Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1920-11-22
EVERY
z MINUTES new
RECORD HERE
Two Iuries Work Stimuli
taneously With Visit
ing Judge Presiding


With two juries working in rapid
flre order, one on each side of the
court room, new record for divorce
business in Sumter county was set
at the opening of Superior court this
morning. Judge E. D. Graham. OF
Mchae' was on the bench. substitut-
ing for Judge z. A. Littlejohn, who
iiau sWapped places with Judge Gra-
man, ne going to Eastman today. In
'hirty minutes fifteen divorce cases
s. were heard and verdicts granted. q
speeu Oh one every two minutes. Tha
result was that all the cases that
werT ready, constituting nearly ba1f
of the divorce docket. were disnosad
OF IN short time. po0eu
Old time Sumter eountv lo,,,,,.,
SAID it was the first time tbav had ead
tser ;,''; seen single judge keep two
Ia lures Dussy at the time hearing evil
oJnce IN tne same room. It appear
Gu 70 Dc no trick for Judge Graham.
however, who proved that he Is in
Iavor OF conducting his court with
OUT loss OF time. In several instanc-
% ne TOOK time to question the Wit
nesses himself. The verdicts were ali
round orally in open court.
Inc term opened with the SWEARING.
OF and charge to the grand iurv
Carr Glover was chosen by the grand
jury as its foreman. Twenty men
formed this body. Judge Graham.
not being personally familiar with
conditions in Sumter county, was
general in his charge. but in his ref
erence to the prohibition laws he in
dicated his strong belief of sobrietv
and law enforcement.
Education, Too, Needed.
u sometimes think" be said, 'Ethat
1t will take strong efforts on the
parts of our officers of the law. and
also strong efforts in the way of ed
ucating the masses to bring about a
proper enforcement of the prohlbi-
ton laws. When a majority of the
people of this or any other county
are in favor of enforcing the pro
hibition laws they will be enforced
Whenever you convince man
that the drinking of liquor weakens
him physically and mentally, victim
I ICES himself and his family, and
! shortens life and happiness you have
made prohibitionist out of him.
The trouble is to convince of those
facts. When you ponder over it, it
is a strange thing that any man will
put into his system a poison that viii
shorten his life, weaken him mental
ly, and bring misery, woe and some
pt1T
ton, due to the improvement of our
school systems, will be more inclin-
ed toward prohibition, because the
boys and girls that are growing up
are being taught more and more
about the consequences of liquor
drinking.
"Seventy-fve per cent of the mul-
ders in the country my be traced
directly or indirectly to Che use of
liquor. The prohibition laws ought
to be enforced
Laws Seldom, Enforced.
Later on in his charge Judge Gra-
ham said:
'T call your attention to the game
and fish laws, which ought to be en-
forced but seldom are"
Evidently taking a shot at the
strenuosity of politics and politicians,
Judge Graham said:
eff one-tenth of the activity de-
voted by the people to politics, to
who shall be governor or senator or
some other officer, were devoted to
the enforcement of our laws how
much better off we would all be and
how much better to live in our coun-
try would be. In many cases we
make fools Of ourselves trying to
elect candidates for governor or SEN
ator or other office. when the cleo
ton of 100 such would not affect
us materially one way or the other.
Whatever may be the condition of
politics, whatever party may be IN
power, whatever may be their poll
cies, if the people pay attention to
the enforcement of the law we will
n. h. eofa -