The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-02-26
BELIEVED AUSTIN ID SECURE DATA
 0N CONVICT SYSTEM
 JEFFERSON COUNTY
Is Now Engaged in Looking Over Books of Courts, Checking Up Costs and
 Forfeited Bonds

when II was ICdEUe0
 ham yesterday that former Chief
 of Police Connie W. Austin had re-
 turned from Montgomery bearing
 ''probing1 credentials from Govern
 or Kilby speculation was rife as
 to the particular object the gov
 ernor had in view in making this
 appointment, or selection.
 Mir Austin was a member of the po- lice force of Birmingham for a great many years, rising to the head of the department, and was known as an un- relenting foe of the illegal liquor traf- fic. He is said to have made moro raids and caused more arrests and pros cautions for violations of the prohibit tion law than any other police officer. which fact was a very good recom- mendation to place before chief ex- ecutive elected on a dry platform.
 Every since the result of the primary election was definitely known last Au- gust there have been we'll founded ru- mors that MT. Austin would be taken care of by the Kilby administration, and a few days ago the announcement was made that he would be the next chief fire inspector of the state. There will be no vacancy in this office for a few months, however, and until there is MT. Austin will have to wait
 CONVICT QUESTION ', Among some who are familiar with state politics and believe they have a fairly accurate Knowledge of admin istration workings at Montgomery it was suggested that MT. Austin's mission just now is not to discover any waste or extravaganza or other miSdoings on the part of the Jefferson county off, ficials, but that it had to do with the convict question.
 Governor Kilby, in his pre-primary platform and in his message to the leg islature, put himself squarely on record in favor of taking the state convicts out of the mines and working them on the roads, Legislation carrying out these views of the governor has been suggested and probably will come be- fore the legislature at the adjourned session in the summer.
 That naturally leads to this prop
 osition: The Jefferson county cOn-
 victs have been worked on the
 county roads for a number of years.
 Whether this policy has been eco
 nOmieal, or whether it has proved
 to be better for the county and the
 convicts than working them in the
 mines Is immaterial. Governor Kil-
 by, 1t is suggested, having this con-
 crete example before him, wants to
 know the result of Jefferson cOun-
 tvs departure from the state and
 county policy that had been in ex-
 fstence for many years. If 1t has
 been profitable, or if the change has
 worked to the benefit of the county
 or the cOnvicts; If it has im-
 proved the condition of the coun-
 tvs wards, and tended to make bet
 ter men of the unfOrtunates. or the
 criminals who pass over the way
 and are compelled to put in time for
 the county for their misdeeds; these
 are the questions that the gov
 ernor, it Is suggested, would like
 answered. If Jefferson county's
 experiment has met expectations
 and worked for better conditions,
 then it might be good thing for
 the state to follow suit.
 In the absence of anything authori- tative from the governor or any def mite and positive statement from MT. Austin, the truth of these suggestions or statements cannot be verified, but they, nevertheless, appeared to some of the local politicians as the most reas- enable explanation of MT. Austin's appointment and present activities.
 INVESTIGATES COURT BOOKS
 Mir. Austin, when asked for state ment yesterday, said:
 'I am now looking into the books of some of the courts in checking up costs and forfeited bonds. There are large amount of costs in the county that have never been paid and con- siderable amount of forfeited bonds un- collected which are due the state and which should be paid. What I find in my investigation will be reported to the attorney general
 There was some intimation that MT. Austin's investigation was preparatory to the probe made by the Legislative committee under the resolution intro duced by Representative Augustus Ben ners. If such is the case some of the Jefferson county members of the legislature-and the probing committee Is composed strictly of Jefferson coun-