Fitzgerald enterprise. (Fitzgerald, Ga.) 1895-1912, 1910-08-04

| your railroad commission law, put couio
| do nothing They threatened your pure
| e.eck;on law, but could do nothing. They
| sandered your treasury, but When the
| s1st CT December arrived. the cash was
| there. They turned down purchases a2-
| proved by the legislature to lmpro r.
| AND increase the value of your Weste$h
and Atlantic railroad, but Il months
| from now, with the progressive Dtt-
! rnocraCy again in Office, there Will sum
he time to take up the preservation ana
protection of property belonging to your
state and the harm done by the reac-
tionaries l trust, will be only tempo
rarJ.
FUTURE POLICY.
I invite your attention to the future
1t should be the policy OF the progress
i've Democracy to see to 1t that your
railroad commission does its work nom
estnly, fearlessly, fairly, without favorlt-
ism. moved alone by the purpose to give
equal Justice to the public ana the com
ranies under their supervision Ihere
ere few changes required to perfect this
law. We can permit it to stand the
test of time 1t will demonstrate its
value to corporate interests as well as
to private citizens.
Our pure election laws must be en-
forced The use of money to hlre men
the law. The judges of the superior
court should be required to direct the
Grand iuries of every county to make
thorough investigation Immediately af-
ter each election to see II these laws
have been disregarded. We will perfect
OR pure election laws and our regis
tration laws with the view OF giving
every legal voter in Georgia full op-
portunity to become an elector, and of
rauuiring that he shall vote as citi-
zen moved by purpose to perform
a p,Llic duty and not corrupted by the
use of money.
w. & A. RAILROAD.
The people of Georgia are the stock
holders in that company called the state.
What the state owns belongs to all the
people What the state does should be-
for the benefit of all the people. Craft
in the most remote form must not en-
ter into public service. Offices must be
filled fer the benefit of those who dc
rot hold tEem.
The property of the state must be
cared for. Our great property, the West
ern and Atlantic railroad, must be
guarded; it belongs to all the people.
Its capacity to pay an income can be
largely increased. Its terminals in
Chattanooga and Atlanta should be
made to pay more money at the end OF
the present lease than the entire road
now pays without in any way lessen
ing the value of the railroad itself. 1
favor putting the yards outside the city
of Chattanooga, retaining such of our
tern. mails as are needed for passenger
and freight depots, but opening up and
developing the balance. This can be done
after reserving what the road requires
and yield the state by the end of the
lease approximately quarter of mil
lion dollars a year revenue.
The business property belonging to the
state in the city of Atlanta should at
the close of the present lease bring j
large revenue to the people of the state.
II is no longer required for railroad
terminals.
We should study the question of ex-
tending the state road to the sea and
to the gulf 1 do not mean that tTis
can be done during the next administra-
tion but it should be kept before the
public and by the end Of the present
lease the state road should reach to the
ocean at two or more ports, and part
of the plan of Improvement should 10
to extend it also to the gulf.
l do not mean that the state is to
operate the property. 1 am inclined to
be against state operation But IL $
great property can be developed so as to
increase enormously the revenue of the
state and lessen the burden of taxation,
resting upon the people, and it can
also be used a means of regulatin
our transportation charges, and giving
to Georgia what the Erie canal gavet
to New York state, freight rates which
made New York the metropolis Of Amer
lea.
AUTHORIZING BILL
We secured all the measures of legisla-
ton for which the contest of 1905 was
made except the anti-lobbying bill 1
sincerely hope the present legislature
will pass this bill If it does not,
should pass it next year.
PERFECT ALL WORK, ESPECIALLY
SCHOOLS.
We will perfect our other legislation
passed in pursuance of the pledges made
to the people in 1906, and there need be
no fear of friction with the legislature.
The work in 1911 will be to perfe It what
has been already done. not to destroy
it.
In all our lines we should have pro-
gress and betterment Tor Georgia and
her people as our object
The greatest constructive policy to
which the thought of the next admin
iStration should De given must be cur
children and our schools. We must tPs in
the children of the state. We must
especially stimulate the work of our lu-
raj teachers. We must PystematiZe the
Elan for our rural schools. We mist
see that the splendid boys and girls,
blessed by the opportunity Of fresh air,
of woods and fields, with these special
advantages for mental, moral and spirit
ual inspiration, shall receive the
school house that help that will ena-
BILE them to grow in strength and pow
err, ready to lead ami direct the great
Georgia of the future. We must en-
courage the study of agriculture among
those who are now grown. Investigation
must be made at the expense Of the
state and problems worked out and sent
to those engaged upoa the farm fer
their use. Progress must be the watch
word for agriculture.
To know and to accomplish more in the
farm is the wag to serve Georgia best.
1 would have the mind and the heat of
all of Georgia aroused upon the subject
of agricultural progress and better train
ing for the children of Georgia.
The natural resources of the state are
not surpassed, north, east, south OF west.
The opportunity for manufacturing
growth is scarcely equa1Ied. We have
the three great raw materials, iron, lum-
Der and lint cotton. We ahve coal at
hand. The geological survey has declared
that water power developed would
run all the manufacturing nlants of Fill