Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-09-29
.SIOELIGHTS|
ION POLITICS|
BY JAMES 8. NEVlN.

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gether out of date, Anticipated.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 a similar precipitation of
overhead ceiling in another room.
Just when the dining room may
take tumble to itself no prophet or
on of a 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 a 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. its 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
simultaneously in mortal terror that
something heavy, plastery and not at
all nice might fall upon him at any
moment and mangle him beyond rec
ognition,
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 Mar
sion few days since It's a
shame that as great a State as
Georgia should not have a home
in which her Chief Executive
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 II. NJ. Mcintosh. of
Albany; Judge Frank Park. of SyI-
vester W. w. Banks, of Triton: Ros-
Coe Luke and Judge H. W. Hopkins.
of Thomasville; 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 recommendations 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 d boIri
of pardOns but not often. Tie juIe
was to accept the findings of lhe
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-
dalton from the Prison Commission
is a step in the direction the petit
toner desires-presum it to be ia
Voraole-but nothing more. Govern
ors have come to turn down Prison
Commission awards as one of ~tna
easiest things they know!
Only Saturday for instance, Gov
ernor Slaton turned down a major
ity recommendation for pardon, and
granted a life Communication instead.
In doing that he followed the recon-
mendation of minority opinion. NJ
Governor considers any petition for
Clemency, nevertheless, unless il 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 CommisSion's
recommendations binding upon the
Governor, If il desired to. In the
matter of ardons, combinations, ana
SO forth, the Governor is final su-
preme. and altOgeth-.r an arbitrary
authority The Constitution of he
State gives him utterly untrammeied
powers in that direction. And it is
for this reason, of course, that most
Governors are careful and discreet IN
granting clemency, in any event