The morning news., 1899-11-13
THE FIGHT HARDLY BEGUN.
OsBORNE's OPINION AS TO BILL
CREATING SEPARATE SOLICITOR.

ROche-DOesn't Think Yet That the
City Court Solicitor Bill Is As
sured of Passage-MRy Become
Law If 1t Is Further Amended-aIr.
Osborne Discredited the State
ment That the People of the Conn
fy Want the Bill Passed and Sug-
gests That the Matter BE Left to
Popular Vote.
Solicitor General W. W. Osborne spent
yesterday in the city with his family and
friends. When he was seen he refused to
discuss the details of the correspondence
that has taken place between himself and
Representative NIcDonough, and said that
should the correspondence ever be publish
ed il will speak for Itself. The inference
was that Mr.. Osborne had nothing TO ex-
plain, and that if explanations were to
come, they must come from the other fac
ton.
As to the pending fight in the Legislature,
in regard to The bill attempting to create
a solicitor of the City Court of Savannah
and in reply TO the interview of Repre-
sentative LaRoche on this subject the
solicitor general had something to say.
The gist of the interview is the statement
that the fight has just begun and the
promise that there will be rare old times
before it succeeds in becoming a law.
"'How is the effort to pass the bill pro-
gressing?" Mr.. Osborne was asked.
"The net result of the fight so far IS
gratifying to me- The venomous feature
of the bill is entirely removed. AS the
bill was presented, it was, in effect, a
clean-cut attempt to legislate me out of
office The sting has been taken away by
the amendment, which provides that the
bill shall not become operative until the
expiration of my term of office, in 1901
You will thus see that a popular cleo
ton and another session of the general as
sembly will intervene and give an oppor-
tunity for remedial legislation before the
bill becomes effective, should the people
declare for such a policy at the ballot
box.
THE bill still fails to do the people of
the county justice" continued Mr.. Os-
borne the separation of these two
courts and the creation of separate of
flee in Fulton county costs the taxpayers
of that county 50 900 per annum. This
amount is paid the solicitor general there
out of the county treasury, on account of
flee not being sufficient to compensate a
good man otherwise.
"Why should an additional office be fast
ened on the people without giving them
an opportunity of saying whether or not
they want il? l note the language of Mr.
LaRoche, in which he says that he feels
that in Offering it (the bilD he was sup
ported by the best people of this city He
knows / stated to the committee that if the
bill was amended in the particular in
which 1t has been amended and in addi-
ton thereto amended so as to subject 1t
to ratification at the October elections, l
would withdraw all opposition. To the
proposition to submit the question to the
people he dissents, though the opportun-
ity is presented by two popular elections
which must be held before the bill is ef-
fective."
'If the people want the additional office
created they can ratify such action in
October, and the newly created office can
be filed at the November elections-all
without ordering a special election and
without a dollars additional expense. It
looks bit singular that Mr.. LaRoche
should proclaim so loudly that the people
want the change and yet should be so
earnestly against giving the people an
opportunity of expressing themselves on
the proposition"
81 note Mr. LaRoches claim that he
could have clerical assistance in the pass
age of his bill" said MIR Osborne. Il am
constrained to believe that he is mistaken
upon this point. I don't believe the
preachers would mix themselves up in a
political squabble that is nothing more or
less than a play for position between poll
ticians of opposing factions. However,
upon this point I say that this is free
for-au No one who wants to get into
the fight IS barred. My record is open.
clerical friends
reach Atlanta 1 win take pleas
ure in reading to Them Mr.. LaRoche' S
encomiums upon the conduct of my of1ce,
as he gave them to the committee.
zone other paragraph in Mr. LaRoche'
interview merits the attention OF the pup
lie After two weeks of hard, vigorous
oDposition to the bill in the shape in which
II was presented, Mr.. LaRoche Is forced
to admit that the effort to 'curtail the
term of office of an incumbent who had
won after a hard fight was unfair. He
is. by his own confession, in the awkward
position of having drawn introduced and
fathered a bill he now confesses to be un-
fair. He is in the further awkward posi-
ton of not even trying to right the wrong
when the unfairness was suggested" but
stood on the bill with its unfairness, un-
less there should be a disposition 10 amend
the bill in this particular" and in such
event he would raise no objection.
" I note" said the solicitor general, ''AIr.
IaRoche's prediction as to the ultimate
fate of The bill. Inasmuch as the fight
has really only commenced in good
earnest, he is fortunate in be-
ing able to be so sanguine
as to the outcome I would suggest that
the finish is a long way off yet. A bill may
be eventually passed by the delegation,
but I feel sure that this win come TO pass
only after all Objectionable and unfair fea-
lures are removed by amendment My
rights have been already protected. I trust
the people will get their wishes in the MAJ
ter consulted before the bin becomes a
law"
THE DELEGAT RETURN.