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4 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.