Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1914-03-12


ton Of one sort and another in this
country?
The inquiry Is pertinent and timely,
considering the obsessing circum-
stance that the Georgia Legislature
/ will gather in Atlanta within four
months, ana an varieties and condi-
| tions Of new legislation are being
! proposed
Instead of fussing and frittering
| away its time over a thousand and
| one bills Of relatively small cOnsc-
! quence. and thus through enactment
OF lot of them cluttering the statute
! books with all kinds of amazing new
| laws would it not be the better and
| the mere statesmanlike thing for the
| Legislature to Xix its august attention
! upon q dozen or so-or, better still
upon three or four-really big, meas
ures, and thrash them out intelli-
gently and hepfully?
! Suppose, for instance, that instead
| Of fussnR about more prohibition
! laws the State already having on
| hand a large excess assortment that
II seems unable or unwilling to en-
fOrce-the Legislature fixed its mind
upon the genuine reformation of its
child labor laws, it's convict laws, the
disposal Of its forthcoming maturing
bonds. and its taxation problems-in-
Guiding the Western and Atlantic
Railroad
If the Legislature would forget that
il had other business-or might have
other business-and worked to final
and sensible solution the foregoing
problems, would it not be rendering
Georgia a far finer and more PATRIOTS
service than by forever squabhling
over small things and fussing over
extreme points Of view that nine
tenths Of the Legislature in it's heart,
would be heartily glad to get rid of
for all time?
The Houston Post, considering this
matter from the viewpoint Of Texas,
recently set forth some opinions that,
while. perhaps, more or less eXagger-
ated in spots, nevertheless depict
status Of things not far from the un-
pleasant truth.
The Post says:
In his recent address before the
Bar Association of New York.
former Chief Justice Cullen, Of
the Court OF Appeals of that
state, deplored the decline Of per-
sonal liberty in the United states.
TO day" he said, according to
the notion Of many. If not most
people, liberty Is the right of part
of the people to compel the other
part to do what the first part
thinks the latter ought to do for
it's own benefit"
Never before has nation
been so thoroughly submerged by
statutes. Beginning with the
Federal Congress and coming
down through the State Legisla-
lures and other lawmaking bod
| les, the statutes have multiplied
year by year until the personal
freedom Of the citizen is but lit
| tie more than a myth Many
people are not satisfied in disre-
| garding the principle of local self
government as It applies to the
smaller subdivisions Of the States
but they have exhibited an
! amazing eagerness to surrender
even for the purpose Of enforcing
their conceptions Of human vir-
tue upon people living thousands
Of miles away.
The Georgia Legislature might take
| to heart, perhaps, with profit to it
self, the foregoing from The Houston
Post.
4
ing body has shown growing ten
| dency to fuss and fume over trifles
many times multiplied, rather than to
devote itself TO real constructive leg
islation.
The present Legislature made a
good final record last summer-aft er
| must waste Of time in the beginning,
neVerthele and It ought to COM
| plete that good record this summer by
| enacting a few genuinely big reforms
| the while it let's the small-fry politi-
clans go hang!
Judge William b. Moore, Of FitZ-
! gerald. is a candidate for the Leg
! islature, and is looked upon by his
| friends as a most likely winner
He is one of the leading Confeder-
ate veterans of the State, and is par
| ticularly popular with the many Union
| Veterans to be found in Fitzgerald.
! Indeed 1t Is predicted that he will re-
! ceive. as n sort of substantial start
/ err. all the votes in Ben Hill County
! of either the Blue or the Gray per-
/ suasiou. and together they make a
! pretty fine showing
| AS matter of fact Judge Moore is
! looked upon generally in Ben Hill as
| flrst-Class Leg slative material
Saws The Augusta Chronicle:
They are awfuly anxious for
! Governor Jack Slaton to say
| something other than about his
! crops on his winter garden They
are blaming him because he won't
| make a statement now. and like
i ly as not they viii hop him holly
/ when he does make a statement"
! II is 10y no means SO certain that
/