Atlanta Georgian., 1913-03-11
Council Denounced for OBJ
StruCting Vote by Citizens on
Peoples Document.

forms were indignant today at the ac-
tion Of council indefinitely delaying d
| submission OF the matter to the peo-
| pie. Many suggestions for a big mass
meeting to protest were heard on every
side. and some ST nificant develop
ments in the charter reform hght are
| expected within the next few days
Mayor Woodward declared today that
many persons had urged him to call an
/ indignation mass meeting in the Audi
| torium. He said the general impress
sion Of councils action was that they
J had endeaNOred to Complicate the whole
matter so as to bewilder everybody.
! 1T is the same sort OF petty poll
| tics they have been playing all the
| time" he aid Their whole game is
| To preserve all the little petty politi-
clans in Office, and they are fighting
every move that might loosen the grip
Of this little clique on the city gov
eminent,
Would Kill Reform Move"
They would kill the whole charter
reform movement. They have dismiss
ed the charter revision committee Of %
without acting on it's recommendations
But. mind you, have not approved the
resolution abolishing that committee"
Joseph Loewus, of the Second ward.
asserted that councils action revealed
gross insincerity. He pointed out that
council created the committee Of 25 and
dismissed it before hearing its report,
acting in good faith and thanking the
committee for its work.
Councils charter was prepared in
secret ! heard Alderman Nuttng tell
an official yesterday before the meet
ing TO keep the copy he had secret from
everybody. That doesn't look like rep
resenting the people to me-" he de-
clared.
Plans Kept Under Cover.
When Alderman Nutting and the
fourteen other councilmen offered their
resolution providing for certain charter
amendments it was the first time these
plans had ever been made public. They
were not even read in council, and the
resolution contained no provision for
tents of the resolution. Only Council
man Claude MasCn's motion instruct
ing the clerk to furnish copies to the
members of council prevented what
seemed to be a plan to adopt them
without any consideration or discus
sion by the council in open session.
The plan is to have the amendments
int Iau 1,t~f ba G. t1rra h
out submitting them to the people at
all
Vote BY People Blocked.
Having caucused in secret and franz
ed program under the guiding hand
of Aldine Chambers, eX-councilman and
defeated candidate for the mayoralty
by James G. Woodward, council pro-
ceeded to block a vote by the people on
the new charter as smoothly and easily
as the running of a well oiled machine.
Alderman James r. Nutting. who has
succeeded to the position of floor leader
for the reactionaries since Mr. Cham
bers' retirement began the action with
the introduction of a resolution to dis
miss the charter revision committee Of
%. The report Of this committee had
not even been read,
On an yea and nay vote to adopt the
resolution the yeas were 13 and the
nays II. Singing criticisms hurled
at the clique, caused several who had
pledged themselves to the caucus pro-
gram to waver. But the majority
stood firm, though most of them took
pains elaborately to explain their votes.
Majority "Ssned Up"
Then the real work Of the caucus de-
veloped. The members were signed up.
While the resolution to refer the new
charter Of the committee of 25 to the
Legislature instead of the people and
providing for certain slight changes in
the present charter without any cx-
preston by the people was signed bv
enough councilmen to insure its adop-
tion a motion by Councilman Claude G
Mason to postpone action for tvo
weeks was adopted. The wonder TODAY
is why council postponed action after SO
clearly indicating that its mind was
fully made mp
Here are the members who stacked
the cards for the meeting by signing
the resolution;
Nutting, Spratliue, Maddox. Van
Dyke, Greer Sisson, Baskjn. Hall.
Thomson, Ashley Smith, White, Ma.
son, Shepard and WardlaW.
Here Is the Resolution.
The resolution in part follows:
l. That the amendments proposed
10 the charter of the city of At
lanta Sc; out in the form Of a re-
Vised charter and herewith filed. be
accepted by this body as proper
amendments to the presnt charter
and be transmitted by the clerk of
council to the senators from the
! Thirty fourth and Thirty fifth dis
tracts and to the representatives
from Fulton and DeKalb counties.
in the general assembly of Georgia.
with the request that they have
same passed at the next meeting
of the general assembly to be held
in 1913.
said proposed revision provides
for q representative government for