Fitzgerald enterprise. (Fitzgerald, Ga.) 1895-1912, 1907-07-23
Not The Right Kind Of Anti-Pass Bill.

bly, reported to the house by Une railroad commit
tee does not fill the requirements OF the party plat
form, nor does it meet the demands of the people.
The legislature will do well to consider carefully
and think hard before it accepts the Hall bill. It's
provisions fall far short of the expectations of the
people of Georgia. and it's passage will mean prac
tically nothing
Under the provisions of the Hall BILL free pas
ses will be taken only from officeholders who are
not connected with railroads The local counsel
who held free pass prior to his election will con-
tinue to enjoy the same courtesy after the bill
is passed, and if elected to office while holding
pass he will continue to use it.
The wives daughters, relatives and friends of
legislators and other oficeholders may continue to
use free passes if the Hall bill becomes a law.
The families of Judges may and will, in some
cases, undoubtedly continue to travel over the
state on free passes, as some of them now do.
Hired political agents and strikers for the rail
roads may and will continue to receive free trans
poraton.
Delegates to political conventions may and
many of them doubtless will travel to and from
the scene of the convention as E'dead heads"
Persons with ''pulr' will continue to enjoy
their special advantage by riding free of charge.
In every city and township in the state GER
thin class of men, because of their real OF imagined
influence will continue to hold free passes.
The business associates of officehOldcrs, law part
ners of legislators etc, may and many of them no
doubt will continue to receive from the railroads.
as a "courtesy,' of course free, passes.
The newspaper men may and many of them
will continue to hold ANIMALS all the railroads.
and the columns of their papers may and yely
probably will reflect an alleged public sentiment
favorable to the railroads
In fact, if the Hall bill becomes a law every one
of the hundred classes of free pass holders, except
public officers will continue to ride free OF charge
in the state of Georgia This should not be- The
people have declared against it, and the party has
gone record as opposed to it.
The OffcehOlderS themselves who ride ON free
passes form bnt a small percentage of the army of
free pass holders, and the effect of any law apply
ing only to them will be mperceptble. The great
mass of the people will of necessity continue to
shoulder an extra burden They will have to pay
enough for their transportation to cover the cost OF
the horde of pass holders who ride free.
The Hall bill sets at naught the time honored
andAvel established principle of equal rights to
all and special favOrs to none. The legislature
will do well to consider carefully and think hard
before IL passes Cne Dill.
I'LL Cor Fitzgerald
Gun TOters and Knife Users.
From the Toledo
There are $50 prisoners in Georgia penal insti-
tutions serving sentence for murder Of one degree
or another. During the last year the number was
augmented by 213, and this does not include the
numerous cases where assault made with a
deadly weapon and the assailant escaped.
The Atlanta Constitution sees in these figures
powerful argument for rigid enforcement of the
law which forbids the carrying of concealed weap-
ons ''Pistol toting" is very common in the south,
and the Constitution is convinced after investiga-
ting the police records of the state that the great
majority of murders is due to the failure OF the
authorities to break up the practice ''The leniency
with which officers of the law says the Constitu
tioA ''seem to look upon the carrying of concealed
weapons is as dangerous to society would be
policy which allowed the mentally unsound to roam
over the state at their sweet will until they
actually committed violence" 1t is a fact men of
even temper and self control seldom carry weapons.
1t is the man of quarreIsome disposition and ras-
chile temper who converts himself into walking
arsenal And when man of that character gets
into trouble, as he frequently does, his first i'm
pulse is to draw gun For the moment he is mad
der it is sheer good luck.