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

some of her civil courts she requires
| trial by jury in others juries are omit
/ ted In municipal courts persons are
/ deprived Of liberty without the verdict
Of Juries. She, therefore, ordains such
| court procedure as she deems fitting To
| the crime, the local conditions or the
| emergency.
| In her law governing the case undar
review she did aotschoose to fix a status.
| half fish and half fowl, to adiudIcsts
/ in a civil cour acts done under mill
| tary government. which the civil author
/ tiles 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 self-respecting in decreeing the
| temporary supremacy Of the military To
/ stamp out ANARCHY as it is in times
| of peace when tie civil process ia
properly the only authority. The sup
preston Of anarchylis the right and dutv
of a free, law-loviGg people, and there
come times when hey must shoot n
to death Just as thy shoot down for
| eign invaders.
Enemies " Law.
And no specious pkas by enemies OF
/ law and no theoretical treatises nv
alarmed sentimentalias should weigh
| against the logical process which law. In
/ times of peril, must t,ke to insure lis
| supremacy over the HYDRA of anarchy
And, while hold in high honor the pa
|
citizens who have deemed the use Of
| the military as a menace to the Sc
curity of our institutions, yet I must
say firmly that the man at headquar-
tiers, who, the Constitution declares
| shall be a conservatoI of the peace
/ throughout the State, AID the man on
/ the scene of danger, are better fitted 10
/ Judge whether the soldie,y is needed 10
| 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 personne Of the mill
/ tia, l call your attention tothe fact that
/ it's members are not foreigers or hire
/ lings. They are not the Governors SOL
diers, organized by his orde- to display
/ his power; they are your soldiers, by the
mandate Of your Constitution organized
to protect your homes. your ives, your
civilization. They are your own flesh
and blood, your sons or brothers, who,
! thrusting not themselves into the arena
of danger, but called thither by the OBJ
Grafton of your statutes, leavs their oc-
equations. sometimes losing their pres
ent income, and submit to inconven-
ienoe, endure prtyations, aud stand
ready to sacrifice even life itself to
shield you and to uphold the dignity of
your laws
Part of Government.
Instead. therefore, of being held as
a thing apart, the Constitution makes
them an integral factor of your gov
eminent; instead Of being ar excres-
cence, they are your strong am never
to be exerted save when your cher ele-
ments Of strength are inadequate or
helpless then, with the force ola thun-
And in their patriotic willingness to
| lay down even life itself to protect
you and your laws they embCdy the
words of our Divine Lord: Greater
love hath no man than this, thata man
lay down his life for his friend" John
| 1919 And should any of then lose
lives in the service for which you very
l hos g9ufV1 nod Ha1fv~
cation, they merit the paraphrase q the
simple, yet sublime, epitaph which his
countrymen placed over Leonidas and
the Spartan band who fell at Thermopy-
lac in defense of their country, viz.
| go, stranger, tell ii in lacedRmon that
we died in obedience to her laws"
Let me say, therefore, that Georgits
name should be the synonym of good
faith; that when she guarantees in
partial and complete protection she
must make her guarantee good: that
the uniform of solder who unselfshly
leaves home comforts and hazards his
life for the protection of the laws Of the
State and the lives 81 her people is a
/ badge of honor. And twenty-year.
old youth. standing II uniform with gun
in hand for the projection of the law,
is more to be honored than are 10000
men who directly q indirectly lift
| hands for anarchy. cass preference, or
sents not militarism in its formal sense,
but he Is the ultimate resort Of the law.
UNFOLDING tie Law.
The present law pregcribing the man
ner OF using the militia of the State WAS
passed unanimously by the Senate and,
almost unanimously b. the House OF
Representatives Both factions united
/ in enacting it after considering it for
more than year. Undoubtedly a pot
ent factor in securing the enactment OF
the law was the knowledge that, while
many good people are moving into
Georgia, yet there are ais elements with
! VHriFa1
with these adhered to by our native
population.
Consequently we must assume that il
| is the judgment of a vat majority Of
the people of Georgia tina. the military
must be, used as military when emery
enCies demand. The Gene.al Assembly.
therefore, does not have to apologize
for making this law; am the Gov
ernor does not have to apologize for
ordering its enforcement And the
militia does not have to apologize for
obeying the order the Governor trans
mitted to it. Each performed a high
duty which the people for their protec-
ton had ordained.
Some of the happenings in Georgia
during the present year have trended
inevitably toward bringing your Consti-
tuition into contempt. II is for YOU,
therefore, to say whether you are going
to surrender this State to anarchy or
whether you are going TO preserve It
for law. 1t is for you II say whether
you are going to allow one class, with
less than 80 900 members preferential
privileges to the detrimem and danger
of the remainder of the public with up
wards Of $50 900 voters or whether YOU
VIII enforce your process against all
law breakers alike
Mobs and Lynchinus.
1t is for you to say Whether Won will
allow barns to be burned, residences DIV
namited and people driven from their
homes, thus destroying property valua-
IONS and depriving certain }sounties Of
needed laborers; and whetha YOU will
allow mobs to force sheriffs and iailers
before the muzzles of guns, tosurrender
prisoners in the States custodX who are
Then taken out and unlawfuiy killed.
Is for you to say whether YOU will
allow the statutes you enact tobe made
a mockery or whether all mea in all
classes shall obey them in tie same
manner. You have the power to enact
laws which will control every situation
have portrayed.
Yet, am in the line of duty md self
respect when l say: Do not mate it the
Governor duty to enforce a shw and
hen condemn him for doing ANY
Governor, true to his oath, wiII3snforce
I regardless of condemnation And do
not, even by inference, command a mil
itlaman, sheriff or other agent If the
state to imperil his life and possibly
Iose IT, TO protect your lives and crop
erty and uphold the dignity of your
constitution, and then fire into his hack
from the State House whence his orders
came. DO not enact laws which Fou
not ln