Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1910-08-02
HOOPER Alexander.

The legislature, whose sessions are
drawing to a close. is the third one In
which Hooper Alexander has served con-
secutiveiy. His friends are glad to know
that he IL a candidate for the next
house. It was a common remark In the
days when he and Murphy Gambler were
In the house together, or when Gambler
was in the senate. that DeKalb county,
though not a large county IN population,
possessed the two ablest members OF the
general assembly. Gambler Is now rail-
road commissioner and is without oppo-
sition to succeed himself. The other lead
ers in the house. in the legislature OF
1868 have nearly all retired from serv-
ice in the house. seab Wright, Coving-
ton, Perry. 6tovall. Knight. Boyldn
Wright, Fielder. Hall and ]. r. Ander-
son remain. and Hooper Alexander, the
leader OF the majority in the present
house.
Those with axes for the people to grind.
the crowd who are IN one way or an
other attached to the special interests"
have tried to cripple Hooper Alexander's
influence by calling him q visionary and
q crank. But in spite OF his being
made target for all such missiles. In
campaigns when mud singing was rath-
or the rule than the exception, no one
has ever assailed the purity Of his life
or the integrity OF his character. He Is
known OF all men to be incorruptible. We
believe he is no exception to the rule
among the public men of Georgia. yet It
is always something to be said OF q pub
lie servant. that he Is beyond the sus-
. picion OF unworthy motives His record
is consistent It has always been on
the side OF the people in political con-
tentions, on the side OF humanity In So
cial reforms.
His influence in politics was felt long
before he became a member Of the house.
He IL the acknowledged author and orig
inator OF the franchise tax. He was call
ed a crank when he began talking about
II. The tax has added millions to the
state treasury, Is paid cheerfully by the
corporations and there is no one crank
enough now to advocate q repeal Of the
franchise tax law. His advocacy OF the
extension OF the W. & A. railroad to the
aea has made It the accepted creed OF
the majority of the people OF Georgia,
and this position in 1906 stopped the pro-
posed lease Of the state road. He was
one o fthe staunchest and most valiant
advocates OF state prohibition. He was
an invaluable ally in the fight for the
enlargement Of the powers of the railroad
commission. He was an earnest and sim
cere fighter for the adoption Of the suf-
, frage amendment by the legislature. aft
erwards so Overwhelmingly adopted by
the people. He has been the hearty advo-
cate of every advance in the cause Of ed
ucation, is the friend OF all educational
and humane institutions OF Georgia He
was one of the earliest advocates Of the
abolition of the clustering shame of the
convict lease system
He made the effectice speech in this
house for the income tax amendment. He
was a friend of the juvenile court bill,
one of the earliest champions IN Georgia
of the child labor bill. He is "the enemy
of the last abuse and the advocate OF the
next reform" We doubt II any man.
even among the great men Of Georgia's
glorious past has served in the leg1sla
ture for six conservative years, who has
been SO influential in the task Of framing
good laws or of killing bad bills. HIS
record may be searched in vain for
I single surrender of principle. Even when
men disagree with his judgment at the
time, they are prone to say that he Is
tust n little in advance OF the public
sentiment that will surely follow. HIS
record in the houJe whenn his ide has
been in the ascendancy IS the record OF
the legislation that has been made
permanent part of the Georgia statutes.
With all of this he has been faith
full and devoted servant Of the interests
of his own county, striving ever to ma
out the will of the people in local az
fairs that he might work that will into
local laws II will be recalled that when
he was suddenly summoned to take the
place OF another attorney, and to repre-
! sent before the railroad commission as
II was then constituted. the appeal OF the
people for lower passenger rates, ne ac-
cepted the responsibility and threw the
railroad managers into confusion by in
sisting that the burden Of proof was on
them to show from their books why the
rates should not be reduced, and on
that showing the commission voted, two
to one, in favor of reducing the rates
When the Georgia railroad allowed the
demand for cars at Stone Mountain, for
hauling granite, to go unheeded, and en-
ployers were threatened with great finan-
cial loss, and workmen were thrown out
of employment, ii was his strenuous IN
sistance that the company attend to the
rights of the people along its line, for
whom the road was built and in behalf
of whom the charter was granted, that
sent them away loaded.
1t needs not to be said that this is pub
lished without his knowledge or sugges-
ton He would not be the man he is If
he could have made such suggestion.
But we have this further to say. We
have three candidates for the house in
DeKalb county, with two to be chosen.
We have nothing to say against the
merits of the other two. May the better
man win! But now that Hooper Alex
ander has reached his commanding po-
sition of influence in the house. it would
be a calamity to the state, to say moth
ing of our county, for him not to be re-
turned. Whether Mr.. Lively or Mr..
Fields shall be his colleague the county
will decide. as it generally does decide,
in favor of the better man. But if the
good people of DeKalb are as proud of
Hooper Alexander as the friends of the
people are all over the state, and are as
grateful for his distinguished services,
we will make his election unanimous.