The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1907-1917, 1913-07-24
a LAWYER MAKES INQUIRY AS
TO RIGHTS OF MILITIA.

nave cOHSlOeF0u the ACt Oh 1917, re-
lating to riots, and q Governors
duty as to calling out the militia,
and that your conclusions were
given in recent speech or magazine
article.
l have been requested by N NJ.
Dorm, the father of the young man
who was killed at Augusta last Sep
tember, to represent him in a con-
templated investigation before "a
Legislative Committee. l desire to
have all the light on the subject that
I can secure and will greatly appre-
ciate it if you will send me a copy
of the article in question or refer me
to it.
1t has seemed to me that the kill
ing was both wanton and malicious,
and that the guilty party should be
indicted and tried in a civil court
An effort has been made, under
stand, to have Committee of the
Legislature investigate, de novo, the
whole affair That in my mind, will
not attain the desired result. Even
under the Act of 1912, which I be-
lieve to be unconstitutional, and the
Code Sections in reference to the
militia, the parties in this case are
guilty of manslaughter, and should
be brought to trial before a COM
petent tribunal.
/ will appreciate any suggestions
from you in reference to this mat
ter. Yours very truly,
Georgia. A LAWYER.
Answer.
Dear Sir:
Your letter received
1t was in speech made by me at
Thomson, while the troops were still
In Augusta, that / reviewed the con-
duct of the Governor, in it's relation
to the Law.
Herewith I am enclosing AN eX-
tract from the speech, and am also
sending Editorials from The Weekly
Jeffersonian, in which l have dis
cussed that great crime.
The Acts of the Legislature pre-
scribe very carefully what the sold
iers can do after being called out:
they can go no further than to arrest
citizens who knowingly. wilfully,
and without cause, step over the So
called dead lines
The military cannot lawfully in
ffict any punishment at all upon civ
,ilians who transgress military regu-
lationS.
The officers who issued those
orders to shoot-as we'll as the men
who Obeyed them-are guilty of the
murder of Dorne, Baker and Chris
tie, and the ends of justice will
never be met until they are indicted
by the grand jury of Richmond
County, and tried by the Superior
Court for those unlawful killings.
It might be worth your while also
to investigate the question of the liza
bility of the city for damages to
those who are interested in the lives
OF the men murdered.
fhanded to Senator C.. e. McGreg-
or, for his use, my, copy of the Code
with the markings of the laws that
apply to the case. My recollection is,
that the Acts of 1874 are those
that limit the authority OF troops
when called out
At all events, you will readily see
that, if there is any Act of the Legis-
lature which allows the military to
forbid free speech, free press, free
assemblage, the writ of habeas
corpus, and which subjects civilians
not attempting crime to the danger
of bell killed without due process
of law, such legislation would be
totally void because a violation not
only of the State Constitution, but
of the Constitution of the United
States.
Our State Constitution provides
that the civil authority shall ALWAYS