The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-01-29
By D. G. TINsLEY

Jefferson county's political bee hive, dormant for nearly two years,
 has begun to hum again. Candidates
 anxious to serve the people and the
 party are swarming to the front or
 are being pushed there by their friends.
 The buzz of activity, either person.
 ally or by proxy, in anticipation of
 the plums to be distributed in the
 shape of county offices when the bal lots are counted at the democratic primary next August are causing
 some of the bolder ones receptive to
 the call of public office to come for
 ward with formal declarations even
 this early in the game.
 Others more wary are sending out soundings in the form of friends who
 listen much and say little while gauging the probable strength their
 favorite sons will muster if enlisted
 in the fray.
 With the rule promulgated by the state democratic executive committee
 recently that all formal declarations
 of candidacy must be made by April
 1, that date is expected to see about " tiihCS Ao ihaiy as tANA are offices to be filled.
 Who will be who when the ballots August ' are counted is impossible to
 estimate at this long distance from
 the firing line. Who will attempt to
 be who Is almost as impossible, though guesses of anybody is as good
 as those of anybody else.
 Many Offices to Be Filled Whatever the result may be there are B large number of offices to be filled and this means, according to democratic and other precedents, a large number of candidates. When the people have sighed through
 summer of political house warming
 and have at last gotten a chance to
 make an end of the matter at the polls through the simple expedient of Ilapse of time they will vote for 8 ! governor. lieutenant governor, con gressmen, members of the supreme
 court and court of appeals, state auditor, secretary of state, members of the public utilities commission,
 state treasurer, attorney general and
 commissioner of agriculture on the state side of the matter.
 On the Jefferson side they will have elected 10 circuit court judges, judge of the probate court, circuit
 solicitor, clerk of the circuit court
 sheriff, state senator and members of the legislature and blasted the hopes of all other would-be officials. It again looks like Congressman George Huddls ston will be unopposed
 for reelection as representative or tho Ninth congressional district at Washington, with the exception of M. B. Grace, his opponent two years ago. Mir Grace Is said to be almost cer- ] tain to again oppose the present con gressman. So far dame rumor con nects no other name seriously with the congressional race. There are number of prominent men in the
 county with ambitions to occupy the seat of the present representative, but their caution Is more pronounced l than their ambition and with an eye on previous election returns where Huddleston has been opposed, 1t IS unlikely that any of them will be able | to overcome their fear of defeat sui | ficiently to enter the lists against
 him.
 Special Targets
 l Probably the two county offices to be filled this year that will sec the | heaviest fighting as well as the larg- est number of candidates are the
 sheriffs office and that of probate judge. Both seem to be the especial target for those anxious to serve the county and whether actual announce
 ments will show more persons seek ing them or not present indications point that way.
 The battle for the probate judge
 ship has already opened with the for
 mai announcement of John C. Arnold
 some time ago. MT. Arnold, who has practiced law in Birmingham for sew eral years and served the county In
 the last legislature, has already filed his declaration of candidacy. Judge J. P. Stiles, who has been l probate judge for so long that one feels he is part of the office. has not formally announced his candi-
 dacy for reelection, but there is no l doubt that he will be in the lists when the time comes, and wise ones politically predict that it will be the
 time of anybody's life to oust him
 on account of the host of friends he has made by his service as probate