The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1903-12-24
CONSTITUTION Us aOLATED By
SPECIAL SCHOOL LAW.


L. 1. Alexander and others against
}. W. Barber ct al, trustees of the
Olive Springs school district per-
manently enjoining the defend
ants from acting under or by vir.
tue OF the powers conferred on
them by an act of the general
assembly at the recent summer
session Incorporating the Olive
Springs school district and declar-
ing the act unconstitutional. There
are about one hundred and fifty
similar school districts in the state
which have been incorporated by
the legislature within the past few
years. About thirty of these were
incorporated at the summer sess-
ION this year. All these acts are
subject TO similar attacks, as the
same constitutional question is
involved in each Of them.
Judge Gober's decision in full
in the Olive SPRINGS case is as
follows:
Gin consideration of this case
certain sections of the constitution
are pertinent.
"Section 5732. Laws Of gen.
eral nature shall have uniform
operation throughout the state,
and no special law shall be enact
ed in any case for which provisions
have been made by an existing
general law. No general law
affecting private rights shall be
varied IL any particular case by
special legislation, except with
the full consent in writing of all
persons to be affected thereby, and
no person under legal disability
to contract is capable of such con
sent. Under this section the SUI
pfeme court has declared many
local laws unconstitutional. In
Smith V. The State. Goth Ga. 1873.
a local law for the granting of Ii.
cense to sell liquors for Harris
county was declared unconstitu-
tional. An act of the legislature
prohibiting the sale of whiskey in
Polk county was declared uncon-
stitutional in the 88th Ga. 5S4 be-
cause of the general local 0ntion
statue. Bysan act of the genearl
assembly in 1888 law passed re-
curing all stock to be kept from
at large i'll certain portions of Ma
con county. This was held I'M
constitutional because there was q
general law on the same subject,
which it sought to vary. In the
opinion delivered by Judge Bleck-
ley in that case he says: IF it is
the will of the Legislature to make
a law which is operative through
out the state, It's operation must
be uniform when general in the
nature of its subject matter, ETC.,
IT must to'be law at all, be a gen
eral law. No local or especial laws
touching the essentials of these
matters can be enacted, etc. To
the same point authority could be
presented almost indefinitely
Section 1906 of the constitu-
tlon is as follows:
''There shall be thorough sys-
tenn Of common schools for the
education of the children in the
elementary branches of an Eng
llsh education only, as nearly uni
form as practicable, the expense
of which shall be provided by tax
alton or otherwise; theSschool
shall be free to all children Of the
state, but separate schools shall
be provided for the white and col
ored races The code provides,
section 1853. Each and~every
county in the state shall compose
one school district, and shall be
confined to the control and man
agement of a countyboard of sedu-
cation.
"Of course, under the terms of
the constitution, municipal Cor
poration can have a system of pub
lie schools.
"By the petition in equity, filed
in this case, the constitutionality
of an act of the Legislature is call
ed in question, the caption of this
act being as follows: An act to
incorporate the Olive Springs
school district in Cobb county, to
define the boundaries of the same,
to regulate the management of
the schools IL said Olive Springs
school district, to provide for the
election Of five trustees, and to
confer on them certain powers,
and for other purposes.
"The first section Of this act
gives the trustees elected under its
provisions the management and