History of Alabama and dictionary of Alabama biography, Volume II, Part 71

Author: Owen, Thomas McAdory, 1866-1920; Owen, Marie (Bankhead) Mrs. 1869-
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: Chicago, The S. J. Clarke publishing company
Number of Pages: 724

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The constitution adopted in 1861 contained a section governing the pardoning power which was precisely similar to that con- tained in the first constitution of the State. The same was true of the constitution of 1865; but the constitution of 1868 added to the provisions of previous constitutions the stipulation that pardons should not relieve from civil or political disability. A further provision was added which required the gov- ernor to communicate to the legislature at every regular session, each case of reprieve, commutation, or pardon granted, stating the name and crime of the convict, the sentence, its date, and the date clemency was extended, with the reasons therefor. The latter require- ment has been carried forward into later con- stitutions, and in accordance with it, reports are now published by the State hoard of par- dons.

Contests Between Legislature and Execu- tive .- The exercise of the pardoning power has always furnished occasion for some fric- tion between the legislative and executive de- partments of the State government. Among the early cases decided by the supreme court were suits involving the remission of fines and

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forfeitures, and relief from legal penalties by special acts of the legislature. In the case of Haley et al. v. Clarke, decided in 1855 (26 Ala., p. 439), the court held that the power to remit fines and forfeitures is confided by the constitution to the governor, and cannot be exercised by the legislature; and therefore any act of the legislature which attempts, directly or indirectly, to remit a fine, either before or after it has been paid, is unconstitutional. This decision went far toward settling a dis- agreement between the executive and legisla- tive departments which had by 1854 begun to assume the character of a contest. During its session of 1853-54, the legislature passed sev- eral special acts, the intent and purpose of which were to relieve persons from legal sen- tences or penalties. As a consequence, the proper exercise of the pardoning power was discussed at some length by Gov. John A. Winston in his message of January 28, 1854, returning a bill for the relief of two citizens of St. Clair County. After citing the pro- visions of the constitution, Gov. Winston stated that the legislature, actuated by a desire to relieve persons who might be proper sub- jects of clemency, had exercised a power vested in another branch of the government; and argued that the legislature had no power to discriminate between persons accused or con- victed of crime; that the duty of defining crime and its punishment belonged to the legisla- ture; the duty of examining into the character of the offences and pronouncing the sentence of the law, to the judicial department; the duty of executing the laws and exercising the pardoning power, to the executive alone. "Any attempt to exercise the power of the Judicial department of the government," he said, "would not be more an infringement on the rights of that branch of government than the exercise of the power to pardon persons con- victed or charged with any offence against the penal laws of the land It is the pre- rogative of the Legislature to pass general penal laws; it is the duty of the Executive to say when an exception to those laws may be made in behalf of any individual." There were several other bills vetoed by Gov. Wins- ton during this and during the subsequent session of the legislature, some of them upon similar grounds. Even after the decision of the supreme court in the case of Haley v. State, referred to above, had been handed down, the legislature passed bills for the relief of persons under sentence of the courts; and Gov. Winston in his message returning one of the bills unapproved cited the decision.

In the exercise of its right to enact laws making the exercise of the pardoning power more convenient and efficient, an act was passed by the legislature, March 7, 1876, to require publication of notice that application would be made to the governor for pardon or remission of a fine or forfeiture.

Abuse of Pardoning Power .- At different times the feeling has been more or less general in the State that the use of the pardoning power has been subject to some abuse; and in the effort to prevent the misuse of the power, for political or other personal ends, or through

the inability of the governor to withstand the importunities of influential persons, the prin- ciple was evolved of dividing among the mem- bers of an official board the responsibility for deciding when pardons might properly be granted. It was in accordance with this prin- ciple, and also to afford a measure of relief from the burden which, with the growth of the State's population and the collateral in- crease in the number of convictions for crime, had assumed such proportions as to constitute the greatest single demand upon the time and energy of the executive, that the present State board of pardons was created by the constitu- tion of 1901.

See Executive Department; Governor; Par- dons, State Board of.

