The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-02-22
of the Georgia troops is voiced by Ad jUtant General A. J. Scott.

Arsenal Is Needed.
 At present the only place which the military department has for keeping arms, ammunition and stores Is the basement of the state capitol. Tie cap itol basement has been constantly en- croached upon by the various depart ments until now there Is not a square foot of vacant room in 1t. The mili- tary department along with others has been cramped and crowded until 1t Is short on space. Not only this but it is becoming constantly more difiic1lt to get at the ammunition and stores located there.
 Adjutant General Scott thinks the state would perform an important md much needed service to the militia if 1t would furnish an arsenal for stores and equipment There is no southern l state whi ich has such an institution, but in view of the fact that Georgia has more troops than any other southern state he considers the state could well afford to lead the way
 Mot Onto the Ropes"
 The fact that Dr. W. B. Summerall superintendent of the hospital for con tagious diseases, made an unsuccessful attempt this week to get some whisky for the treatment of a case which needed just that remedy. has been pointed to us a testimonial to the ef- ticacy of the proh law, at least so far as Atlanta Is concerned.
 This testimony does not accord, how ever, with that of a certain south 1 Georgian who was a visitor to Atlanta about the same time. He wanted bottle of good whisky and started out determined to get it. He was stand ing in front of the Kimball house men tally laying his plans when a stranger came along and evidently "sized him up." To make a long story short, he and the south Georgian negotiated their deal and the latter had his bottle of booze within less than 20 minutes
 So the cynical have been led to re- mark that pr. Summerall was not "onto l the ropes" At any rate mere publi- l cation of the fact that the doctor needed some whisky for a patient aroused response ffom charitable pos sessors of that article, and an order l promptly forwarded to Chattanooga 1 will fortify the hospital in future against the lack of 1t.
 Wild Lands In Georgia. Wild lands decreased in Georgia in 1908 as compared with 1907 by S2,377 acres, according to the annual report of
 
 l now in course of preparation. The re- suit was a corresponding increase in improved lands which, in 1908, were l 31 ,203, ,449 acres, valued at s166,267, ,311, as compared with 31,171,0 acres, valued at $t64,644,712, for 1907.
 There are still 452S,202 acres of wild lands in the state returned for taxation at s5,112,3S4, an increase of nearly $400 900 over the valuation of the year before, despite the decrease in the num- Der of acres. A peculiar fact shown by the report is that down in Miller coun- ty wild land Is worth S5.54 per acre as compared with only $4.s4 for improved lands. The timber Is supposed to ac- count for the difference. In Fulton county the average value of improved land per acre is $64S7; in Chatham, s14.96, and in Richmond, s18.57. The lowest average value per acre any where in the state is in Bryan county, where the return is s1.41.
 EIks Wlll Entertain. On May r, IS, 19 and 20 the Atlanta Elks are preparing to entertain the biggest crowd of that brotherhood which ever gathered in southern city. At least that is what they are looking for The local committees already ap- pointed express the Seelief that there will be at least 2000 and possibly 5000 me mbers of the order here. The occa- sion Is the state convention, but they are not going to limit the attendance 10 Georgia members.
 The meetings will be held in the new auditorium. The committees are al- ready hard at work and they promise an interesting and attractive pro- gramme. All the available automobiles will be requisitioned for the occasion, the biggest barbecue of the season is being planned and for one night at least the Elks will take possession of all the theatres in the city. The At lanta Elks say they are going to make it an occasion long to be remembered.
 Amateur Cracksmen.
 "Chicken thief cracksmen,' Is the way President James ". English of the Fourth National bank designates the four amateur safe blowers corralled by the police this week. Among the sem sational features incident to their ar rest was the alleged discovery that they Lad planned to crack the safe of Cap efain English's bank. The idea that four such anna teurs these proposed to tackle the armorplate safe of one of the biggest banking institutions in the south was Imaginable to the Fourth Ma tionars president.
 The police, however. have undoubted- ly made an important haul Leroy Crozler, 19 years old; Jim Webb, 25, and Will Knight, IT, not only con fessed, but they furnished the police with all the necessary corroborative evidence to prove the truth of what they said. They have woven strong web in their confessions around Will liam Jones' alias several othe CT names, who consistently denies his complioity and declares he is a cotton mill opera tive from Nashville, who came here looking for work.
 Each of the three who have confessed participated in the work of blow ing two or three of the seven safes which Jones is charged with cracking within the last two weeks.
 Jones was sent to jail in default of s2O 900 bond, while bond in the other cases was fixed at 5000.
 In the meantime there Is possibility, it Is said, of further safe cracking in or about Atlanta. The notorious George Barton, who recently escaped from the Georgia penitentiary, is supposed to be somewhere hereabouts looking for op- | portunities.
 Barton was convicted of blowing a l safe at Sharon. Ga, and given IS years. | A few weeks ago he escaped from the l penitentiary and shortly afterward | there came news of the blowing of the | postoffice safe at Canton, from which | 5000 In postage stamps was stolen. | Barton has been duplicate in this rob | bery. and there is reason to believe he l Is in hiding somewhere in or around Atlanta. When he Is caught there will