Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-06-25

able bodies with the authority above
indicated and by plain inference have
made the same your duty
Therefore, If the use Of the militia Of
the State be "militarism" ii is clear
that the Constitution creates mill
tartsm' and ordains that such shall be
The instrument of its enforcement
when laWless elements in any cOmmu-
nifty contending only with the civil
authorities set that Constitution and
4 the statutes at defiance and imperil the
lives and property Of the people. The
same Constitution declares that pro
lection to person and property is the
paramount duty Of government and
be impartial and complete" This
Is but an amphncatlon OF the ancient
maxim: The safety Of the people is
the supreme law"
And we must not ignore the fact that
| on her Great Seal of state. amid the
1 columns, Wisdom. Justice and Moder-
alton which uphold the arch of the
| Constitution, Georgia presents to the
/ worlds view the figure of a soldier
! holding drawn sword, thus symbolic
/ ing the fact that inside the very temple
| OF peace she holds the type of martial
/ power, power loyal and ever ready TO
/ protect that Constitution and the
/ peace which IL commands.
Use of the Militia.
| During the past summer and fall, the
| use of the military was called for, in
/ the manner prescribed by law, to pro-
/ lGCL the PUBIC against AdWleESneSS re-
/ Sultlng from the strike by street car
| employees in Augusta, and also from
| threatened attempts to prevent the
| process of the States laws in Cum
ming, Ga.
! . 1t was a deplorable fact that in Au-
| gusta three persons put themselves in
| INSTRUMENTATION to the military law. one,
| II not two, Of them in an open and de-
| tiant manner intended to lead to de-
struction, by a mob Of property in GUS
| tOHW of gnlIiHTN nlappn nv the state "a
guard IL, hence, were killed In the eX-
| ercise of their unlawful acts No one
except these can be blamed for their
deaths.
Deeds done in defiance Of the military
law must necessarily meet penalties
Just as deeds done against the civil
| laws must meet the same. 1t is well
known that extreme acts of violation
OF the civil laws have for their penalty
death, and this. when dire necessity
comes, the State infiicts
Militia Not a Bluff.
II can not be admitted. therefore that
when lawless parties, by threats of in
cendiarism and personal violence, ter
rorize a community and prevent the civil
authorities from enforcing the laws and
he military is called out, that the lat
ter should be instructed to refrain from
rigorous measures, even from the in
fiction of death. for the protection of the
peaceable and law abiding members Of
the community. The Constitution mani
testify does not intend that the militia
~ he used simply as a bluff
Such use would put the Constitution
tself in contempt and absolutely invite
anarchy, The very word militia" car
res with 1t the knowledge that its wea-
pons are guns and other means of de-
tr0ying life II extreme necessity for Sc
'uring impartial and complete protec-
ion for the law abiding so demands.
We must not overlook the fact that
ne constitution provides that the sher-
nv aNHH
comitatus when the elements Of violence
reaten to subvert the law in his coun-
~ But the militia is the States posse
Somitatus, to be used when the sheriff 8
posse comltatus is too weak to protect
he peace and good name of the State II
then the posse comltatus Of the Sheriff
OF Richmond County had have killed the
| three men before referred to. in Augusta.
no iaw-abidinR citizen would have con-
demned II. There is therefore ahso.
utely no reason for condemning the
: States militia for a like defense Of the
| states authority. No man must give
! dare TO the State
Trial by Military.
As 10 the trial by a military court OF
ne officers and men concerned in the
aillng in Augusta Of the three men who
their deeds defed the militia whom
the State had put in charge Of the city,
Tor the preservation of life and property.
| WIZ say that the State has both the
ANf1'AA t'AaN Inv iitbl al fAEtlL 10 Tx what
ever process she deems appropriate. In
some of her civil courts she REQUIRES
trlal by jury, in others juries are omit
ted In municipal courts persons are
deprived OF liberty without the verdict
OF JuTles She, therefore, ordains such
court procedure as she deems fitting to
9 crime, the local conditions or the
emergency.
In her law governing the case under
review she did not choose to fix a status
half fish and half fowl. 10 adjudicate
in a civil court acts done under milf
lary government which the civil author
itles had requested to supersede their
own. Here was no usurpation Of the
rights Of a free people. they made the
status themselves
There was no degradation Of their
manhood. That manhood is as upright
and as seif-respectiBg in decreeng the
temporary supremacy of the military TO
stamp out anarchy as II is IN times
Of peace when the civil process is
properly the only authority. The sup
preston Of anarchy Is the right and duty
OF free, law-loving people, and there
come times when they must shoot it
10 death Just as they shoot down for
eign invaders.
Enemies Of Law
And no specious pleas by enemies Of
law and no theoretical treatises by
alarmed sentimentalists should weigh
against the logical process which law. In
times Of peril, must take to insure its
supremacy over the hydra of anarchy.
And, while I hold in high honor the pa
triotic devotion Of some Of our best
citizens who have deemed the use of
the military as a menace 10 the Sc
curity Of our institutions. yet | must
say firmly that the man at headquar-
ters, who the Constitution declares.
shall be a cOnservator Of the peace
throughout the State, and the man on
the scene Of danger, are better fitted TO
judge whether the soldiery is needed to
protect life and property. as is provided
by the Constitution and the statutes.
than can be any people living many miles
from the zone Of peril
Now. as to the personnel OF the mill
tia, / call your attention to the fact that
it's members are not foreigners or hire
lings. They are not the Governors SOL
dIers,. organized by his order to display
his power; they are your soldiers, by the
mandate Of your Constitution, organized
to protect your homes, your lives, your
civilization They are your own flesh
and blood, your sons or brothers who
thrustiug not themselves into the arena
of danger. but called thither by the OPP
Grafton Of your statutes. leave their oc-
cupatiOns sometimes losing their pres
emf income. and submit 10 inconven-
fence, endure privatiOns. and stand
ready TO sacrifice even life itself to