The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1898-08-29

| Fred Douglas when he died. Numbers of
members admitted afterwards that they
| did not know who Douglas was. The in
| competence of these two fusion legislatures
| was often ludiCrouS, but once in awhile
| they passed a bill which would stand the
| courts Sometimes the supreme court had
to make strange decisions. There are four
or five fusion judges and one democrat on
the supreme bench. In one case this court
decided that a bill which had never been
passed by the legislature but had been
fraudulently enrolled and signed by the
! presiding officers OF both houses, was tho
law of the land. This was equivalent to
| holding that all that is necessary to enact
laws for this state are two presiding OIL
GERS That decision was delivered in the
fraudulent "asSignment act" case. In an
other case the court decided that it
not necessary for the presiding officers of
the, house and senate to sign a bill to
make It valid. In this case it was shown
that the revenue act of 1925 had never
been signed by the presiding officers of the
two houses OF the general assembly or by
either Of them; but the court held that
signing was not necessary to the validity
Of the act, saying In substance that ian
act act Of the legislature is, valid in this
state If regularly passed in other re-
spects, although its ratification is not at
tested by the signatures of the presiding
officers Thus To the revenue act Of
1895 the court had to help out the legisla-
ture and when that Of 1897 was held un-
constitutlonal, the fusionists had 10 fan
bL"h Oh lIlt ulIIdtIlltU act or 1873
Administration Scandals.
The hand book devotes a chapter to
scandals of the fusion administration in
voIvng moral turpitude. 1t is not nv
purpose to drag before the public the
crimes Of Robert Hancock. whom Governor
Russell made president Of the Atlantic and
North Carolina railroad. largely owned by
the state. nor of DIR. Kirby Smith. peni-
Tertiary physician. who fled the state 1t
Is sufficient to say that the charges made
against Hancock by two of his nieces forced
Russell to remove him .els president of the
railroad.
But This removal from one office under
Hancock to lose caste with his party or
disqualify him from leadership in his
republican administration. the republican
federal administration took him up and
virtually gave him two offices in place of
the one from which he was dismissed In
Difference to public sentiment and because
it was feared the governors action might
prevent HancocEs confirmation. the presi-
master at NeWbern, and Hancock himself
was installed as money order clerk.
DR.. Babb, Convict Parson.
Then there was the case of DIR. Thomas
w. Babb, who was made chaplain Of the
penitentiary at a salary of so per month
BabbS appointment was not given out be-
cause the administration knew it would
provoke criticism Babb had been a BAPTIST
preacher but in 1890 he was compelled TO
resign from the ministry by the members
of the ChoWan association because he was
an habitual drinker, refused to paw mis-
debts collected money to build befrv for
a church and pocketed the funds ana ma
a bad reputation generally about women
Babb was selected by Superintendent John
X smith Tor convict chaplain. Smith may
have thought the convicts were nor mar
ticular about their parson, but Senator r
L. Clark, director of the penitentiary and
a popullSt, protested to the governor
clark took the position that if a chaplain
was needed at all, he should be above re-
preach. -
''5op NAG a political pull and he was not
fired. Smith transferred him and MADE biTI
steward at one of the pententiary farms
joan smith. the superintendent of the
penltehtiary' was removed and made COM
missioner of agriculture Governor Rus
sell Is reported to have said that too much
stealing was going on in the penitentiary
department under Smith and that he