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TRUE REFORMERS.
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
OF GEORGIA.
A Brief Sketch of a Few of Our
Populist Senators and
Representatives.
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SENATOR J. L. KEEN.
Senator J. L. Keep, of the IGih. Sena
torial District, composed of the coun
ties of Laurens, Johnson and Emanuel, :
was born in Laurens county Georgia ,
A. D. 1853, As a farmer he never par- ,
ticipated in active polities until seeing ■
the oppression brought upon the pco- :
pie by the unjust and corrupt methods
of the so called democratic party.
Being a firm believer in the princi
ples of Jefferson and finding that these
principles were embodied in the Popu
list platform, he severed his connection
with the democratic party in 1890, and
in 1894 was nominated and elected as a
populist Senator, every county in his
district gave him a majority.
lie succeeded in passing a bill through
the Senate fix ng the toil for milling
rice, but it was lost in the House, and
the mills can continue to rob rice plan
ters at their own sweet will.
He introduced, in accordance with
the wishes of a large majority of the
best people of his county, a bill to abol
ish the city court of Laurens county,
but aga ; n a partisan democratic House
came to the rescue of a “dear office hol
der” and the people they pay the
freight.
Senator Keen was one of the first men
in his county to advocate populist prin
ciples, he has always, with unflinching ,
court go advocated the principles of
“Equal justice to all and special priv- ;
ileges to none.”
The interests of the State will al- j
ways be in good hands as long as men •
like Senator Keen are at the helm.
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RON. F. R. POOL.
Hon. F. R. Pool, Representative of
Warren county, was born at his pres
ent home in 1850.
He is a progressive and successful
farmer as was his father before him
Hon. T. N. Pool, his father is known
all over Georgia as an able and elo
quent champion of the Prohibition
movement.
Mr. Pool was a charter member of
the alliance in his county and has al
ways been prominently connected with
the reform movement.
He possesses the unbounded confi
dence of his people as was shown by
his election in 1892, on the populist
ticket, to the office of county commis
sioner by about 700 majority, and again
in 1594 as the ponulist nominee for the
House he received 718 more votes than
his opponent.
Mr. Pool has served his constituents
well in the House and upon several im
portant committees, always true to his
friends, he has applied this admirable
characteristic to his legislative corner,
and ratified by his vote every promise
made by him to his people.
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HON. W. K. WILKINSON.
Hon. W. IL Wilkins.n, of Ohattahoo- I
ehe county, v/as bji - a in January 1842
in the conn y' I Mdsvogea. A new
county baiog mala in 1834 p a’.'d him I
in Cbittahcoehe county. His father i
Begin the New Year by Subscribing for The People’s
Party Paper: We will make it warm tor Democracy and
the Bosses: Send us a list of Subscribers: '1896 should
witness numerous Reforms: i
was one of the pioneer farmers of that
section, having moved there in 1837
from Twiggy county. Therefore the
subject of this sketch was brought up
on a farm. When about nineteen years
old he went to the war, he was in C.
A. Evan’s Regiment, Gordon’s Brigade,
Ewell’s Division, and Stonewall Jack
sou Corps. After the war he returned
to his native county where he has since
resided, never holding any public office
except an enexpired term of Clerk cf
the Superior Court.
He voted the democratic ticket until
1892, when he left this party and joined ■
hands with the Populists. When in i
1894 the party put his name before the ,
people for Representative, it was
against his wish, but having been elec
ted to the General Assembly, he has
tried to do his duty, being at all times
at his post and voting on all measures
as he thought was to the best interest
of the State and in accordance with the
Constitution. He introduced several
bills, one to give all counties in the State
equal privilege to elect officers to fill
vacancies when they accur by death or
otherwise, this bill was killed by the
Democrats. He also introduced a bill
putting all merchants (whisky dealers,
grocery and dry goods merchants) un
der the same law as to opening their
slores on Sundays. This bill was killed
by the Democrats.
If he has erred in his duty to his con
stituents it has been an error of the
head and not of the heart. He is
: strictly a prohibitionist by practice,
: now in the fifties and never drank any
’ whisky, never took a glass of beer,
never chewed tobacco or smoked a
cigar.
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HON. R. B. TRAYLOR.
Hon. R. B. Traylor together with his
colleague, Hon. S. D. Greer, of Harris
cou. ty, have made a record in the
| Georgia Legislature that any county
might well be proud of, and the 2500
good people of Harris who voted for
• them have no cause to regret their
I choice.
| Mr. Traylor was tendered the place
• of Representative several times by the
democrats of his county, but i efused to
run until the populist party’ nominated
and elected him in 1894.