REFERENCES .- Constitution, 1819, art. 4, sec. 11; 1861, art. 4, sec. 11; 1885, art. 5, sec. 13; 1868, art. 5, sec. 11; 1875, art. 5, sec. 12; 1901, art. 5, sec. 124; Toulmin, Digest, 1823, p. 368; Code, 1852, secs. 3699-3707; 1907, secs. 573, 1558, 7510-7516, 7653, 7654; Acts, 1845-46, p. 32; 1875- 76, p. 164; Gov. John A. Winston, "Message" Jan. 28, 1854, in Senate Journal, 1853-54, p. 216; and Ibid, Jan. 8, 1856, in House Journal, 1855-56, pp. 258-260; Gov. R. W. Cobb, "Mes- sage," Nov. 9, 1880, in Senate Journal, 1880-81, pp. 35-36; Gov. Emmet O'Neal, Quardrennial message, Jan. 12, 1915 (Legislative Doc. No. 1, 1915), pp. 121-128; Gov. W. H. Smith, Report of pardons granted. (1870, pp. 32); Gov. R. B. Lindsay, Ibid (1871, pp. 20); Gov. D. P. Lewis, Ibid (1873, pp. 12), and Ibid (1874, pp. 16) ; Gov. Geo. S. Houston, Ibid (1876, pp. 34); Gov. E. A. O'Neal, Ibid (1887, pp. 57) ; Board of Pardons, Report, Oct. 1, 1915; Ibid, Oct. 1, 1916; Haley v. Clarke, 26 Ala., p. 439; Chisholm v. State. 42 Ala., p. 528; Ex parte Powell, 73 Ala., p. 517; Fuller v. State, 122 Ala., p. 32; Mclaughlin and Hart, Cyclopedia of American Government (1914); American Acad. Pol. and Soc. Science, Annals. Mar. 1913, vol. 46. pp. 4-7; Ibid. Mar. 1914, vol. 52, pp. 61-66; New York Acad. Pol. Sc., Proceedings, July, 1913, pp. 92, 99; Finley and Sanderson, American executive and execu- tive methods (1908), pp. 83-92.

PARDONS, STATE BOARD OF. An ex officio board, composed of the attorney gen- eral, the auditor, and the secretary of state. The constitution provides that the board "shall meet on the call of the governor. and before whom shall be laid all recommendations or petitions for pardons, commutations, or paroles in cases of felony; and the board shall hear them in open session and give their opin- ion thereon in writing to the governor, after which or on the failure of the board to advise for more than sixty days, the governor may grant or refuse the commutation, parole, or pardon, as to him seems best for the public interest." It is further provided that "Par- dons in cases of felony and other offenses in- volving moral turpitude shall not relieve from civil and political disabilities unless approved by the board of pardons and specifically ex- pressed in the pardon."

In 1901, February 14, the legislature passed an act prescribing the duties of the board and regulating its proceedings. This statute pro-

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vides that whenever application is made to the governor for "the parole, pardon, or commuta- tion of sentence of any convict sentenced for a felony," he may at once refer the application and all papers to the board. In accordance with the constitutional mandate, they hold open sessions for the hearing and investigation of applications, after which a report is made in writing, unless the case is continued, to the governor, with their findings as to the merits of the application, together with approval or disapproval, or such recommendation as may seem to them advisable.

In the performance of its duties, the board bas authority to call upon any judge, or solici- tor, or other public officer of the State for any information or recommendation which may seem to them necessary or advisable in their consideration of any application so referred to them.

No additional compensations are allowed members of the board for performance of their duties as members thereof, and the clerks allotted to them in their respective executive offices are required to perform the clerical duties, if any are demanded, of the board.

The law provides that at the end of each fiscal year, the board shall make a written report to the governor of the applications so acted upon by them, showing the name and residence of each applicant, of what crime convicted, the sentence therefor, and in brief their recommendation in the case, which re- port Is printed and submitted by the governor to the legislature with his message. It does not appear, however, that these reports were printed except as noted below.

See Governor; Pardoning Power.

PUBLICATIONS, - Reports, Jan .- Sept., 1915; 1915-1916. 2 vols.

REFERENCES .- Constitution, 1901, sec. 124; Acts, 1900-01, p. 121; Code, 1907, secs. 1593- 1597.

PASTEUR INSTITUTE. See Health, State Board of.

PASTURES. See Grasses and Forage.

PATENTS TO ALABAMIANS. Prior to January 1, 1876, no record was kept by States of patents granted. However, between January 1, 1876, and December 31, 1915, the latest date to which figures have been com- piled, a total of 4,172 patents were granted to residents of this State.

So far as the records show there were dur- ing that period no epoch-making inventions patented by an Alahamian.

REFERENCES .- Letters in the files of the Ala- bama State Department of Archives and History.

PATROLS. A detachment of one or more persons, detailed from the State militia, whose duty it was to visit and inspect at night, usually once a week or twice a month, or oftener if deemed desirable, negro quarters and other places suspected of entertaining un- lawful assemblies of slaves, or other disorderly persons. They bad authority to discipline

offenders by inflicting corporal punishment, under specific legal regulations as to character and severity. Service as patrolman was obli- gatory upon every militiaman, and he received $1 for every 12 hours on duty.

