Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1924-06-19
What S the Matter With
Georgia.

! hat question is beng asked
by thoughtful men in deadly
earnest. Our possibilities are
realized and we wonder why
Georgia lags, why the States to
the north and to the south are
out-stripping Georgia.
Representative Lee ]. Lang
ley, member Of the General AS
sembly from Floyd county, asks
the question and attempts to an
swer it in letter to the Allan
ia Constitution.
Read Mr.. Langley's letter. 1t
should provoke serious thought
on your part. 1t may give you
a new angle on the situation.
The letter, addressed to the
Constitution. follows:
1.-THE paramount concern of
Georgia is business, both pub
lie and private business. Geor-
gia's public business is not be-
ing well managed, with result
that Georgia's private business
suffers. and its development is
stagnant.
"Georgia's public policies are
fluctuating and unstable.
"Georgia's fiscal system is
fundamentally unsound-a patch
work of emergency legislation,
inequitable in its application and
incapable Of proper administra-
ton.
If the Georgia government
machine was an automobile in a
garage for the repair, the me-
chanic's report would be this:
The spark plugs are foul; the
headlights are too dim; the cool
ing system is poor and it gets
hot too quick and burns out the
bearings; the brakes are worn
out, in fact, about all you seem
to have done to it for years is
to polish the body; it will never
give you any service until the en-
CINE is completely overhauled.'
Georgia can never prosper
under these conditions. Too much
politics is at the bottom of the
trouble. Prosperity and progress
are impossible where politics
dominate business. Business is
afraid of politics. Politics is not
only keeping money out of Geor-
gia but our political system is
imposing unjust burdens and
hardships upon taxpayers. Geor-
gia, much richer in natural re-
sources than other Southern
States, is trailing the progress
procession. We are even driving
our educated boys and girls, our
greatest asset and most useful
citizens, out of the State to where
a greater prosperity offers them
better remuneration for their
services and their reasonable
chance in life,
II have Just learned that
graduates Of the State Agricnl-
tufal school leave George for
about double the pay they are Of
fered at home. One State last
year made bid for all the grad
yates of the University of Geor-
gia who wanted to teach, at 100
per cent more salary than they
could get at home. The same
thing is true of the Tech grad
yates. and graduates of the en-
cheering and some other de-
pratments of the university and
its branches.
"This has been said many
times before in recent past, but
let's keep on saying it until the
people of Georgia are convinced
that it is the truth, and a truth
vital to their welfare.
.Can anybody explain why
Georgians select men for the
public service who are utterly
incompetent, perhaps shady and
risky in reputation, without any
of the essential qualifications for
the service, while they would not
think of doing such a thing in
their private business and per-
lsonal affairs?
"Can anybody explain why
Georgians will waste their mon
ey on excessive law-making ma
chinery and through extravagant,
duplicated and complicated gov
ornamental agencies when they
know such practices in their own
affairs would drive them speed
lily to the bankrupt court?
"People glibly talk about
spending the public money
There is no such thing as pub
lie money. Every dollar spent
in politics and government is the
money of the taxpayers, drawn
directly from the pockets of
voters.
Every twelve citizens who are
earning anything is supporting
one citizen in government. The
sum we pay to run our federal,
State and local governments is
equal to one-half the amount
paid for services by all the man
ufacturing industrial plants in
America. Men in the employ of
government are not producers,
but they are consumers, and they
enter into competition with the
regular citizenship for their food,
clothing and other requirements,
and they use the proceeds of the