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THE ATLANTIAN
THE
American National Bank
Atlanta, Ga.
CAPITAL AND SURPLUS $1,000,000.
OFFICERS:
WILLIAM L. PEEL.P resident
ROBT. F. MADDOX, Vice-President
THOS. J. PEEPLES, Cashier
JAS. P. WINDSOR, Assistant Cashier
JAS. F. ALEXANDER, Assistant Cashier
A progressive bank in the leading city of the
growing south.
THREE-FOURTHS OF CRIME DUE TO LIQUOR EVIL
So Says Chief Justice Ben Hill of Court of Appeals in Opinion
Rendered in Langston Manslaughter Case—Judge Rus
sell, on Bench Agreed with this Opinion
Three-fourth of the cases that go
before the state court of appeals are
due directly or Indirectly to the exces
sive use of intoxicants, declares Chief
Justice Ben Hill, of that tribunal, in an
opinion handed down by him in the
case of Will Langston, a Cherokee
county youth, convicted of manslaugh
ter for killing his father.
This opinion is as strong as any ser
mon or temperance lecture against the
evils of drink. In it Justice Hill says:
“The facts of this case present an
other of the daily occurring instances
showing the monstrous and measure
less evil of intoxicating liquors. This
hydra-headed and remorseless mon
ster, with ceaseless and tireless ener
gy, wastes the substance of the poor,
manufacturers burdensome taxes for
the public, monopolizes the valuable
time of courts, fills jails penitentiar
ies and asylums, ruins homes, destroys
manhood, terrorizes helpless women
and innocent children, baffles the
church, and mocks the law, and an
swering its inexorable demands, ‘each
new morn new widows mourn, new
orphans cry, new wrongs strike ‘heav
en in the face.’
“These are the products of a curse
imposed, not by the decree of God, but
self-inflicted by the voluntary conduct
of man, its weak and wicked victim.
Judges of criminal courts, speaking
from official experience, have grown
weary calling attention to the drink
habit as the principal cause of crime,
and nothing the writer could say
would add to this manifest truth. But
I can not refrain from saying that
after five years’ observation of the
cases that have been before this court,
three-fourths of the crimes are due di
rectly or indirectly to the excessive
use of intoxicants, and that if the
church and the state and public senti
ment could ultimately make Georgia
sober, the prisons would be vacant,
the chaingangs empty, and the cities,
towns and country would be filled
with prosperous and happy homes.”
Dill Langston, a nineteen-year-old
youth, killed his own father, who had
come home beastly drunk and drove
his sick wife, the youth’s mother, from
her bed into the night. The youth re
sented this treatment of his mother.
The father, frenzied with liquor, curs
ed his son, knocked him down, cut him
with a knife and threatened to kill
him. The son then picked up a stone,
used as a door prop, and hurled it at
his father, it striking him on the head
1
and killing him. He was tried and
convicted of manslaughter and ap
pealed for a new trial, but the court
of appeals could find no error on which
to send the case back to the lower
court. Consequently the decision was
aflirmed.
Judge Richard B. Russell, a member
of the court of appeals, approved the
findings in this case. Judge Russell
is running for governor as a local op
tion candidate for governor. Local op
tion, as interpreted by the voters in
this campaign, means to legalize the
sale of liquor.—Atlanta Georgian, No
vember 8, 1911.
CURRENT COMMENT.
'l’ne Charleston Post says: “The
Georgia Legislature believes in adver
tising, as those freak bills testify, but
when a paranoiac measures like the
riding astride bill appears, a physician
should be called to the father of such
a law.”
The Washington Herald says:
“Somebody is going to run against
Congressman Brownlow of Tennessee
next time; also somebody is going to
run against Congressman Livingston
of Georgia. This has been going on
for years and years, we believe; it is
difficult to recall the names of the
various somebodies who have essayed
the tasks.”
