Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1908-05-31
Faith Cure and the State GubernatOr-
ial Campaign.
Savannah Morning News)

In our Washington dispatches yes
terday Senator Aldrich was reported
as saying that the whole Vreeland
Aldrich currency bill, which has been
occupying the attention of both
Houses of Congress for a number OfI
days, was more than half faith
cure" and that, headed, is just
what the country needs.
The National Prosperity ASsOcia-
ton that has its headquarters in St
Louis, and which proposes that de-
termined effort be made on June l to
bring back prosperity by conducting
business and entering upon new en-
terprise just as if there were not hard
times, is acting upon the foregoing
idea 1t assumes that when once
confidence is restored prosperity will
be restored.
And it is this idea that is influence
ing thousands of the voters of this
state to support Joseph M. Brown for
Governor. They beliey that his cleo
ton would be regarded as an an
nOuncement that, so far as Georgia
is concerned, there would be an end
of policies that are believed to have
contributed to the bringing about Of
the panic, and they think that the
people, so believing, would face the
future in a much more optimistic
frame of mind. What is wanted now,
faith in the future Anything that
will assist in inspiring this faith is
desired 1t is believed that the cleo
ton of Mr.. Brown will assist in doing
so.
That there is fear that the Cover
nor, if chosen agian, would purpose a
policy that would tend to keep capital
| out of the state and prevent the
| railroads from getting on their feet
again in the near future is shown in
the communication Of Mr. w. H.
Berry, mechanic, published in
the Morning News yesterday.
Speaking of the Governor, he
says:
He realizes that this opposition to
him is not of a personal nature, but
is born of a lack of confidence in
him. How can it be otherwise when
Gov. Smith on his second visit to
Savannah before a large audience
said (and ! will repeat his language
| as nearly as pOssibleO that in cOnse-
quence of the depressed condition of
business they had not interferred with
or restricted the railroads to any eX-
tent lately, but that after the 18th of
June, at which time he was confident
| of reelection, he would take the mat
] ter up again. What did he mean? To
my mind, there is but one thing
and that is after June by some dras-
tic legislation best known to himself
he would further Cypress the rail
roads. Will such threats as this res
fnt
perity? / think not; if it did its
travel in this direction would be so
slow that many of us would be dead
and perhaps forgotten before it reach
ed Georgia
In this little excerpt, Mr.. Berry
goes to the very bottom of the opposi-
ton of the Governor The wage
Garner fears that he will insist upon
policies respecting corporations that
will force down wages. The merchant
fears that his policies will make it
impossible for the corporations to
take back the men who have been laid
off, and hence there will be hundreds
of thousands Of dollars a month less
in circulation than there otherwise
would be and the farmer knows that
II the hard times continue there will
be less demand for cotton goods, and
hence a lower price for cotton. The
pay roll of the Central of Georgia
Railway alone is nearly 100000 a
month less than it was before the
panic. When the Governor, therefore
says that he promised because of the
hard times, but that he will take the
railroad question up again after June
4, the date of the primary, he alarms
scores of thousands of voters who
are either out of work or are strug-
Cling against adverse conditions and
holding 0 nhOping for better times.
We are simply pointing why it is
that there is SO much opposition to
the Governor. The policies he stands
for do not inspire confidence in the
speedy coming of better times. They
don't inspire the faith which Senator
Aldrich says the country must have
On the other hand the election of
Brown, it is believed, would mean
different policies and be accepted as
an indication of the quick coming of
better times, and a belief of that kind
is a mighty force in the struggle for
prosperity.
In this contest the great majority of
thinking people are not concerned
about prohibition, Acknowledgement
and other things which have been lug
ged into the campaign. They are con-
cerned about bread and meat and how
to get enough of them.