He has secured the passage of a local
bill of great benefit t > his county, and
introduced a bill to allow widows of
Confederate Soldiers whose husbands
have died since the act of ‘9l to receive
a pension, the democrats seeing the
merit of this mt asure stole it by set
ting aside Mr. Traylor’s bill and pass
ing a similar one.
Mr. Traylor was born in Troup coun
ty, Georgia in the year 1848 and has
been a farmer all his life, at the age of
16 hs enlisted in the Confederate Army
and nobraver soldier than he ever bore
arms for the Confederacy.
At Atlanta, Oconee and Savannah he
and his brave compatriots marched to
the defense of the South to the music
of roaring muskets and booming can
non.
Mr. Traylor was a democrat until ’9l,
when he saw that this party was no
longer true to its promises to the peo
ple and he therefore cast his lot with
the People’s Party.
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HON. L. L. CLEMENT.
Hon L. L. Clement was born A. D.
1864 at Big Creek in Forsyth county,
Georgia, and was reared on the farm,
he received his education in the com
mon schools and at Cumming and at
Norcross high schoo’s.
After a full course of study at the
Southern Medical College, of Atlanta,
he graduated with high honors, taking
the first prize in surgery, and now
stands at the head of his prefession in
his section,
Born and bred a democrat he fiuallv
lost all hope of reform through this
party owing to the predominance of the
Northern wing, affiliating with the
People's Party in 1892, his moral cour
tage in sustaining his convictions as to
: his idea of right, showed to his people
his fitness to lead them in the fight of
• 1894.
i As th« Pnnnlist n nninee for Re Dre-
THE PTOTLE’A PAPEk, AIL&NTA, GEORGIA. DECEMBER 27. 1995.
> seutative from the little county of
Milton, he won by il7 votes, wiping
out a democratic majority of 2 years
before of 270 votes.
On all questions bis efforts have been
to act and vote for the interest of the
whole people. His aid and sympathy
have always been extended to the poor
and oppressed regardless of his own
personal inte est.
Besides some local bills of interest to
his people at home, he has introduced a
bill to give a temporary license to un-
I dergraduates of medical colleges be
tween the second aid third couise of
j lectures, after standing satisfactory
'examination. His object being to ena
ble poor and worthy students to work
their way through college. This bill
like many others in the interest of the
poor people was smothered in a demo
cratic committee.
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HON. W? J. SHORT.
lion. W. J. Short was born in Wilkes
County Georgia, A. D 1834. Moved to
Marion county in 1554 where he has
lived ever since.
Mr. Short is a successful farmer and
merchant, and as financial and mercan
tile agent he has been of great benefit
to the Alliancemen of his section.
Like many Other brave Georgians he
has faced death a thousand times upon
the battlefields of the Confederacy, for
four years, under Forest, he braved the
storms of war that belched forth death
and devastation upon our land.
Mr. Short was a Democrat until 1891,
when losing all confidence in this party
• of broken promises, he espoused the
cause of the people by joining the Pop
ulist party and was elected to the
House from Marion county, receiving
’ 153 more votes than bis opponent, thus
changing Marion from a Democratic to
( a Populist county.
Condemning the Democ.atic usage
and custom of paying two men for the
i Fame work, he introduced a bill to pay
• members of the General Assembly in
case of a contest only for the time they
really served. The Democrats have
! . been paying both men for full time
i where one member unseated another.
| ThJs is aninjustUc-ta-thG- tr-x• -payers,-
j , but they-refused to stop the practice
j. : by passing this bill.
; No county in the State has a more
watchful and faithful Representative
s than Marion.
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SENATOR T. S. JOHNSON.
Senator Thomas Sherwood Johnson
was born in Oglethorpe county, Ga.,
July 12th, 1853. On his mother's side
he is a decendant of the Wise family of
Virginia and the Colquitt family of
Georgia.
His childhood was spent in middle
Georgia, in boyhood his parents moved
to Jackson county, Georgia, where he
finished his education and married the
accomplished daughter of that noble
Confederate officer Captain Angus C.
Thompson. Since that tme his life
j has been spent among the people of
Jackson county.
A life-long Democrat from his child
hood. Borne and reared on Georgia
soil, cherishing the sacred memory of
the past and loving his State and Coun
try he stayed with and worked for the
party of his fathers until that party '
with its leaders forsook the time hon
ored principles of thatjparty it having !
strayed off after strange gods and |
fallen to worshiping the golden calf
he reluctantly left the household of the
fathers and like Wesley he left the
party that professed to love the great
i mass of the people, but in laws acted
. ■ against the masses in favor of the
; classes, With no political aspirations
i he was placed by his people in the field
in July 1894 against the wealthy and
I distinguished Dr. L. G. Hardman. His
I election to the Senate was a compli
ment to himself and his people. He
has introduced in the Senate a bill to
make it a misdemeanor to charge a
greater rate of interest on money in
the State of Georgia than 8 per cent.
