Newspaper Page Text
July, 1!)M
THE ATLANTIAN
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the people connected with the educational force of the state
who come under his authority.
No just criticism can be made against the general ad
ministration of his office, though recently a sharp attack
was made upon him in a Georgia publication, growing out
of the selection of a certain text book in the schools. This
selection may, or may not have been due to him, and pre
suming it to be a mistake, still it does not alter the fact
that he has made a splendid success of his work. That
a public official should never commit an error is too much
to expect—but with 98 per cent of good work and 2 per
cent of poor work, we have a right to say that he is an
admirable official.
Mr. Brittain is, in many quarters, regarded as so strong
a man that, in the not remote future, there will be a demand
for his promotion in public life. It is unquestionable, howi-
ever, if in any position within the gift of the people he
can ever render more valuable work to Georgia than he is
doing at this moment; and Georgia should see to it that
he is decently paid for it, which up to this time has not
been the case.
“The Empire State”
Jesse Mercer, a former newspaper man, the first game
warden of the state, well and favorably known to ; the
whole state, has again jumped into the newspaper field with
the publication of a weekly in Atlanta, known as “The
Empire State.” It is a live w ire all right, for whatever
Brother Mercer’s deficiencies may be, he does not lack
courage. He defiantly announces that he stands for prohi
bition, for a proper rural credit system, for law enforce
ment, for woman’s equality, for laboring men’s rights, for
conservation of wild life, for a million dollars rental
or the extension of the state road to the sea, for the im
provement of country education, for the summary dismis
sal of public officials for malfeasance, misfeasance or non
feasance in office. This is a large order. We do not know,
however, any man in Georgia more capable of filling the
entire bill than Jesse Mercer, and when any man gives out
a platform in which he announces that his paper will stand
for things that are indisputably right, and will be against
things that are indisputably wrong, regardless of who may
be pleased or displeased, that man commands our respect;
and so we take off our hats to Jesse Mercer and his new
paper, wishing him God speed and a splendid success in
his new venture. Further, we will say that the office of
governor would be filled admirably by such a man as Jesse
Mercer.
Tax Equalization
Some belated Bourbons in the legislature are seriously
trying to secure the repeal of the tax equalization law pass
ed at the last session.
This law, little understood as it was, has already given
beneficial results and these good results will be continuing
and will steadily increase in volume. It may be that we
will see where it can be amended, but whether we do or not,
it is. already certain that the law in its present shape is
justifying the hopes of the men who fathered it.
To repeal the law would be not only a step backward,
but would be putting the world on notice that the people
of Georgia care nothing for real progress; prefer a chaos
where any and every dishonest man may escape his share
of the burdens of citizenship to a just system where each
must do his part; care little for education, and less for
public health; and it is not putting it too strongly when
we say that the repeal of this law would be tantamount
to saying: “We do not want the ways of civilization, if
we must each of us pay our due proportion to get them,
we only want what we can (ret for little or nothing.”
Do the peonle of Georgia want the world to have this
impression? It is unbelievable, and because it is unbeliev
able it is as certain as fate that the men who are mov
ing for repeal will be decrepit with extreme old age be
fore they will get countenance or support from any con
siderable number of people who have that moderate de
gree of intelligence which will cause them to take refuge
from a vain storm.
Vital Statistics
Georgia now has the unenviable distinction of being
the only state in the union which has no sort of law as to
vital statistics. By “vital statistics” is meant the simplest
forms that will give us the actual births and deaths in the
state, with cause of deaths. This does not require elab
orate or expensive legislation. In fact, the law could be so
made that the draft upon the state treasury would be a
verv small sum. The importance of the law, however, can
not be measured by its financial cost. There is no one thing
that we can now do that would more certainly pay a thou
sand-fold on the investment than a vital statistics law.
We are not now in the registration area fas it is called)
of the United States Census Bureau. We have, therefore,
no official figures of our birth rate or death rate. With
the vital statistics law, and having these facts, we would
know whether Georgia was among the healthy states of
the United States, or whether it was among the unhealthy.
If in the first class, we would have a splendid argument,
with which to attract desirable people to Georgia. If in
the second class, we would have that accurate knowledge
which is essential before we can provide remedial measures*
Either one of these two reasons would make such a law
a splendid investment. It can be assumed with absolute
safety that any law which so commends itself to the people
of forty-seven different states scattered over this vast con
tinent. that in some shape it has found its way into the sta
tutes of each one of these states, has in it virtue and value
which should commend it to the people of Georgia. Should
we delay longer in this matter, we will be under the burden
of carrying the reputation of being the most backward
state in the union in a matter which every enlightened
community of the present day recognizes as of first impor
tance.