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THE ATLANTIAN
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51
u> Allmttum
Box 118, Atlanta, Georgia
THE ATLANTIAN will give free space to all Secret Societies and Labor Or
ganizations.
On the other hand, we put everybody on notice when THE ATLANTIAN makes
a statement which we believe to be true, and such statement goes uncontroverted, we
shall insist that it is true.
(»■ injlTD
Published Monthly by The Atlantiun Publishing Co. oi
VOL. 4
NOVEMBER
No. 47
Our Motto:
‘‘Pull for Atlanta, or Pull
Out. ,y
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Ed
itorial Etchings
n
Thanksgiving
For what ? Let us take stock for a moment and see. Four hun
dred years ago religious liberty was unknown—civil liberty was a
mockery—the law of the strong hand was the rule—the poor and
humble had no rights which the rich and powerful were hound to
respect.
We have traveled quite away from these conditions. True such
is your lacking, but always we have gained much. This is distinct
cause for thankfulness.
In material things—again much is lacking, but on the other
hand, the average man who reads these lines lias in his home more
comforts than did the belted earl of four centuries ago. Here again
is distinct gain. Few men then could read—still fewer could write.
There was little learning and that mostly confined to convent or
cloister. Now education is free to all who will partake, and the
sum of human knowledge surpasses all the by-gone generations
combined. Is not all this cause for thankfulness?
The Problems of the President
The choice is made. Now let party strife and factional dissent
be still. The majority have signified their will. The people’s judg
ment is made. Whatever our personal preferences, let us remember
the allegiance due the Republic’s ruler and as a solid union, work for
the common cause.
It is far more important that we shall be good Americans than
good Democrats, Republicans or Progressives. The whole is greater
than its parties; national weal more important than political creed.
Mighty problems face the future president. Great questions
await his decision. A long year of hitter strift has disclosed the
need of thorough reforms in every branch of the government.
We are rapidly outgrowing our old legislation. The develop
ments of the Twentieth Century have introduced hundreds of new
equations, which must be weighed patiently and judged with de
liberation. Precedent will afford him little help. The America
which he must understand has little in common with the old conti
nent over which Jefferson and Monroe and Lincoln presided.
The character of the people has decisively altered. New strains
are leaping in our blood. The Anglo-Saxon, Celtic, and German
have lost their preponderance. The Latin and Greek, the Oriental
and Slav are strongly manifest in the commomv
“North” and “South” and “East” and “
terms of direction. Sectional individualities are v
phone, the fast train, the Associd ^ Pi"
cal, are adjusting poi* 1 *'
Indust*”'
cation ha\ in
■jL
Age of Thought. Men whose fathers labored with their hands are
driving their tasks with brain-throbs.
A spirit of riotous extravagance is tangling our economics; we
are over-sped, over-fed. Wages are more liberal than ever before
in the history of man; but the cost of food and clothes, rates of
rent and values of land have risen even higher.
Irreverence menaces tomorrow. Standards of morality are low.
Manhood and virtue are on the auction block. The standing room
sign is on the playhouse and the church pew is empty. Vice snaps
its finger in the face of Decency. The guardians of the law are
allied with crime—the shepherd dog has turned sheep-killer.
Procurers, drug-moonshiners and thugs are strongly organized.
Anarchy is ranting on the street corners and a wave of socialism is
steadily sweeping from coast to coast.
The ridiculous results of recent Supreme Court decisions have
aroused a sullen resentment against the Judiciary. The Sherman
law, upon which long deferred hope of trust control was nurtured,
has disclosed its absolute futility.
The women are fighting for suffrage and gaining headway
in every quarter. The “hand that rocked the cradle” is gathering
rocks for assault upon child labor, the infamous sweat-shop and
protected prostitution.”
International complications loom over the Panama Canal. Ugly
situations have developed in Mexico and Nicaragua. Europe is
seething with hatreds. The war bugles are ringing along the Bos
phorus. England and Germany and Russia are licking their mouths
at the thought of China’s inefficiency.
This is no hour for political spites. Grave issues are upon us—
issues which must be met by a people united in will and deed, stirred
with patriotic resolve. Opposed by hostile factions, failure threat
ens the next administration.
It is we, the people of the United States, upon whom the real
responsibility of the next four years rests.
Let us be patient, generous and fair. . Little can be expected at
the outset. Give the president time to adjust himself and the benefit
of the doubt in every crisis. There are always two sides at Wash
ington, and the man on the outside is usually wrong.—Exchange.
Senator Hoke Smith
Whatever one may think of Hoke Smith personally, it must be
conceded that his re-entrance into public life has served a useful pur
pose. No ordinary man could have broken the power of the machine
to say the least of it. It required ability and Senator Smith had it.
He alone has made democratic government a possibility in Georgia,
and to maintain this it will require constant vigilance. It will never
do for the people to go to sleep.
There are good men in Georgia—not a few. There are men of the
“meddling” class also, not a few. There are men who are positively
dangerous, more because they train with the wrong crowd than
because of personal feelings.
The country has suffered of late years because we have had in
the United States Senate too many men who have risen to important
positions there simply by the rule of seniority, and not because of
any recognized abilities.
While there may be a certain measure of efficiency in these second
rate men it does not matter how faithful or how honest they may be,
the country can never hope for any great measures to he initiated
or to be put through by men who recognize that their only safety
lies in adhering to the status quo.
It is pleasant therefore to know that the minority of the Senate
has been increased to the majority, and is strong enough to initiate
and is strong enough to carry to a successful issue, important measures.
Senator Smith will not have to wait long years for positions won
. the ruL of seniority, hut has from the beginning of his service as
* S tes Senator stood in the front rank.
»>tian forecasts that Senator Smith will be asked to
.. aem Wilson’s Cabinet. Keep your eye on the Senator.
ealth.
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