Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-10-05
Movement for Forrest Adair for
Mayor Shows People Want Gov
eminent Of Neither Puritan Nor
PrUde-Resent Divided Idea.
Wide Open City Is No More
Sought Than Blue Laws, but
Common Sense Administration
Is What the Voters Want,
BY JAMES B. NEVIN.

Jun has ttfll Ndafl III AAitilLd 81
late. and much yet is 10 be said, no
doubt with respect TO the style Of
city government Atlanta really de
sires
What manner of Mayor DOES At
lanta want, ironstance?
There are champions Of a wide
open" town abroad in the land. rush
ing around seeking whom they may
devoury or words To that effect, and
there are lid-sitters OF the ten-ton
persuasion, equally as emphatic IN
setting up their notions Of real, blue
enameled city government
To those gentlemen supposedly bent
upon kicking the municipal I'D sky
high and having done with all vaTie-
ties Of restraint In the Gate city, as
well as TO those who supposedly are
determined 10 make the ancient and
honorable profession Of laughter a
by-word and a reproach. Atlanta
probably turns a temporarily and i'm
partially amused, but not definitely
impressed. ear
As a matter Of fact. there are not
so very many OF either variety Of
extreme thinkers in Atlanta any
way
To butt ones head against "a brick
wall is magnificent perhaps. but 1t
isn't war-aud by the same token
Atlanta likely isn't haukcring to do
anything aggrcSslycly rash by way Of
municipal endedyOr.
There are signs a-plenty in this
good city, so many observers profess
TO believe, that the rank and file Of
its citizenship are getting Just a bit
weary OF the gyrations of Atlanta's
two extreme types of politicians
Atlanta Never Divided.
Atlanta never has been "a city di-
vlded against itself II there is one
lining above an other things that has
served 10 make Atlanta great-and
Atlanta is admittedly the greatest
ely IN DiNc-It is the ever o-be-
counted-upon spirit OF its people.
That thing Atlanta finds II impos-
hIble TO get together upon must be
an Impossible thing that's all
Maybe Messrs Gloom and DeSpair
do desire 20 crowd the lid down SO
snug that even WrigEling beneath It
viii be out Of The question. and may
be MeSsTs. Hilarity and Letter Slide
do wish to see the burg loose and
reckless and full of neas.
An Inspection Of the city directory,
however, VIII disclose the presence of
relatively few GloOms. Despairs Hi
larities and Letter Slides therein!
The truth of the situation. no doubt.
dwells somewhere safely and sanely
Between the limits set up neither
wisely nor wei by the extremists
To begin with. few people In At
lanta desire TO see the old-time bar
rooms brought back neither do they
desire to see The red-nght district
restored. That much almost goes
without saying in Atlanta nowadays
on the contrary, few people IN
Atlanta desire 10 see the movements
against vice carried 10 senseless ex-
tremes, and even innocent pleasures
prescribed,
Atlanta does not desire to be either
'blacheg or Puritan
No Quarrel Against Duty.
Atlanta is not going to quarrel with
any official for doing his sworn duty.
The laws of the city are made 10 be
Observation-Disclosures that official high
or low, who commits no greater crime
against municipal comfort and prog
rtss than insisting upon law enforce
ment is not going TO suffer much IN
public esteem
Atlanta never VIII kick out police
chief or department head merely be
Cause he does the things he IS
SWORN 10 do!
Offensive laws should be repealed
and If they are not repealed the con
clusion is warranted that they are not
offensive.
Not everybody is JOYFUL and care
free twenty one. and not every body
IS bordering on the sere and yellow.
but most people are instinCtiveIy de
cent. fair minded and clean.
The criminal and the intoIerant
bigot alike are relatively Tare-rare
out OF all proportion to the noise
both make on oCCs Sions.
Il probably is true-and Il ought t.
be true-that were all law -ahidIus
and upright citizens Of Atlanta called
upon arbitrarily tomorrow TO choose
between their church membership
cards and their club membership
cards. very great majority Of them
would choose the former. but 81 Is
also true perhaps. that that same ma
5ority would resent keenly the arli-
frary CaU And in the long run il f.
extremely doubtful whether such
raN would result in greater happiness
and rational content among the PEP
pie
The suppression Of gross IMMORAL
~ in Atlanta is "a CunsImm8tiar
most deyoutly to be shed, but
every love- smitten couple osgulatiua
beneath the silvery moon is not To be
hailed into police court 90 explain
themselves. nevertheless
Now Comes Adair.
Forrest -ACair has been mentioned
FOR Mayor. He has not said whether
he VIII consider the matter seriously
He has not declined 10 consider 81
in any event, however, and therefor,
he becomes Immediately an object Of
public interest and analysis from (fol
himl an entirely new angle.
The fact that Forrest Adair hes
been urged by so many people for The
lnayoralry indicates one healthy an.
significant thiug-the people ara look
ing for somebody ~ sanity and poi is.
20 head the city government
MI Ada.r Is neither A nor lzzaro
= lc neither strains AT gu4ts nor swaE