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THE ATLANTIAN
He has practically been in public office since lie became of age.
The tax-payers of Georgia have already paid him far more than the
value of his services. The only good reason that he can give for
aspiring to be Governor is that he wants the office. He debases
the dignity of the position which he now holds, and the position
which he seeks, by holding on to the office of judge of the court
and drawing his salary with unfailing regularity, while he is
traipsing around over Georgia, taking the time for which the people
are paying him, trying to boost himself into another job. The man
whose code of ethics will permit him to do this is temperamentally
unfitted to be Governor. A generation ago, the man who would have
done this thing would have been practically ostracized by all good
citizens. Who can imagine such a thing in connection with William
H. Crawford or Wilson Lumpkin!
But this is not the worst. Claiming to be personally a Prohi
bitionist, he has injected the liquor question into this campaign,
posing now as a “local optionist”—and that this was done to secure
the support of the liquor men is so patent that the man who fails
to see it' lacks that ordinary intelligence that would enable him to
come in out of a rain storm. Putting it plainly, Judge Russell is
showing himself to be a first-class demagogue. He poses as “the
people’s candidate”—which is true only in the sense that he is his
own candidate and he is one of the people.
Let’s look into this “local option” business a minute. He says
he “is opposed to submitting the Prohibition question to the refer
endum vote.” He has good reason to be opposed to it—he knows
that if submitted to a referendum vote of the people of Georgia,
they would vote for Prohibition! So he shelters himself behind the
beautiful theory of “local self-government.” Now, Georgia is in
iself a governmental unit. But this unit is too big for Judge Rus
sell—he wants the county unit. Why the county unit? Because
he foresees that under the county unit the big towns could sell
whiskey with which to debauch the whole State.
But, if the State unit is too big for Judge Russell, the county
unit is too big for some of the rest of us. Why should one ward
of the city of Atlanta, for example, that favors Prohibition be
compelled to submit to license in the other wards? Why should
four militia districts in a county be compelled to submit to license
in five other districts, because they have a few more votes?
Let us go a step further. Why should Richard Roe be compelled
to submit to license because John Doe and William Hoe have out
voted him? If local option is so good a thing, why not carry it
down to the last analysis? And if it is so good a thing in the
whiskey business, why not have it in everything else? The pistol-
toting law, for example—burglary—arson—forgery—murder—tax
ation? Why not carry it out to a logical conclusion? Why make
an exception of the liquor business? The only good reason that
Judge Russell can give for his position is that HE NEEDS THE
LIQUOR VOTES!
The next gentleman who aspires to be Governor has been Gov
ernor once—popularly known among his friends as “Little Joe
Brown.” He deserves the name. He belongs to that element in the
so-called “Democratic” Party which is Republican at heart, and is
today much nearer the “stand-pat” Republicans, now so discredited
in this nation, than he is to the “Progressive” Democrats of Georgia.
A Bourbon of Bourbons, a reactionary at heart, a lover of the great
corporations which have come so near to destroying our country;
opposed to the reformation of any abuses which would touch the
profits of his friends—this is the man who, after two years of a
negative administration, wants us to give him two more years of a
yet more negative administration—because he would accept an en
dorsement as a commission to be still more negative. He says he
“believes in the enforcement of law.” His previous administration
does not bear out that statement. He is always dodging either be
hind the Legislature or the people. He is very fond of throwing
off on the Legislature or the people all responsibility. He wants
to be solely an executive officer—and he takes care to do as little
execution as possible!
His friends are very fond of saying that they want a man “to sit
steady in the boat.” It may be density on our part—but we have
never been able to understand the philosophy of that argument.
If a man is called for merely “to sit steady in the boat,” why do
we need him at all? Because, if his only duty is to “sit steady,”
the boat would probably float just as well without him, and there
don’t seem to be any need for the man at all.
