The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-02-16
FARMING OUTLOOK
 GOOD IN GEORGIA Fruit Crop Gives Prospects of
 Breaking Records FIFE FOR GOVERNOR Circuit Judge Has Attained Some Fame in Clash With Federal Judge md
 VIII Not He Averse to
 Nomination

Atlanta, February 15.-(Special.)- Around the department of agriculture there is abundant optimism regarding the spring outlook; predictions forecast the most favorable agricultural season the state has had in years.
 Not only is every indication So far fa- vorable for a record breaking fruit crop, but in every other respect, agriculturaly, it is foretold that this is going to be one of Georgia's fattest years.
 Hopes are based practically altogether on the severity and the continuity of the cold weather which has effectually kept back sap and buds, until now even should warm weather woo them forth, 1t would carry them forward to that period of spring when the danger will practically have passed.
 Commissioner T. G. Hudson finds the fruit trees held well back all over the state; the condition is practically the same in the southern as in the north ern section.
 Not only Is the situation favorable for fruit, but the freezing weather has given the ground a mechanical working oyer and breaking up better than could have resulted from any amount of blowing
 Agriculturists are expressing the hope that the cold weather will continue just d little longer now. and they will be ready for real spring to come and do it's worst. Conditions up to date are all that can be hoped for, presaging Georgias most productive year.
 Trying to Find Delegate
 Governor Brown is trying to find an available delegate who iD patriotic enough 10 go to Washington at his own expense on February 20 and 26 and represent the state in national conference on the sub ject of uniform weights and measures.
 Usually the appointment to this con- ventlon has gone to Secretary of State Philip Cook. and that well-known official has attended several of them as Georgia's official representative. But Mir. Cook has recently been in III health and is still under care of his physician. so he can not attend.
 There is no emolument, not even rail- road fare, attached to the job, only a small quantity of glory; yet year after year representatives of many of the states gather in Washington and talk about what ought to be done toward bringing weights and measures to a basis of uni form standards, and go back home and report to their states which never do it.
 It is curious fact that weights and measures vary in many states. There may be from five to ten pounds differ ence in bushel of corn, depending on where you buy it. The same is true of other weights.
 Georgia has a law under which the gov ernor is required to furnish each county in the state with a set of standards of weights and measures. but the legisla- ture has never appropriated any money to foot the bill, at least not within recent years, and there Is no way in which the governor can now meet the requirement.
 Most of the counties in the state re- ociyed set of these standards years ago. and most of them have. also, lost them mere are nine new counties, however which have never "got theirs" Possibly they might induce the legislature to come up with the needed funds.
 Ire law requires that the ordinary shall keep these standards in his office under lock and key. If any citizen thinks he ia getting short weights at the grocery store he has right to enter complaint and have his grocer's weights and measures tested. Where they are found short pros ecution is provided for
 That is the law, but at present it works only in theory. Practice disappeared so long ago that it is about forgotten.
 Candidate for Governor
 So far Judge A. w. Fite of the Chero- kee circuit is the only one who has begun to flirt, even tentively with the sovernorship this year; that is, unless some others gre carrying on a sort of sub rosa irritation.
 Judge Ffte has achieved fame as the result of his recent nesr-clash with the United States court when he tried to force testimony regarding alleged dist- lery in Dade county from Government Gauger Stegal.
 Then he added something to that fame by ordering raid on the aforesaid dis tillery operated by one G. w. Cureton, and the arrest of everybody connected with it..
 This notoriety rather naturally. per- hape, brought about the suggestion in certain quarters that Judge Fite might have designs upon the governorship. This Judge Fite denied, but admitted that he would not be at all averse to 1t if the peo-
  end run him anyhow. In other words, in a published interview, Judge Fite said that he could not afford to run for gov ernor, but that if tine people wanted to run him, they were at liberty to do so.
 So far as history records, however, all The governors the people of the state have ever hun have had to foot some pretty considerable campaign bills.
 Should Judge F:te get into the race he would have to do 70, 1t seems. upon prohibition platform. and enforcement of the prohibition law. He indicated as much in his interview.
 But right there 1t would look as if he would be handicapped. Seaborn Wright and the other prohibition leaders of the state have repudiated the suggestion of state prohibition ticket asserted that they will not join in such movement, and announced that they preferred to have prohibition become more firmly en- grafted upon the democratic party or the state, upon the ring" or whatever one Is | of mind to call 1t.
 | It would look, therefore, as if Judge | Fite could not hope for organized proh'- | hition support even should he decide to enter the race; and then. there is also the prospect of other candidates making just about as strong prohibition declarations as could Judge Elite.
 | However should Judge T1te decide to make try, the situation would undOubt- | odly become interesting