The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1922-12-09

A1VA H. VN4 III AlV1
shall receive larger share of the
pubic funds.
Overcrowded Hospital
The report expressed profound
sympathy" for those who work at the
Hillman hospital, from the superin
tendent down to the humblest EN-
ploye. NO other institution In the
county, neither the jail. nor the court
house, nor the aims house, nor the
, schools, compares with 1t in the mat
ter of being overerowded. Admission
to other institutions can BIT put off
for q vacancy tomorrow and nobody
much the worse for the wait, but the
man or woman in need of the doctor
or the surgeon needs him now. We
recommend that more attention be
given to charging our charities than
decreasing our revenues" The grand
Jury recommended addition of
prison ward to the hospital, and I'VE
recommend" the report added, that
some provision be made for the com
fort and welfare of the nurses in the
form of nurses home nearby"
The grand jury reported, referring
to criticism on the manner of pur-
chase of school supplies, they could
not find that any law is being vio-
lated or any concealments made in
the why's and wherefores of the man
agement in the letting of contracts
or anything else" The report added
that 'it is Just possible that good
deal of criticism may be evidence of
how keenly interested the people
really are In the schools. A little
more prompt attention to laying de-
tails of business matters and money
expenditures before the public, might
be we'll We believe there is no
ground for any suspicion OF wrong
doing"
Tipping the Traffic
Under the caption OF Tipping the
Traffic" the grand jury reported as
follows:
We desire to inform your honor
that we had before us no charge Of
any sort, from any source, against
our police forces, city or county. As
a matter of courtesy, and at their re-
quest. we did have before us the
heads OF the city police department,
who desired to answer some criti-
cisms reported to have been made.
although later denied, by citizen of
such distinction that no word of his Is
accepted in this community as being
idle. Under the evidence before us
we desire to express to your honor
the opinion that the trouble with our
police Is that there are not enough
of them. We recommend that they
all be protected by a civil service law
and that such law be made wide
enough to cover everybody In the
public service, except such officers as
are elected by the people.
Concerning the laying of special
stress on law enforcement by Judge
w. E. Fort. the grand jury said 1t
could not find that execution of the
law lags more than usual" unless
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sault and battery in the form of flog
gngs. About floggings, the report
commented: Our information Is thai
an absence of charges before the
grand jury and in the courts against
this class of criminals is due mainly
to efforts of the victims to conceal
identity of their assailants. We may
we'll believe that If the assaulted
were less timid with the facts at
their command tbs assailants would
be less bold with their acts of cruelty
and we would soon have an end of
it all. At any rate, forces are at work
that premise at least to bring some
of the perpetrators to justice.
Liquor Traffic
The report. signed by Chappell
Cory, foreman, concluded:
But the disgraceful situation as
to the enforcement of the prohibition
laws Is a horse OF another color, be-
cause the flouting of this law is so
common. so widespread. so approved
by many, that it has gotten into
seeming control of the jury box and
threatens the fidelity and patriotism
of the hearthstone itself. An endless
procession of law yiolators marches
into the jail, the courts and the
grand jury room. There Is no end
Of arrests, backed by the evidence
of guilt, nor is there any end of ac-
quittals. the law breaker being told
to go free, without even a hint that
he should sin no more. We went
out to see for ourselves. and we can
truly say to your honor that the
thing is open, shameful and the Of
ficers in charge of this branch of
law enforcement have both a busy
and an easy thing of 1t, SO far as ar
rests go. The criminals are open and
above board, and many have reached
the point of denying they are Grim
inals and -of justifying the things
they do.
Have all the possible remedies been
yet tried? We were impressed in
watching the endless procession go
by, that not one man of prominence.
or wealth, or position was on the
march to Jail. Whether it be true
or not, there is widespread belief
among the masses of the people that.
in what is called the higher social
circles the law is most despised and
those who despise it are protected
by the powers that be. The officer
will not push his way into the high
places of sin, being already warned
that he will do so at the peril of his
job. A long, continued, persistent, in
telligent effort has been made to en-
force this law by bringing to book
the criminal class, the same men
over and over, and capturing the
weak and ignorant. and the natural
ly vicious, at the bottom of the
social scale.
Looking Upward
Why not try the other trick awhile,
of looking up instead of down? We
express the hope, your honor, that the
administration soon to come in at
Montgomery win seek to stem the
tide of disrespect for law, by giving
us some examples of the laws i'm
partial power. That the moral
forces at work will gradually edu-
cate the people up to enforcing the
laws. just as they were educated In
to voting them on the book in spite
of the very class who should set
their less fortunate brothers better
example, holds out more of certainty
than anything that solicitors. grand
juries and courts can do. But the
way can be shortened by many a
month and many year. if only tho
citadel of place and power shall be
pulled down, who themselves look
on forbidden liquor as it comes forth
from the secret places.
Progress.-Before concluding, we
join your honor in those optimistic
views which you have so often ex-