Our idea of a Governor is a man who will be steersman of the
boat; who will, if • necessary, take a very active hand at the oars,
and will undertake to guide the boat. “Sitting steady in the boat”
is a favorite phrase of the reactionary Bourbons who love the evil
that IS, and oppose every forward move. Like Judge Russell,
Brother “Little Joe” also claims to be a Prohibitionist. We fear he
is like that good Methodist brother whose son said that his father,
while a Methodist, “was not working at it much.” He is not our
sort of Prohibitionist! We believe in the Prohibitionist rampant!
Mr. Brown believes in the Prohibitionst dormant. The whiskey men
have nothing to fear from “Little Joe’ and they know it.. And
“Little Joe” is shrewdly enunciating the platform that he thinks
will catch the Prohibitionists a-comin’, and the whiskey men agwine!
The third candidate is Pope Brown. Not a chronic office-seeker
—not a disgruntled politician. A man who has filled creditably
every station to which he has been called in life—one of the
strongest farmers of the State, who has been active in building up
its agricultural interests, the bedrock of our wealth! Who has
served creditably on the Railroad Commission; who has made
an' excellent State Treasurer—WHO HAS NOT TO HIS DIS
CREDIT ONE BLACK MARK! A man of character—a man of in
telligence—a man who would represent worthily and well the
Empire State of the South as its Chief Executive!
When the liquor question was injected into the campaign, Mr.
Brown aligned himself where he had always been as a MILITANT
PROHIBITIONIST. There was no winking at the Prohibitionists
with one eye, and at the liquor dealers with the other by Mr. Pope
Brown. He is an excellent type of the Progressive Democrat; and
if the people of Georgia want to maintain their claim to being the
“Empire State of the South;” if they want to hold on to their
reputation as the most progressive people of the South, certainly
they do not want to take up a hungry, chronic office-seeker, or a
little double-barreled politician who shoots for the whiskey men
with one barrel, and the Prohibitionists with the other—but they
will avail themselves of the opportunity to put at the head of their
government a clean, strong, capable, upright citizen who has always
served them well, and will yet serve them better if they have the
intelligence to give themselves a chance.
Atlanta and Its Government
The recent charter election settled decisively the question of
commission government in Atlanta; for while the new charter was
an abortion in its effort to put the city upon a commission basis, it
really stood substantially for that side of the question. Since then,
the elections have been held for the filling out of the council for
new terms, and on January 1st the new members will take their
seats.
These things being settled, it becomes the duty of- every citizen
of Atlanta to co-operate with the government, in order to get the
best possible results. By co-operation, we do not mean passive
acquiesence in everything that may be done, but we do mean active
watchfulness, ceaseless effort to maintain the government at a high
standard, and to see to it that our representatives do everything
that is possible for the betterment of the city. And by “better
ment” we do not necessarily mean the boosting of the town for
the getting of more people, but the BETTERING OP CONDITIONS
FOR THOSE WHO ARE HERE. It is not our idea that our efforts
should be concentrated on trying incessantly to get more people—
but certainly they should be concentrated on trying to make better
people of those we have. A rigid enforcement of law; the careful
building up of our school system; the holding up of the hands of
our sanitary department; the improvement of the city along lines
of beautification—in all these directions much is needed, and much
can be done. The equalization of taxation is a large problem which
has never yet been worked out.
The mere piling up of people does not make a great city. Take
New York, for example. Its financial budget has reached a figure
of thirty-nine dollars per capita annually. If "we assume the aver
age family to be four, it costs each year to govern the city of New
York one hundred and fifty-six dollars for each family. One does
not need to be a Solomon to see that this is out of all reason, and
that a government which places such a burden upon the people is
not a good government. It does not really need any argument—
the bald fact speaks for itself. If, however, one is not disposed to
accept this conclusion, a week spent in New York inspecting the
city carefully -will convince the unbeliever.
So, in Atlanta we want not the most expensive government; we
want not a government of boosters—but we want a government of
good, conscientious citizens who have at heart the welfare of the
community, and who will give us the very best possible results
without bankrupting the people. As the case now stands, Atlanta
has as good government as New York at about one-third the relative
cost. Let us maintain this standard, and then strive for betterment.
In order to do this, the co-operation of every good citizen is needed.