Also a bill to make it a misdemeanor
to charge more than 4 per cent for ne
gotiating loans in the State of Georgia.
Both of these bills were killed in the
general judiciary committee - room,
, which committee is composed of law
i yers. The passage of these two bids
! would work a blessing to every in-
I terest in Georgia—except the money-
I shark. The principle of justice to all
; classes of our people still lives in the
i hearts of the masses, and as the pco
| pie become informed and see the in
i justice of these laws, that make the
' strong stronger and the weak weaker,
: they will rise up in their majesty and j
' say “thus far shalt thou go and no
farther.” “You go to your farm and
! to your business and stay out of poll
[ ties and let us run the government”
will soon be a saying of the past, and
; the free, intelligent and patriotic citi
zens will control this country.
' Senator Johnson introduced a bill in
the Senate to abolish the city court of
Jackson county, which was an issue in
the campaign of 1804, and a majority
of the voters and petitioners of the
county favored the bill to abolish the 1
county court. On account of partisan
prejudice the bill was killed by the
Democrats.
If every Senatorial district- in Geor
gia would elect men like. Senator T. S.
Johnson of the Thirty-third, then truly
would the will of the people again
reign supreme in Georgia’s Senate
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IIONR. P. WRENN.
Ron. R. P. Wrenn, of Jefferson, coun-
ty, was born 40 years ago upon the
! same farm where he is now living, and
! which has rewarded his careful and
• systematic farming with bountiful har-
vests every year. Mr. Wrenn like most
farmers is modest and of a retiring dis
position, and it is a re al pleasure to us,
i although against his wishes, to give a
i few facts as to his 1 ‘gi.-l itive record.
! He was nominated by the populists of
Jefferson county ts represent them in
j the Legislature of ’94 and ’95. although
Jefferson has always been a democratic
■ stronghold, he and his colleague Dr.
Salter were elected by a large majority.
Mr. Wrenn has been faithful to his
constituents and true to every promise
of hi i party to > jpople.
~'~lJKintFodm-f‘J’r. solution to" pro
. hibit any appropriations except for
' current expenses and obligations al
. ready incurred, which if passed would
j liave saved the State many thousands
of dollars. Also a bill to require all
parties intending to contest an e’ection
to give notice of the same within 10
days after the election, this would pre
vent either party from being cut off
without time to get up their evidence,
One of the mest important bills con
sidered by the General Assembly of ’94
and’9s was by Mr. Wrenn requiring
; the Tax Collectors of the State to file
I with the Comptroller General a list of
the names of their tax defaulters with
the amount of tax due by each ono.
These bills should have been enacted
into law, but like many other bills in
the interest of fairness and justice
were defeated by the democrats.
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HON. M. I. BRANCH.
Hon. M. I. Branch, the subject of this
sketch, was born in Petersburg, Va., in
1847. Thomas Branch, his father was
one of the most prominent citizens of
Virginia. At the age of sixteen (lhG3)
he entered Lee’s army, where he served
for one year, and the following year
was appointed a cadet to the Virginia
Military Institute by Governor Letcher.
At the close of the he attended
the Military Institute, where he com
pleted his education in 1868, and then
removed to Augusta, Ga., where he en
gaged in the mercantile business until
1878, when he removed to Columbia
county, Georgia, and adopted farming
as his occupal ion.
Mr. Branch Jias always taken a lively
interest in po itieal matters, and was a
prominent Al ianceman of his county
during the f lurishing period of that
order.
He was twi e elected by the county
of Columbia as ks representative in
the conventions of the State Alliance,
and was there sent as a delegate on
both occasions to the National Alliance
conventions held at St. Louis and In
dianapolis.
In 1892 Mr. Branch severed his alle
giance to the Democratic party and
aided in the organization of the Peo
ple's party throughout Georgia, and
was elected a delegate to the Omaha
convention, where he was chairman of
the committee on platform In the
i same year he was elected to the Legis
lature, and re-elected in 1894, and was
chosen by the Populists of the Bouse
of Representatives as their candidate
for Speaker.
Mr. Branch introduced a bill to pre
vent railroads destroying competition.
After a hard fight the bill passed the
House, but the lobby of the Senate
was too strong, w and it was there de
feated.
