Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1923-10-11
COMMITTEE S REPORT
NO SURPRISE TO
ANtrr ale
Any oNE.

entatives and Senators, appointed
to Investigate" Mr.. J. J. Brown,
commissioner Of agriculture COM
pletely exonorates him fcharges
Of illegalities, Irregularities and
undue political activities while III
office.
The most the committee id was
to hop on to poor old Grover> Ed
mondson, who now has no Watson
to defend him.
Representative Stewart failed ut
terlY to come across on his charges
against Brown.
And the report of the commit
tee could just as we'll have been
written before the legislature ad.
journed. It was exactly what was
expect. Nothing more, nothing
less.
That Commissioner Brown was
not guilty of the charge preferred
by Stewart we felt confident, and
said as much some time ago.
That Mr.. Brown is guilty of I'M
due political activities, there is no
tIBubt in our minds. He is one OF
the most astute politicians in tue
south, possessing one of the most
efficient political machines the
state has ever known, and he
knows how to use that nanchine,
brother
Our fight has never been on
BROWN, but on the whole
darned DEPARTMENT. 1t should
be abolished and whatever function
it does perform, should be left to
the State College of Agriculture.
The state would save by the
change thousands and thousands OF
dollars annually and we would Sc
cure results that would soon take
Georgia from the foot of the class
of Southern States.
The Macon Telegraph thinks
that it is the system itself on
which the Department is founded
and conducted that is not in keep
ing with enlightened government
and intelligent political economy.
Says the Telegraph:
"Of course, the present Com
missioner of Agricultural is not
responsible for the system. he
did not create it; he inherited
it. When he came into office,
the hundreds of positions existed
He found an army of inspectors,
and himself the general. Few
generals voluntarily suggest that
their army be disbanded, unless
at the end of a war, and even
then it is doubtful. And still few
er politicians demand that
GREAT political machine that they
Inherited be scattered to the wlha
or turned into an organized ma
chine against them.
After all, the solution rests
with the Legislature. That body
does not require any investigat-
inc committee to inform them,
what needed. The members OF
the Georgia General Assembly
are fairly vel informed men.
They know the situation without
additional inquiry. 1t is hardly
necessary to bring sensational
charges and prove them: it even
does not matter greatly if they
are not proven. The Legislators
certainly must know that the
system is wrong, faulty, arbi-
trary, wasteful, poplitical, unde-
mocratic and opposed to sane and
good government.
The Legislators can change
the system. They can remedy
the Department. TThey can save
the State, the people, the farmers
money. They can stop the leaks.
They can reorganize those sec
tions of the State Government that
are Anticipated. The Georgia
State Government is really the
Legislature. By political manlpu-
lation, however, the heads Of the
various Departments have usurp-
ed functions or gained control OF
the Legislature until these De-
partmental heads are themselves
the State Government; and the
General Assembly-the House
and Senate-are their Punch and
Judy.
1t is hoped we will not be mis-
understood. This is not said to be
sarcastic. It is not put forth to
over-state the situation, 1t is an
a3fo,,nt ~ stata fart The agri-