Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-09-29
.SIDELIGHTS|
POLITICS.
Bv JAMES q. NEvJN.

The newspapers throughout the
State are commenting nowadays
rather caustically upon the wretched
| and uninhabitable condition of the
Governors Mansion in Atlanta.
/ Not only is it generally agreed that
| the ramshackle old barn is alto
gether out of date, Anticipated, and
insanely situated for the purpose it
| serves, but besides that it actually is
! falling down in spots,
| Long ago the plastering overhead
in one of the bedrooms fell down with
dull and sickening thud, and a short
time before that Governor Brown,
only by nimbleness of foot and quick
ness of eye, succeeded in jumping
from under similar precipitation of
overhead ceiling in another room
Just when the dining room may
take tumble to itself no prophet or
'on of prophet will say, although
the hope is universal. of course, that
when it does fall, it will not bury the
Executive or Mrs. Slaton beneath the
wreck!
The Executive Mansion in Atlanta
is joke-and not a pretty or fas-
cinating joke, at that!
If a Governor were not sentenced
to live in it, so to speak, few of them
likely would care to do so.
To be sure, it's historic and hon
orable associations are pleasant and
inspiring things to think upon--if
only one could sit in the Mansion and
| think upon them without being 81
multaneously in mortal terror that
| something heavy, plastery and not at
all nice might fall upon him at any
moment and mangle him beyond rec
| ognitionl
The Executive Mansion would
make a first-rate fourth-rate board
| ing house-maybei
1t certainly isn't much of a place
| for a Governor of Georgia to reside
Anent the Mansion, The Oglethorpe
| Echo says:
A fortunate absence probably
| kept Governor and Mrs Slaton
from being injured by falling
| plastering in the Governors Man
! sion few days since. It's a
shame that as great a State as
| Georgia should not have home
/
could at least reside in safety.
And there are others that say the
same thing-many of them!
The death of Representative Rod
| denbery has brought forth numerous
tentative candidates for his place in
| Congress.
Among them are H. NJ. Mcintosh, of
! Albany; Judge Frank Park, of Syl-
va =fa II % e u
| coe Luke and Judge H. w Hopkins,
| Of Townsville; w. A. Covington and
w. c. Vereen, Of Moultrie; John p.
| Knight, Of Nashville; John Donal-
son, of cambridge. and Jesse Perry,
of Camilla.
And there likely will be more men
| toned hereafter as the game yet is
young!
The recent Mayoralty election in
Macon split the Legislative delega-
tons, present and past wide open.
Wallace Miller. one of the candi-
! dates for Mayor. is a member of the
House, and he was bitterly opposed
by Minter Wimberly, another mem
Der.
Senator Mcneil favored and worked
for Miller, while Roland Ellis. a for
mer Senator, favored and worked for
smith. Walter before, a member of
the last House, was with the Miller
| crowd, while Ben Fowler-where was
Ben IN that scrap anyway?
When the Georgia Prison Commits,
sion was first made an advisory board
| of pardons, its recommendation gen
orally were followed rather regularly.
Once or twice, perhaps three or four
times, Governor Atkinson, Governor
Terrell and other Executives turned
down the recommendations of the
Prison Commission, sitting as bolrf
OF pardons but not often. Tie luIe
was to accept the findings of the
Commission as approXimating the cor
rect adjustment OF the particular
problem submitted, and to let it go
at that!
1t was not until Little Joe" Brown
| became Governor that the recommen-
dations of the Commission began To
be looked upon as little more than
| suggestive and mildly advisory to the
Executive. And even Governor Brown
began by following the line of action
mapped out by the Commission
Nowadays, however, a recommen-
| dation from the Prison Commission
| is a step in the direction the petit
toner desires-presuming it to be ia
vorable-but nothing more. Govern
ors have come to turn down Prison
Commission awards as one of the
easiest things they know!
Only Saturday, for instance. Gov
ernor Slaton turned down a major
| ity recommendation for a pardon, and
granted a life Communication instead.
In doing that, he followed the recon-
| mendation of a minority opinion. No
Governor considers any petition for
clemency, nevertheless. unless It first
has been thrashed out by the Com
| mission.
There is no way of limiting a Geo.
gia Governors discretion in the mat
| ter of clemency-the Legislature could
not make the Prison Commissions
| recommendation binding upon the
Governor, if it desired to- In the
matter of pardons combinations, ana
so forth. the Governor is final, su-
preme. and altogether an arbitrary
authority! The Constitution of The
State gives him utterly untrammeied
powers in that direction. And it is
for khis reason, of course, that most
Governors are careful and discreet in
granting clemency, In any event.
Governor SIatOn has received a in