Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1910-02-16
JUDGE FITE's BUSY LITTLE BEE

After strenuous deniaIs that there
was any political ambition stirring be-
meath his skin, or that in his "distiI-
lery'' stunts he was actuated by any
| desire to get into the limeight, Judge
Fife has now put on the soft pedal
and TREMENDOUSLY acknowledges that
if the dear people" wishao follow him
to the polls as their gubernatorial can
didate he will listen to the voice of
duty and become their standard
| bearer.
Judge Fite first sprang into promf-
nence, we believe, by his charges some
years ago to the grand jury on the
frighSell iniquity of the women folks
playing progressive euchre with silk
stockings and bon bon holders as the
/ prizes. That was before bridge whist
and ~" had become the rage. Judge
Fite fairly foamed at the mouth over
the objectionable sins Of the fair folks
of the section in which he is located.
called on the grand jury to indict
them, and otherwise threw consterna-
ton into the hearts of the fair ed
Of society and into the homes "
which he threatened to tear Ae
for term in jail.
As far as we have ever been able y
ascertain the fair sinners are still sin
ming, although they may be Temporal
I
rily doing petnce now that it IS
Lent None of them was ever indicted.
the game went merriIy on, the
demand for silk hosiery and cut glass
ornaments was not diminished, and
the grand jury meets twice a year as
! before.
After that Judge Fite went back
again into the obscurity from whence
he had come. If the Dalton Citizen
knows what it is talking about, the
most remarkable feature of his judi
cial career, until the distillery case
came up, was the wonderful unanimity
which which the Supreme court re-
yersed his decisions. Judge Fite's law
doesn't seem to have been the law
Of Georgia-at least not when the
Supreme court, or the Court of APP
peals got whack at it.
But the distillery imbroglio, with
the possibility of war between Georgia
and all the United States outside Of
it's borders, lifted Judge Fite into
the front rank again. For short
time he We'd in interest with Halley's
comet 1t was difficult to tell which one
would burst first. His second erup-
ton on the distilIery line put
halo Of glory around his head in the
eyes Of the most rabid prohibitionists,
and then, and not until then, did the
! Judge seriously consider the advisa-
bility of displacing Little Joe, send
ing Big Hoke" to the rear, and TAX
ing on himself the duty of admins
tering the affairs of the common
wealth
Judge Fite's talks are short, sharp
and incisiye. If elected governor he
will put the lid down on Savannah.
| Augusta and Atlanta, not to mention
Albany and some other smaller places.
Exactly how he will do it does not
appear. Whether the military will
be called out or recourse had to a
special army of state constables the
judge declines to say Having been
turned down so frequently in the
higher courts he probably believes
it advisable not to have the legality
Of his plans passed upon nadvance
by those who are well posted on the
Jaw. In that he shows true wisdom.
It's a long range shot in the pre-
diction line, but we will venture just
one at this time, and that is this
Judge Fife will not be thenext gov
ernor, but will continue to hand down
decisions for the higher courts to
override,