Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1914-01-13
:SllEl!G4ly
20 ~On~
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pl(IlCcSS
BY JAMES 3. NEV:N.

| Governor and his secretaries, a lot OF
useless and senseless annoyance and
trouble
| For instance. IL is an ironClad rule
of the executive department that no
petitions for clemency, save in the
very gravest and most extraordinary
emergencies, will be heard by the
Governor unless they previously have
been heard by the Prison Commits
| zion Notwithstanding the fact that
| this rule long ago was established,
lawyers continually appear before the
| Governor, particularly in capital
| cases, asking for last-minute clemen-
| cv for criminals after opportunity has
been passed TO appear before the
prison board.
II the Governor stood for that sort
of thing ii would be comparatively an
easy matter to postpone through res
pites. from time to time indefinitely
| sentences OF death.
Recently a lawyer came from South
| Georgia asking a last minute respite
for client condemned to death, de-
spite the fact that the Prison Com
mission had been in session for al
! most solid week Immediately pre-
I vious to the petition for respite pc
| fore the Governor. The Governor re-
| fused to hear the petition, but it so
J happened that the prison board man
/ aged to get together in time to hear
| it, at considerable inconvenience.
! The Governor states that he will
adhere very closely to the rules laid
; down for clemency hearings Law
| gers can easily secure copy OF these
rules by applying to the Prison Com
| mission.
There is no matter that requires so
much OF the Governors time and pa
ticnce as clemency hearings, and he
feels that it is as little as lawyers
can do to cooperate with him and
help him all they can.
Unless he changes his mind in the
| meantime the announcement of J.
Threat Moore, of Jackson, for Sena-
tor from the Twenty4sixth Senatorial
District, will be made this week.
This announcement will be received
with wide interest by thousands of
| friends of Mr.. Moore all over the
state. ell was elected to the House
from Butts County in 1910, refused to
| run for reelection two years ago,
and novels going to try for the Senate
| from the district composed of Butts,
Fayette and Spalding Counties
Threat Moore was a famous ath-
lete at the University of Georgia in
| his day, and is well known as a law
yer and public man. He has had
| much encouragement to run.
Just who. If anybody, will oppose
Mr. Moore is not known. though Rep
resentative ]. II. Mills has been men,
| toned in that connection.
! The following item of news appear
| Ing In the Sunday issue of The Rome
! Tribune Herald will be read with in
| terest not only in Atlanta but all
over Georgia:
/ Seaborn Wright. rumor says
| has been made a flattering offer
! to take charge of the Men and
| Religion Forward Movement" in
Atlanta, but arrangements have
! not been perfected, and may not
be.
| Former Representative Seaborn
| Wright, who once ran rather spec
| tacular race for Governor, is the
| father of the present State wide pro-
hibition law, a man of great elo-
quence, and is abundantly equipped
to lead the fight suggested by The
Tribune Herald.
! II the "arrangements'-w whatever
they are-are perfected, and Mr..
| Wright does come to Atlanta to shell
| iilt Npbbo, lltie Is llpl mum houbt
that the woods will be shelled some!
| judge Luther u. Rosser, Jr., OF the
new Municipal Court OF Atlanta, is
| rapidly establishing fine reputation
as n presiding magistrate.
Judge Rosser is showing decided
| tendency to expedite the business of
his court. for one thing. and a marked
clear medicines of methods besides
He is one of the youngest judges in
the State, but the Atlanta bar already
seems agreed that he is going to
make good" He is businesslike in
the extreme
That Governor Slaton's prompt and
sensible handling of the recent tense
| situation in Louisville. in which the
! three negroes sentenced by Judge Ben
Hill Monday to be hanged on Febru-
AIRY were concerned headed off most
serious trouble in Jefferson County is
not to be doubted in any degree. The
lawyers who came up from Louisville
10 attend the trial of the negroes
Monday all agree that this is so.
The crime for which the three ne
| groes were convicted was one of the
most revolving and horrible ever per-
retrated in the South. Had it been
| lOlpNtu lHlitltuldNtlN nN a x,
few people would have been surprised
hundreds of blacks have been lynch -
ed for far less abhorrent crimes. At
the same time, there are few men i'm
| Georgia, relatively speaking who are
not opposed to lynch law and who do
not recognize in il a terrible danger
| The average Georgian would much
rather see a criminal legally executed
than illegally, no matter what his Of
Tending.
Wherefore. the law abiding people
of Georgia are due the Governor an
additional vote of thanks for the sure
sane and eminently sensible manner
in which he headed off the trouble in
jefferson County. But for Governor
Satons prompt and Effective move
ments there undoubtedly would have
been triple lynching in Jefferson
County.
And. over and above that. the Gov
ernor has blazed a sure way whereby
lynching may be avoided in the fu-
ture. And when the history of his
administration as Governor of Geor-
gia is made up and finished, no part
of it will stand forth more to his
everlasting credit than his handling ot
the Louisville situation and the be-
nign consequences of the same
poopo 70 V11 Oo1f,