The first militia law of Mississippi Territory passed in 1807, provided for semimonthly patrols, and the institution continued until after the War. It was in many respects the prototype of the Ku Klux Klan (q. v.).

As early as 1812 stringent laws governed the conduct of members of patrols, providing penalties for disorderly behavior, disobedience or other infraction of regulations. Command- ing officers were expressly enjoined "to ap- point leaders of patrols from the most discreet persons within their bounds, which leaders shall be accountable for the orderly conduct of their detachments."

In 1835 the appointment of patrols in dis- tricts where there was no resident militia captain was put in the hands of the justices of the peace; and the following year the adminis- tration of the whole patrol system became the duty of the justices of the peace, who desig- nated the leaders and put them under oath faithfully to perform their duties.

Later laws specifically empowered patrols to enter, "in a peaceable manner," upon any plantation, and "by force if necessary," into all negro cabins or quarters, kitchens or out- houses, and to apprehend all slaves not belong- ing to the plantation who might be found with- out a pass from owner or overseer.

After the War, attempts were made in some instances to restore the old patrols, but the military governments soon supplanted all other regulative agencies; and the patrols, having served their usefulness as legal institu- tions, passed out of existence.

See Ku Klux Klan; Military Forces of the State; Slavery.

REFERENCES .- Toulmin, Digest of the statutes of Mississippi Territory, 1807, pp. 70-71; and Digest of Alabama laws, 1823, p. 637; Aikin, Digest, 2d ed., 1836, pp. 630-632; Code, 1867, p. 311; Acts, passim; Harvey, Slavery in Auburn, Alabama (in Ala. Pol. Institute, Historical studies, 3d ser., 1907), pp. 18; Denson, Slavery laws in Alabama (in Ibid, 1908), pp. 56.

PATRONS OF HUSBANDRY. See Grange, the State.

PATSALIGA RIVER. A tributary of the Conecuh River (q. v.), about 100 miles in length, 100 to 150 feet in width, and having a low-water depth varying from 1 foot to 10 feet. It rises in the southeast corner of Mont- gomery County, and flows southwestward to its confluence with the Conecuh a few miles above River Falls, in Covington County.

The river, after flowing through the upper strata of the Cretaceous formation for about 15 miles, cuts through the beds of bluish clay and limestone, filled with the shells of the "Ostrea" that form the lower series of the Tertiary system of the State. It runs through a section of heavily wooded country, consist- ing for the most part of pine forests.

The river has never been navigable for

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boats, and for rafts only in very high-water stages. No improvements have been made by the Government, although an examination was made by War Department engineers in 1879. There have been no water power de- velopment projects in connection with this stream.

REFERENCE .- U. S. Chief of Engineers, An- nual report, 1879, App. J, pp. 850-852.

PATSILIKA RIVER. A small river form- ing the western branch of the Conecuh River. in Covington County. The name is from "Padshi," pigeon, and "laikas," I am sitting. Wild pigeons no doubt roosted here. The Alabama stream, takes its name from the original Yuchi town, in Macon County, Ga., and on Flint River.

REFERENCES .- Gatschet, in Alabama History Commission, Report (1901), p. 407.

PAVING AND CURB STONES. Stones suitable for paving and curbing are obtain- able in any desired size and practically un- limited quantity from the flaggy sandstones of the Coal Measures and of the Red Moun- tain formation. Some of the slabs are so uni- form and so numerous that they have been called "plank rocks." Red Mountain flag- stones have been used extensively in side- walks and curbs of the city of Birmingham. The hard flags of the siliceous limestones in the Tennessee Valley are made into paving blocks and shipped to various cities for use in paving streets, particularly where traffic is heavy.

REFERENCE .- Smith and McCalley, Index to mineral resources of Alabama (Geol. Survey of Ala., Bulletin 9, 1904), p. 68.

PAWOKTI. An Indian town two miles be- low Tawasa and on the same side of the Alabama River. It was situated on a high bluff. No lands were cultivated around their houses. As was the case with the other Alabama towns, its fields were on the west or right bank, in a rich cane swamp. In 1799 they had a few hogs and horses, but no cattle. Some years prior they owned the largest and best breed of hogs in the Creek Nation, but lost them through some negligence.

The meaning of the word is uncertain. It is spelled Pau-woc-te by Hawkins. See Alibamu.