He also introduced a bill to require
all railioads to make their bonds pay
able in the lawful currency of the
United States instead of gold, as is
i now the case.
One of his most gratifying achieve
ments was the passage of the bill in
1894, known as “The Branch School
Bill,” under which tie present com
mon school system is working.
Some of the Democratic members
were unwilling to have a Populist en
joy the credit of so important a meas
ure; but recognizing the inefficiency
of the then existing law, and appreci
ating the true merit of the “Branch
Bill,” it was passed.
The governor threw aside his parti
sanship and used his good influence for
th® passage of the measure.
Mr. Branch seldom speaks upon the
floor of the House, but when be does
he clothes his speeches with eloqu nt
language and sustains his positions
with sound argument.
Mr. Branch, in 1870, married Miss
Sue Steiner in Augusta. Ga., one of the.
most accomplished and beautiful wo
men of Georgia. By their union they
have three noble sons, who will no
doubt follow in the footsteps of their
father and prove themselves worthy of
trust and honor at the hands of the
- people.
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RON. D.'T. MONTFORT.
Ron. 1). T. Montfort was born in
i crawford county, Georgia (of which
Taylor county was originally a part),
( A. D., 1849. lie has been active y en
gaged in farming all his life.
. A Democrat from infancy, he severed
his connection with that party in 1891
on account of its un - Democratic
methods.
Taylor county in 1592 was Demo
cratic by SO votes, but in 1894 the Pop
ulists nominated Mr. Montfort and
elected him by 259 majority.
Mr. Montford and his Democratic
opponent both promised on the stump
if elected to abolish the county court
of Taylor county; yet when he intro
duced the bill in accordance with the
wishes of his people the Democrats of
Taylor county fought it and secured
its defeat. No man in the Legislature
made a harder fight for bis people than
the Hon. D. T. Montfort in his attempt
to abolish the county c -;urt. He showed
that six hundred of his people signed
the petition to abolish against eighty
to not abolish, lie proved that the
court was a source of heavy expense
to the tax-payers and accomplished no
saving to the people in rebuttal of this
expense. But in the face of all this a
partisan Democratic House, at the be
hest of the court house clique of Tay
lor county, defeated the bill to abolish
: the court, and saddled upon tie good
people of Taylor this expensive and
unnecessary court to gratify the greed
of a few Democratic office-holders.
Such incidents as this prove beyond
the shadow of a doubt that the Demo
cratic party values the spoils of office
higher than the interests of the people.
Continued next week.
John I. Full wood.
GOMPERS WAS ELECTED
President of the American Federation
of Labor.
The question of sending fraternal
delegates to the International Congress
of Socialist Workers at London next
August was the first business taken up
by the convention of the American
Federation of Labor at Saturday’s
session. The motion which was pend
ing when the convention adjourned
the night before to refer the matter to
affiliated bodies, was lost, and a mo
tion to lay on the table, was carried
by a vote of 52 to 10.
At the afternoon session Samuel
Gompers was elected president of the
Federation by a majority of 18 votei
over John Mcßride, his only oppo
nent. The socialists voted for Mc-
Bride.
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, We Want Tradp ;
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CAMEL I
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Cau Kav ® you tot, f 1
W Ladins Cloaks si.6q ■ i
orders of $lO oo ?
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A Store I hat Doesn’t
WANT THE EARTH |
li at’ ® Ou i*®.
Since 1884 we have fought the “Drug Ring” and
i High P rices, lhat we have won was evidenced 1
s long ago. We sell you Drugs, Patent Medicines
Toilet Articles, wines, Liquors, Surgical Instruments,
etc., at a lower price than any other store. A proper
respect for your purse should lead you at least to inves-
' tigate claims so persistency and confidentially made.
! y/e never drop anchor in the port cf our ambitions, to
satisfy you one cay isn’t merely enough for us; to keep j
on satisfying you, to win you, to have you enthuse over
I us, is what we strive for.
y/e have published a complete cm price li t that is
ju-t the thing for Xmas shopping by mail. Its yours
I I for a postal, with your name and address o.i it.
Jacobs’ Pharmacy j
(Everything Retailed at Wholesale Prices)
Corner Peachtree and Decatur Streets.
|| Atlanta*, - - - Georgia. |
831
MD SM, .mil, Gl, -R h?
Shmaib's Eicelsioi Shvss,
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Snow’s Southern Queen Rvip. b
Garland Stoves and Ranges f a
The above goods are gua-an-|
teed. All styles and prices of ' .-i
Cooking and Heating Stoves, Tinware, Grates, Mantels, &o
CHAS. B. ALLEN. .
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