Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1918-03-08
IN GEORGIA
MUST CHOOSE EITHER
FARM Or CHA|NGANC
Governor Dorsey Starts Ma
Chiney Calculated to Put
Every Idle Man in State to
Work

Machinery designed to force every
vagrant in Georgia to so to work was
put in operation Thursday by Governor
Hugh NJ. Dorsey, and will be systemat-
ically AID persistently followed up by
him as = means of relieving the farm la
Dor shortage.
The nation has no use for an idle man
in time of peace, much less in time of
war. The government is calling on
Georgia farmers to raise more food. The
farmers are crying for labor. Thousands
of men, according to reports to the gov
ernor are standing around in idleness.
To meet this situation, Governor Dor
Sey on Thursday addressed a special
and urgent communication to every
county council of defense in the state,
requesting them to put in operation the
following plan:
Cd Join forces with their sheriffs, So
licitors and superior court judges to ar
rest and convict all Migrants; CD Give
these Migrants the choice of going to
the chainganE or going to the farm, and
probate them to work on farms under
proper supervision; go Follow up the
prosecution of Migrants with the utmost
persistence and vigor, making it so GER
tain of punishment for vagrancy that
idle men will go to work voluntarily.
Governor Dorsey believes it the duty
of the state to force every idle man
to work before il calls on the govern
ment to furlough men from military
service: he believes there are thousands
of men loafing in cities and towns
throughout the state; he believes the
sheriffs and courts will be glad to join
in a statewide crusade, which shall
not be relaxed, TO put these men to work;
he belieN es the man power thus conserv-
ed will greatly, if not entirely, relieve
the farm labor shortage.
AS he points out, Georgia's vagrancy
law is one of the best, while Georgia
probation law exactly fits in with the
present situation by enabling Judges
to send convicted Migrants TO work on
the farms His letter to the county OF
ficials is as follows:
To All County Councils of De-
Tense in Georgia:
Your attention is called to sec
ton 449 of the criminal code of
Georgia, which applies to Migrants;
also to section 1OS1-A and following
sections. which refer to probation
of offenders of our criminal stat
utes.
Undoubtedly there are many
worthless negroes around our cit
les and towns, and many white
men. who are guilty of a violation
of the vagrancy law of this state,
and who should be convicted and
punished In view of the fact that
we need to employ every agency
for the increas ed production of food
and feed in Georgia, and IN order
to prepare against a fuel shortage
i'm the coming winter, | suggest
that your council take up with the
sheriff of your county, the mar
shals OF the municipalities within
YOUR jurisdiction, and also with the
Judges of your courts and the So
olicitor general of your circuit, and
submit to them and cooperate
with them in putting into execution
the following plan:
% Arrest and convict all va
grants: 90 then let the judge pro-
bate such Migrants to parties in
need of labor or to some one Sc
lected either by the judge or by
your council who will d@ote his
time to sccing that such Migrants
are worked under some plan equi-
table and just to the citizens of
the community, for the production
of FOOD and feed, and after that in
such way as to forestall fuel
shortage.
l have not undeTla taken to work
out the details of such a scheme,
could be found who would prob
ably give whatever time is neces-
sary TO the supervision of such
conYicts; but if not, plan could
easily be worked out whereby such
party could be given a prorata part
of the proceeds of the labor of
these convicts. Your county coun-
ell should give preference, wher-
ever possible, to the cultivation of
land heretofore cultivated by men
who are now in the military serv-
ice. You can by this plan not only
increase production, but render
most valuable service in many in
stances to people who have been de-
prived of a wage-earner by the Sc
lective service.
In addition, / believe that this
will furnish a splendid plan for
the punishment of a very worthless
class. Under the probation law re-
ferred TO, the Judge can make such
rules and regulations as he sees mt,
the men being permitted to live at
their homes and yet being required
to report at certain times and places
under supervision of the proper
party. as suggested, TO overlook
and supervise their work.
The state is certainly entitled TO
the labor of every able bodied man
who is now spending his time in
idleness. Systematic, persistent ef-
fort on the part of officials to en-
force the vagrancy law, and in the
manner indicated, should not do in
justice to anybody, and will oper-
ate, # not in such way as to give
the nation the benefit of the labor
Ill