PAYNE UNIVERSITY. A denominational school for the education of negro males and females, located at Selma, and conducted under the auspices of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, but not sectarian. It was opened on November 4, 1889, in a modest frame building, erected at a cost of $1,000, and with 188 pupils. On June 24, 1903, it was incorporated with W. B. Johnson, G. W. Allen, W. W. Frazier, W. H. Mixon, D. C. Edmondson, C. W. Warren, R. D. Brooks, E. W. Stone and James W. Walker, negroes, as trustees. In 1904, largely through the efforts of Bishop W. J. Gaines and the trus- tees and the laymen of the church through- out the State, a commodious brick structure Vol. II-25

was built, at a cost of $14,000. For non- resident girls a three story dormitory was erected in 1907, during the chancellorship of Bishop Levi Coppin, costing $8,000. Acad- emic, normal and theological departments are maintained. Courses are offered in Bible training and missionary methods, business, music, and domestic science; and a cor- respondence theological course is provided. On September 30, 1916, its report to the State superintendent of education showed buildings and site valued at $20,000; equipment, $700; 7 teachers; 310 pupils; and a partial support of $600.

REFERENCES .- Catalogue, 1909-1910; Superin- tendent of Education, Annual report, 1916, pp. 182-183.

PEA RIVER. A tributary of the Choctaw- hatchee River (q. v.) and a part of the Appalachicola drainage basin. Its length is about 200 miles; its average width and depth not of record. The river has its source in the southeast corner of Bullock County, flows southwestward to within about 25 miles of its mouth and there turns to the east, fol- lowing that general direction to its confluence with the Choctawhatchee.

Records are not available as to the charac- teristics of the river bed and valley above the town of Elba, about 60 miles. At Elba the stream cuts through a heavy bed of soft rock, forming perpendicular banks and a succes- sion of shoals for 5 or 6 miles below the town. About 712 miles below Elba this rock is re- placed by beds of clay with occasional out- cropping strata of soft sandstone. To this point the river is more than 100 feet wide and comparatively straight, but for the next 10 or 12 miles the banks are low and the stream more winding in its course. After cut- ting through a few miles of limestone forma- tion, the river enters a swamp and its course becomes extremely tortuous, its volume often diminished by outflows or cutoffs, and its bed so obstructed with snags and fallen trees as to be difficult of passage. Ten miles above its mouth the river emerges from the swamp, becomes broad, and less winding, and is free from obstruction from there to the Choctaw- hatchee. It traverses or partly bounds Bul- lock, Pike, Barbour, Dale, Coffee, and Geneva Counties.

The Pea River has never been navigable. In 1879 a survey of the portion of it below Elba was made by the Government with a view to its improvement for navigation be- tween that point and the Choctawhatchee, but the engineers reported adversely to the pro- posal. Nothing has since been done in that direction.

There are no water power developments of importance on this stream.

REFERENCE .- U. S. Chief of Engineers, An- nual report, 1880, App. K, pp. 1120-1121.

PEACHES AND NECTARINES. See Fruits.

PEANUTS. See Leguminous plants.

PEARS. See Fruits.

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PEAS. See Leguminous plants.

PELL CITY. An industrial town in Saint Clair County, in the southeastern part of the county, sec. 1, T. 17, R. 3 E., 20 miles south of Ashville, 35 miles east of Birmingham, 18 miles northeast of Talladega, and 30 miles southwest of Anniston. It is on the Southern Railway, Seaboard Air Line Railway, Bir- mingham & Atlanta Railroad, and the Coosa Valley Railroad. Altitude: 567 feet. Popu- lation: 1900-98; 1910-530; 1916-2,500. It was first incorporated under the general laws in 1890, by the Pell City Iron & Land Co. The panic of 1893 stopped its develop- ment. In 1901 the town site was acquired by the Pell City Manufacturing Co., and a charter under the general laws obtained in 1902. The municipal code of 1907 was adopted in 1908. It has a brick city hall, erected in 1908, a jail, electric lights, and 2 miles of cherted streets. Its tax rate is 5 mills. It has no bonded indebtedness. Its banks are the First National, and the Pell City Bank & Trust Co. (State). The Prog- ress, an Independent weekly established in 1908, is published there. Its industries are a large cotton factory, a farmers' cotton ware- house, an ice plant, a cotton ginnery, a cot- tonseed oil mill, carriage factory, and repair shop, charcoal kilns, a sawmill, a planing mill, a gristmill, and coal mines, and iron ore mines near the city. It is the location of the Saint Clair County High School.

The original settlers of the locality were Green G. Evans, John Truett, Marion Hazle- wood, and Abner Lacy. The town was named in 1890 for Geo. H. Pell, of New York City, the original promoter.

REFERENCES .- Manuscript data in the Alabama Department of Archives and History.

PELL CITY MANUFACTURING CO., Pell City. See Cotton Manufacturing.