The Louisville Courier-Journal says:
"Two prophecies may, nevertheless, be
hazarded with confidence. Great
Britain will feel that insularity is no
longer the complete guarantee it was
and that she must seek protection
from fleets aerial; and the fight be
tween the monoplane, as exploited by
the French and the biplane, as con
structed by the Wrights, will furnish
much instructive discussion.”
The Athens (Ga.) Banner says: “If
the members of the Legislature will
settle the McLendon case and dispose
of the near beer bill this week the
people of Georgia will be thankful.”
The Hartford Times says: “The
agitation for a huge navy in England
is bearing fruit. The addition of four
Dreadnoughts to the naval construc
tion programme for the year has been
decided on. The burden which this
mania for naval expansion is impos
ing on the taxpayer is tremendous.
The sort of patriotism which finds its
outlet in excessive armament doesn’t
spend much time in examining the
price tag on national hysteria.”
BOOKS AND THEIR USES.
A young girl once asked Mark
Twain if he liked books for Christ
mas gifts, relates the Christian Regis
ter.
"Well, that depends,” drawled the
great humorist. “If a book has a
leather cover, it is really valuable as
a razor strop. If it is a brief, concise
work, such as the French write, it is
useful to put under the short leg of a
wabbly table. An old-fashioned book
with a clasp can’t be beat, as a
missile to hurl at a dog; and a large
book, like a geography, is as good as
a piece of tin to nail over a broken
pane of glass.”
IN NEW YORK. .
When Pat McKenna lost his watch
he went right down to his friend, the
police sergeant. “Don’t worry about
your watch,” said the sergeant; “we’ll
leave no stone unturned in New York
until we find it.”
Pat returned home greatly comfort
ed, only to find his watch under his
vest As he was going back to tell
his friend that he need not trouble to
look any more he saw some digging
in the street to lay a sewer. Pat rush
ed up to the foreman. “Nivver mind
turnin’ up the stones any more,” he
cried. ”I’ve found it”
WHEN SHE GOT IN.
Being very fresh and from New
York they thought they would try
some of their New York humor on
the old stationmaster at the country
statioa
“Well, Uncle,” said one of the young
men, “when does the 3:40 train get
in?”
The old man looked at the young
man, and, without moving a muscle
of his face, said: '
“Waal, she generally gets in just
a leetle behind the engine, young
man.”
OVERWORKED.
“Talking about towns, have you ev
er been in Leavenworth, Kansas?”
asked the commercial traveler in the
smoking-car. “No? Well, that’s a dry
town for you, all right.”
“They can’t sell liquor at all there?”
asked one of the men.
“Only if you have been bitten by a
snake,” said the drummer. “They
have only one snake in town, and
when I got to it the other day after
standing in line for nearly half a day
it was too tired to bite.”
THE BOY AT THE BASIN.
“During a test run from Syracuse to
Batavia I occupied a seat in the en
gine cab,” said a prominent New York
Central official recently, according to
Judge. “It was a pretty fast trip, and
a dirty one. Consequently, being
swart with coal dust, road dust and
oil when I arrived at Batavia, I hur
ried to the nearest hotel to wash up.
“Having utilized the basin near the
clerk’s desk, I was about to turn from
the homely towel when I observed the
proprietor’s little son standing before
the basin, carefully dipping something
into the soiled water. “What are you
doing, my boy?” I asked.
'“Going to see if this water ’ll
write!’ replied the lad, withdrawing
a pen and making off.”
ARTFUL.
Boston Mother (severely)—“I can’t
conceive what you see in that young
Mr. Everyday! He doesn’t like Ibsen,
he doesn’t like Browning, he doesn’t
like Keats. Whom does he like?”
Boston Maiden (demurely)—“Me.”
"I knew that concrete was being used
for all sorts of purposes,” remarked
the sarcastic boarder, “but this is the
first time I ever realized it was also
being used to make biscuits.”—De
troit Free Press.