The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1924-04-15
Old Southern State Noted for Long Line of Strong Leaders,
Marks Time Awaiting Advent of a New Political Moses

that sphere there has been none and
such waste as occurs is due more to
local than to state agencies. Nearly
two millions and a half went to the
support of eleemosynary institutions
or for civil war pensions. Less than a
million dollars was left for the gen
eral expenses of the state government
and for interest and retirement OF pub
lie debt. Hence there wasn't much
room for outright graft or atrocious
waste. excepting, for the latter, that
OF benevolent kind, such as perhaps a
too non-discriminatory system OF war
pensions.
The Georgia constitution, one OF the
best ever written, is based largely on
the assumption that it is humanity nat
ural to abuse political power. Hence,
its chief characteristics are the safe
guards and restraints thrown around
and put upon public Offices. Most OF
these grew out of sad and costly eX-
iperiences. such as that known as the
/ Yazoo fraud in the early days OF the
state and the carpetbagger regime FOL
( lowing the civil war.
| Two items are we'll worthy OF adop-
! ton by the federal government. One
/ is the stipulation that the caption OF
every bill enacted by the legislature
must contain a summary OF the Dill
contents. Another is the power given
/ to the governor to veto any item IN
an appropriation bill,
/ Probably nowhere else i'll this or any
other country is the public official
made more affrmatively the servant
of the public. Georgians have ever
delegated political power reluctantly
and have watched its use suspiciously,
This attitude has yielded defects as
well as safeties. For example, when the
people. or even MODS, so will they
are all but supreme i'll the state. Even
the courts are partially silenced, as
| bv the states dumb" act which Tor
bids a Judge even to intimate an opln-
! ion as to evidence i'll case.
Then over all hangs the blight and
| blessing OF the one or rather no party
system of government and politics.
Brownies, Hokites and Pops"
Insofar as state government goes
and in all but few isolated spots To-
cal government, too-in Georgia the
democratic party is everything IN
ttular way and nothing in an actual
wav. Hence the democratic party as
with the all but nonexistent republican
party here stands for nothing, ana
really counts for nothing. Succlnctly,
Georgia has no political parties; 1t has
! factions only. These factions often are
more intense and develop a bitterness
in rivalry not found i'll real parties
elsewhere. They revolve in the main
around personalities They are more
potent for opposition than construc-
| ton. This kind of factiOnal politics
makes handshaking count for more
than discussion.
For many years the outstanding
state factions were known as the
Brownies and Hokites. The latter
were the supporters and the former
the opponents of Governor and later
United States Senator Hoke Smith
In between and holding the balance
OF power stood the pops" made vi
Of surviving remnants of the old pop
ulist party. These latter followed witt
a LOYALTY approaching worship all the
eccentric windings and turnlngs O
the late Tom" Watson.
! During his latter years watson Wa
the arbiter-indeed, almost the boss
OF Georgia politics, ruling through the
democratic party which he hated ant
to which. until a few years before hi
death, he abjured all allegiance.
Litterateur, author OF two or three
of the best written histories OF mod
ern times, man of wealth, Watson
came near to being the perfect ag1
tator. He threw his decisive influence
first to one faction, then to another
as the impulse of the moment moved
him to do. At times his moves were
so irrational as to cause his sanity t(
be suspected. Yet for nearly twenty
wears no man could be elected govern
or without his support, and ultimately
Watson himself was sent to the Unit
ed States senate.