PENITENTIARY. See Convicts, Board of Inspectors of; Crimes and Punishments; Jails.

PENOOTAW. An old Creek Indian town in Bibb County on the east side of the Ca- haba River, about 3 miles above Centreville, and opposite the mouth of Shutts Creek. The Indian form of the word is Pin'-hoti, mean- ing "Turkey Home," that is, Pinna, "turkey," hoti, "home."

REFERENCE .- Bureau of American Ethnology, Eighteenth Annual Report (1899), Pt. 2, map 1.

PENSACOLA BASIN. See River and Drainage Systems.

PENSIONS. See Confederate Pensions.

PENSIONS, FIREMEN'S. Organized co- operative funds, collected and administered for the benefit and relief of firemen and em- ployees of the fire department. The Legis- lature, September 28, 1915, provides for pen- sion relief for firemen, in cities having a pop- ulation of 100,000 or more according to the

last Federal census. The fund so created is administered by a board of trustees of five members, consisting of the president of the city commission, or other governing board, the chief of the fire department, and three members of that department to be elected by the firemen. The act was amended Feb- ruary 17, 1919, whereby its provisions were to apply to all cities of 10,000 people.

Under the original law and the amendment of 1919, the pension fund consists of dona- tions, one per cent of the monthly salary of each member of the fire department, one- half of one per cent of the gross premium, less return premiums, received by each fire insurance company doing business in the city, and not exceeding one per cent of all the revenues collected from licenses by the city.

For temporary total disability, mental or physical, two dollars per day is authorized during such a disability, for not exceeding one year. In cases of retirement due to per- manent disability by reason of service in the department, one-half of the monthly compen- sation allowed such fireman as salary shall he paid monthly. Where members have per- formed faithful service for not less than 15 consecutive years, if disabled while in actual performance of duty, they may be retired on half pay. Where members have served as long as 20 consecutive years and have attained the age of 55, on application, with- out medical examination or disability, they may be retired on half pay. Where mem- bers have served as long as 25 consecutive years irrespective of age, and without med- ical examination or disability, on written application are to he retired on half pay. Not less than $75.00 nor more than $100.00 are authorized as funeral and burial expenses for deceased members of the department on the pension roll. In cases of temporary dis- ability where members are confined for 7 days, they are authorized to receive $14.00 per week, for not exceeding 12 weeks. Where members serve for 15 consecutive years and are discharged from the department, they are entitled to receive not less than $15.00 nor more than $30.00, monthly from the pen- sion fund. Where a member is hurt or dies as a result of injuries received in the line of duty, or from disease contracted while in service, or after having served in the depart- ment for 15 consecutive years shall die while in service or on the retired list, from any cause, his widow during her natural life and while unmarried and each child until it reaches the age of 14 not less than five nor more than 10 dollars monthly.

PENSIONS, TEACHERS. There are no state wide old age pension, or old age insur- ance laws. However, in 1915, by act of Sep- tember 10, the legislature authorized county boards of education in counties of a popula- tion of not less than 80,000 nor more than 82,000 to pay to aged and indigent teachers quarterly, "from the public school funds" of the county, the sum of $240 per annum. While thus general in terms the act was only intended to apply to Mobile County. The

CONFEDERATE MONUMENT ON CAPITOL HILL, MONTGOMERY Erected by the Ladies' Memorial Association of Montgomery, and dedicated December 7, 1898

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relief extends to any person in the state, who "has taught continuously in any of the pub- lic schools thereof for thirty years and has reached the age of sixty years, and his or her record as a teacher is without reproach, and by reason of physical inability or mental in- firmity is unable to teach longer, and who is without the means of comfortable support." When a teacher is pensioned, his or her name is entered upon a record known as a "Re- tired List." This legislation is so recent that no statistics of its operation are avail- able.

PENSIONS, UNITED STATES. Regular allowances by the Federal Government to those who have been in its military service, or to their widows or dependent relatives, popularly known as pensions, date almost from its foundation. Revolutionary invalid- pensions and arrears were assumed in 1789, and from that date much general and special legislation has been enacted by Congress. Service pensions were first allowed in 1818, when an act was passed for the relief of Revolutionary soldiers.

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History of Alabama and dictionary of Alabama biography, Volume II, Part 71

Author: Owen, Thomas McAdory, 1866-1920; Owen, Marie (Bankhead) Mrs. 1869- Publication date: 1921 Publisher: Chicago, The S. J. Clarke publishing company Number of Pages: 724

Author: Owen, Thomas McAdory, 1866-1920; Owen, Marie (Bankhead) Mrs. 1869-
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: Chicago, The S. J. Clarke publishing company
Number of Pages: 724