The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1897-12-07
WHEN THE GEORGIA
LEGISLATURE MADE NEWS
FOR THE REp0RTES.

Atlanta Journal.
Newspaper reporters those days complain
that they find the Legislature dun
II was not always 80 In the flush timce
of the reconstruction period tho Georgia
legislature was very lively body and it's
proceedings excited interes, from one end
Of the Union to he other,
think it was In 1868, when Governor
Bullock's legislature sat for the frs time
In what was then the new capitol Oh Mari
eta street.
The building, at first dceignod for AN
opera house had been rcmodoled by Mr. II.
J. kimball for u .atehouse. and our pco-
pie regarded It ~ Il very fine structure.
In the Legislature more than thirty ne
grocs had seats, ana In the republican
ranks there were number Of carpet bag
gers and scalawARe who became notorious
Georgia then belonged to military dis
trcl, and General Meade was In command.
The day the legislature met found mo
seated near the speakers desk reporting
for the lntelligencer. Atlanta at that tmo
had four or five morning daiies. and the
editors and reportcs.a--laado cutie largo
journalistic colony.
Sometimes there was good deal of fric-
ti0n between The editors IN chief. but tho
reporters were on a frntcrnal footing and
sWappcd news or colIaborued In the manu-
faciurc OF gigantic fakes.
The house at that se4slo1 war organized
by tho late a. h. Harri3 who was not "a
momber of the body. In fact he held an
official position at the headquarters of the
Western and Atlantic RAILROAD
Things were hot fron the very first The
democrats fought everything that the gov
crnor favored, ana opposed almost ryery
thing that came from the republican side
OF the house
Though outnumbereI and In danger OF
arrest by the lelliary, some Of The demo-
Gratis showed wonderful pluck. The Hon.
| Dunlap Scott of Floyd was q power In the
| house. ana his fierce speeches delighted
his partiSans aud ineenscd the other side
| j, u, Bryant. O'Neal and Fitzpatrick
were three white republicans who made
Themselves particularly offensive Among
| The negroes, II. NJ. Turner now a bishop.
was a very bitter and a very 5hrewd leader
| He was cordially hated by the whites
| There were other negroes IA the house
| who took up good deal of Tine with their
| long speeches, but the worst Offender in
| this line was Aaron Alpeoria Bradley OF
Chatham. In the senate.
| Bradley was n holy terror. He was a
South Carolina dhrkey, educated in nuaton
a lawyer by profession, and he was gifted
| Win u CplluuS NDCaDuldiYs nave bllpNn
him to make a speech lasting four days.
Fitch, the Federal District attorney, who
| turned democrat pioturesquely described
| Bradley in a speech as that Rpoclsicd
whelp Uttered in South Carollla the bas-
tard Of the cavalier, the tisgfaced opprer-
| tce 81 the Puritan"
| rhe senator from Chatham was one 81
| The sights OF these days, and he was nj
ways pointed out 10 strnnIeR.
l..N tF
| Atlanta and ! shall never forget The dis
gust Of one Of our older attorneys who sud
| denly found him on the opposite side OF
! a case In n Justices court. There was n
flaw in the white lawyers papers. end
Bradley took advantage OF It very neatly.
Then the Boston lawyer sirnttod super
ciiousIy out Of the roonl. leaving his de
! feateG opponent white with rage and aston
Ths negroes were delighted and pralley's
fame spread far aud wide.
| Frequently We house reporters looked
into inc senate to hear Nunnaily. Fain
JJolconbe and John d. Stewart. There
we're some very able democrats In that
body.
81 that time members OF the legislature
received 80 a day. They were presonied
With new codes of Georgia. and the negrt
members, It was said. disposed OF these
books Ia a hurry.
Many clerks and other attaches were
employed Monsy vas spent like water.
Demijohns OF liquor were hept In com'
m!ttee rooms. clerke rooms and offices 7
the building. almost everybody drank. u
was bibuious legislature, and OCCASION
ally eatesmap might have been seer
hauled through the streets on dray
drunk as lord.
Lobbyists filled the statehouse. Tie,
came from everywhere with all sorts 0
schemes.
Ii seemed that the democrats ~ Georgia
were permanently under republican anf
negro rule, with the bayonet looming up y
4 the background, *,
Strangers swaggercd about the fapitp
aud In the hotels talking The most v'eleh