The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-11-17
DEMOCRATIC PRECEDENT BROKEN; BALL ELECTED
 CHAIRMAN NEW BOARD
(continued from Page Four)

| tGIdilC party IS IdClnR HQlTe peril, dS
 evidenced by the breaking of the solid
 south"
 He declared that all the opposition to one of the nominees, in his opinion, emana ted in the republican ranks and appealed to the new board not to con- demn MT. Gwin until the state auditors who were in Birmingham checking up
 the records of the county completed their work.
 At this point w. R. Cloe asked if all the men elected were not democrats, and MT. Allen replied that they had I teen elected as democratic nominees. Fl then told Mir. Cloe that he was not speaking to him, as he was retiring from the board, and his remarks were addressed to the new board. Thomas Smith stated that he had lived in Jefferson county all of his years and had passed through the re- construction period, which was most 1 trying in the south. He declared the young men of today did not kno3 V hat it meant to break the precedent | of the democrats which had taken 80 many years to build. He appealed to the members of the new board to elect Mir. Gwin chairman, as it had been the precedent since the establishment of | the board of revenue for the man re- cciying the majority of votes in the primary election to be mndo chairman. GWIN ; STATEN ENI Jerry Gwin. president of the retiring 1 board of revenue, yesterday made the fol- lowing statement:
 | Feeling that the public might have l curious interest at least in their own af- | fairs, the action today of a majority of | the board prompts me to make few re- | marks, hoping that the public will profit, and that the plans of the new board to | give their relatives and kinsmen impor- rf rcfa r.f dA d.. ing merit and efficiency. will not be car ried on in the face of a public forewarned. 1 Copeland tried to defeat me in the dem- ocratic primary for chairman of the board, failing in this effort by 40o0 votes. and suffered a bad scare, obtaining fourth place. He then inaugurated Contrary to democratic ethics and safe custon) campaign among new members to make l himself chairman. Finding this an impos- sible achievement he became the daily companion of the famous foreman of the grand jury
 Subsequently, he became frequent vis- itor at the county republican headquar- ters, alias the good government commit tee notwithstanding he had been fed ou, of the democratic trough for the past 3D years with lucrative positions). Reapng no harvest except defeat he finally con nived with certain members to elect hartman who remained obedient to dem ocratic principle and majority, and who continued to express his intentions to vote for the one who lead the ticket in the primary until he was tempted by Cope land bait.
 When this temptation was dangled be- fore him he weakened, wilted and suc- cunlbed Thus was selected a chairman whom I had assisted to make clerk of the board and who served in that ca- pacity with full charee of the methods of l IL T to observe and correct any irregularities or out-of date ways of doing things if any there were. Does vain ambition fur nish the motive for this conduct? Think and read on.
 CAN TT BE NEPOTISM? Copeland has son just recently ad- mitted to the bar. now in a law office in timately associated with Walter Brewer, iCopeland's candidate for county attorney,
 in the face of fast flying rumors that he and two others had intimated favoring | one (befors the primary not connected with Copeland's son. Can it be that ne- potism accounts for the failure to select me chairman?
 1 "Huey, another aspirant for chairman,
 who gave Copeland his fight for fourth place, who struggled in the fifth place
 on the official count a few votes ahead
 of Reed; Huey combined with his pollti- cal neighbor, Copeland. also sacrificing his wild ambition. Was this sacrifice l also made to Nepotsm?
 1 'Is 1t planned to make his brother,
 Fred Huey, physician at the jail? An other relative, Ed Wheeler, superintend- I ent of roads at s2,700 year? Is It
 planned to make his brother-in-law, Par
 ker, engineer in actual charge of road construction under L. H. Salter's title? Will nepotism (undue distinction. espe- cially in governmental patronage, in fa- vor of relatives) govern the county
 twill Cloe. former soap salesman.
 member of the board by appoiptment,
 recently defeated, Copeland's bosom
 crony, make dandy purchasing agent :! Opposed by Cloe and Huey, I urged
 the continuation of county road work
 to keep from losing for the people the state and federal road moneys, by this means getting S1, ,2000O0 from nation and state.
 Opposed to nepotism. knowing no greater evil in administration of people | trust during my public service nave resisted every appeal of relatives for ini- portant positions in the county upon the principle that merit instead of relation ship should be the chief qualification. will this policy prevail with the new
 board? -
 SERVICE AND GRATITUDE l "I owe many duties of service ana gratitude to the democrats who have l Loyalty believed in my honor and in- | tegrity in spite of foul islanders and pc ltical connivings These duties I shall Iendeavor to cheerfully and faithfully dis charge and I shall struggle to make leach dolalr of your money purchase its utmost
 .'When I can prevent the employment in places of favor of relatives Of the board members whose chief merit is profit for relatives I can and will do so.
 "Of hundreds of persons employed by the old board, a person who married ] niece of mine is working with road lgang. I have two nephews. one a chain man, the other transit man in the en- gineer's office, each in menial posi' ton: none in position of favor or au' thority I mention this as proof or my sincere opposition to nepotism.
 May we hope that private ambitiof
 will give way to public duty-that integ'
 lrity, energy, fitness and nonrelationshii
 will be the chief qualifications for serv
 iants of the new board-that harmon,
 will prevail and the roads that hav'
 been promised the people will be butl
 l I--..z.,soa apd that fhe welfare of thu