The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-07-30

of the board. The work has not been at all unpleasant, but it has been, from financial viewpoint, entirely unprofit- able to me. could not in justice to myself and my law firm continue in- definitely to give of my time what has been and probably will be necessary in discharging my duties as a member of the board.
 T have found that I have lost busi- ness because I was chairman of the civil service board, and l have had to de-. cline business for the same reason. Strange to relate, I have found that the practice of my firm in the criminal court during the year and a half, ap- proximately of the existence of the board, has fallen off from 50 to 75 per cent of what it was the previous year and a half. My criminal practice has declined, for which am not entirely sorry, but our civil practice has in- creased.
 @"(3) The following fact is sufficient for me to withdraw from the board I have found that in criminal cases where have represented defendants when members of the police department were testifying as witnesses anl were doing matters in the line of prosecution, that 1t was at times embarrassing to me to have to crOss-examine members, of the department, and to be placed even ap- parently only in an antagonistic at. titude towards them and they towards me in the trial of cases, being at the same time chairman of the civil service board.
 This was fully exemplified in the trial of man named Silva who was charged with burglary. As remember now there were 24 members of the po- lice department, including the chief, one man from the bureau of Identification, motorcycle scouts, detectives, patrol men, etc., who testified in behalf of the state and against the man I repre- sented. I had occasion to criticize very severely, during the trial of the case only of course, one member of the detective department, who, it ap- peared to me, had assumed an unwar1 ranted attitude in the case and had also occasion to cross-examine very stringently two or more members of the department during the trial of that cause. This was extremely embarrass- ing and unpleasant for me and for the men in question, and 1 am satis- fled that some people of pOdr judgment
 
 as taking advantage of the fact that I was chairman of the board and these men were members of department sub ject to the orders of the board, when I was only representing my client as my intelligence directed and my con. science dictated. The appearance of the thing was not conducive to a proper understanding of the situation, but was creative of ill-will and misunderstood ing on the part of suspicious and igno- rant persons.
 Strange also it may appear, but have been hampered by the fact that was chairman of the board, hampered in my dealings with police officers in my law practice. Previous to the time that I went on the board I never hesi- tated to recommend to a member of the department, when the occasion called for it, certain action with reference to any case in which was interested. :,
 After became chairman of the board I did not feel that I should in any wise seek any favor or accommo- dation from members of the depart ment, and during the .proximate year and q half time that have been chair man, I have never in any wise sought favors from the police department or the members thereof in the trial or handling or settlement of any criminal case. Thus I have been hampered and for that reason at times perhaps my clients have suffered.
 Altogether, feel that I have served my time on the board as I agreed to in the beginning. have the pleasant satisfaction of my own conscience in knowing that in every matter and in every endeavor and in every thought and in every action performed by me while a member of the civil service board l was controlled only by the de- sire to be right, be just, cOnsiderate and perform my duties in the interest of the fire, and police departments and their members, and of our city and cit. izens."