The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1908-05-20
WATSON SHELLS THE WOODS

Governor Smiths Violation of the
Law in the Neal Bank Failure. The
Railroad Commission Needs a Doc
tor. The Rape of the Country
Counties.
Tom Watson in The JeffersOnian:
AS to that violation of the law in
the making of such big deposit in
the Neal Bank the questions re-
mains:
Did Governor Smith act in wilful
disregard of the law, or was he igno-
rant of the statute which limits a de-
post of state funds, in any one bank
to 100000?
At the time he renewed the fifty
thousand-dollar note which the state
owed the bank, the bank owed the
state more than twice that sum. The
state deposit was already illegal BY
renewing the note, and thus adding
to the deposit, Governor Smith be-
came a party to this violation of the
law?
Why did he do this?
Was it done wilfully, or through
ignorance?
The chairman of the railroad COM
mission being laid up with the rheu-
matism, and the other four members
being sufferers, apparently from To-
comotor-ataxia, why shouldn't Judge
Hines go abroad making speeches?
The enlarged and high-priced COM
mission doesn't at present need law
yers; what it wants is a medical
staff
We think that Governor Smith
would gain votes by staying at his
of1ce and attending to the duties
thereof. If we don't need him in his
office, then the sooner we abolish the
office and stop the expense the bet
ter
AS to Judge Hines, we have al
ready said that our new commission
seems to need pills, pasters, wizard
oil and trained nurses more than it
needs legal advice; therefore, the
state won't lose anything by Judge
Hines absence from his office
Suppose we had suspected. in
1906, that the first thing Hoke Smith
would do after he became governor
would be to make an addition of
two members to our railroad commits
sion and to bounce up salaries all
around-does anybody believe that
we would have worked as hard for
him as we did?
Suppose the people had been frank
ly told that he had it up his sleeve
to lie down on the governorship, dur
ing his first term, and make the race
for the senate this year, does any
one believe that he could have been
elected? Suppose he had let it be
known that he was going to reverse
himself on that matter of the early
primary and was going to sanction
revolutionary methods to deprive the
small counties Of their constitutional
rights, wouldn't he have been the
worst beat man that ever ran for Of
fee?
And suppose we had imagined him
capable of abandoning his office at
the state house, assigning the chief
clerk for duty at his campaign head
quarters. and leaving a niger in
charge of the executive Office
wouldn't he have been jeered OF the
field?
AS to Joe Brown, HE as no con-
Stunning ambition to go TO the United
States senate, nor to be named as
vice president on the national demo-
cratic ticket; consequently 1t would
not interfere with any of his selfish
plans If the state Of Georgia should
cast her electoral vote for a native
Georgian. Joe Brown, a native Geor-
gian, would probably not consider the
state disgraced by complimenting
Mr.. Watson. Hoke Smith, ex-mem-
Der of Cleveland's cabinet, not a ma
tive Georgian, would probably feel
that he should resort to every pos
sible stratagem 20 hold the state in
her place as a political rotton Dor
ough-the pawn to be moved as
"ammany and Wall street will 1t in
the great game of national politics
Our friends throughout the state
will find much food for serious
thought in this suggestion.