the publication of my letter 10 you. appearing in Wednesday morn- ings paper. on--January s. I had scores of people to hail me on the street tell
 ing me that the people were unit in the demands to put each constable in the city of Birmingham on salary that Athe only persons who favored the fee system for constables were those interested in filling their pockets by the damnable fee system.
 This oppression of the poor by eS- ploitation, stirring up strife and n encouraging crossfiring in making ar rest. has become such a palpable out rage that some of the constables them- selves see the growing evil and favor salary.
 To get at the true feeling of the pub lie I intend to circulate two petitions, one against the fee system and the other in favor of it. expect to pub fish at my own expense, if necessary, those who favor the fee system and those who oppose it.
 Nearly every state in this republic has discarded this pernicious legal bar parity of filling officers pockets from the erring poor.
 The poor and the ignorant and the criminally inclined we will have With us always but the laws of heaven the good of society and the wellbeiis of the poor and the betterment of the criminally inclined tell us never to put 1t in the power of an official to reap profits in his office by oppress- ing the poor. by melting the ignorant to swear out warrants of arrest. or by piling up fees on criminals. merely 70 make more plethoric the purse of fat lNI t~~1 ,v.I ar1d dt,f N tell us the criminal should suffer for his violation of the law. yet the en- frightened conscience of no man says that right or just or duty make the rich official richer by making the poor criminal poorer-rob him of his good name at hard labor with the dis graceful stripes on his body and the steps with vile chains that make a man villianous because he is too poor to pay an officers costs
 This is the law of the proud state of Alabama. The sooner this law is repealed the better for the conscience. etricken official who receipts for such debasing profits coined out of human woe. lest his once proud soul shrivel at his gluttonous greed for gain, and he (the officiaD becomes more a best ial ingrate than the wrongly oppressed prisoner Let the law punish for wrong but never for pay for profit to an officer. It is degrading and dis graceful-degrading to the officer who Is not conscience-stricken at put ting such filthy lucre in his pocket. too often piled up at his uggestion-dis- graceful to the state for allowing such law on her code of laws.
 Colorado ennobles her wrongdoers Men sentenced for life imprisonment for heinous depravity are being made better by putting them on their honor free of stripes and shackles and ball and chain. free to discharge their duty to prison life with conscious growth in the power to live orderly while Alabama says. virtually: 'T know no such freedom to human beings, in such leniency for an erring man. I will imprison him and pile infamy upon his despicable soul. even to pay con stables costs though my law robs him of every element of reform and all pride of character. I will drown one human creature caught in the clutches of my law. thoneh poor and penniless, to pay my suited officials, some oi whom chnckle in the outrage. catching he innocept citizans they have had led into crime in crap games. etc P. LICITTE. Birmingham. Ala. January 10, 1919