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HERE’S THE TEXT OF JUDGE RICHARD B. RUSSELL’S ATLANTA SPEECH
Him option IS:
TBUE DEMOCRACY'
DECLARES RUSSELL
Candidate for Governor Repu
diates Charge 'That He Is
the “Whisky .Candidate.”
Attitude Made Clear
EACH COUNTY SHOULD
DECIDE FOR ITSELF
Other Issues / Discussed at
Length—Plea Is Made for
j - Elimination of Factional
Strife in Georgia
j Judge Richard B. Russell's guberna
torial speech at the Grand opera house
I * Atlanta. Friday night, Novem-
• ber 3. was a ringing appeal to
e voters of Georgia to support him In
J principles which he conceives to oe
•» based on the spirit of true Democracy
■ e It was a straightforward statement of
« the platform on which he is making the
; race, and a masterly discussion of the
» political issues of t.,e day.
E•. Judge Russell skid:
Fallow-citizens.
’ One of the greatest needs of Georgia
• at the present time is the death of po
£ Utical feuds and factions, and the resto-
• ration of harmony among the people. The
t A factional strife which til.’ rent commu-
J nitie^ and created bitterness even among
K 3 the/hembers of the same family has been
2 an impediment in the past, and presents
" a serious menace to the progress of the
K * future. If Georgia is to be the great
• state which we all hope and wish it
to become, these bickerings must cease.
£ and the whole people with united interest
• should work, shoulder to shoulder, for
- the material, moral and educational up-
UFt of every class of citizens of oar
; great commonwealth. v
■ ' * Without any reference to past political
history, oh whatever may have bee* the
necessity for factional strife in the past
w tar aa the future is concerned, if
• the Democratic party in Georgia is to be
E& divided into two hostile camps, the eon-
|“ tinuance of factionalism . ill depend upon
the artifices of selfish politicians, and
f. - personal discord will be maintained mere
ly for the purpose of getting and holding
r office. In many instances, a man who
might be too weak to maintain his hold
—~ upon public office by hfs own
•___ merits can *. succeed by zealous
service as a ’ henchman and by
k , loud protestations of fealty to a
particular faction. The time has come
the Freat mass of the people
wrtose interests have suffered at the ex-
H pense of partisanship should demand and
Ra • enforce that harmony which is essential
<2>’ <o of the state. The time
has come when brothers who have been
. dissevered and bellieerent should shake
hands and bury their past differences.
'■ and move onward and forward to a
greater and grander Georgia than our
~ fathers ever knew. The restoration of
« that harmony so essential Georgia’s
—beat ltttjye«t czntwt be accomplished by
Bs, W’tW’i’fc)* * KWMrn-x on the one hand
a candidate who has been so closely
Mentifitd with either faction that its stic
eeas would be his paramount duty and
the high trust be held As a mere re
ward for past partisan aerrice, nor is it
possible on* the other hand to heal old
wounds, or remove the scars of conflicts
which should be forgotten by Indorsing
a candidacy which is based solely upon
the desire to retrieve a former defeat
and to administer blows In revenge.
AGRICULTURE IN GEORGIA.
Our commonwealth was by nature dt>-
• signed to be pre-eminent in agriculture.
No other division of the union offers so
wide a fldld for the successful raising
of a diversity of crops of the field, the
orchard and the market garden as Geor-
, gU. and hence while no special favors
« need be extended to the farming indne
- try, which is the most independent avo-
cavion which God almighty ever vouch
eafed man, still no law affbuld ever be
«passed that does not keep in view the
fact that, in this state at least, the hap
’! piness, peace and good order of the state
*« demand that no legislation shall be
U passed which will not have the highest
’ • interest of the farm and its occupants
• distinctly in view. It is therefore a mat
: ter of Importance not only that your
I «• governor should be personally and prac
:! tically interested, as I am. in the subject,
f ' > but also that he shall possess a knowl-
"• edge of existing laws affecting the in
•• tereet of the farmers, the evils in ex
*l isting laws, and the knowledge both
;j technical and practical which will enable
Il him to apply the remedy when needed.
ON EDUCATION.
*. I* High and above every other interest or
thing of value in Georgia—our farms and
• » fields, our factories, our banks, our rail
j roads, our forestr and out water power,
A the most inestimable treasures of Geor
gia are her bright-eyed white boys and
- girls. The welfare and happiness ot
these little ones is far above every in
terest by which the state is affected, or
with which the commonwealth is con-
, cerned. They are the future masters of
Georgia's destiny, and tjie mothers of
her future sons. ,
There is no reason why the
country boys and girls should not
, have the same teachers (the
2 best that money can procure) as the
3 children of the cities*, and there is no
• reason why any of the poorer children
« in the cities or in the country shouffi be I
3 debarred from attending the public
» schools by their inability to purchase
• S school books.
X I institute no comparison between the
• superior advantages of the children in
• the cities and those in the country, to
5 stir envy or to charge discrimination.
t 3 Such is not the case. I am thankful
2 for every fine city system of schools
Zand only wish that each were if possible
Zbetter than it ia And as the municipal
schools are largely supported by tneir
own taxes no one can urge that the
• children of the cities are receiving more
•than their share from the taxes of x the
Jwtate. I "am appealing to the people ot
« the cities, as well as to those who. Uxe
3 myself live upon the farm, to employ
their resources within our reach, to give
every" white child in every country ats
trict of Georgia, who does not now en
Joy that advantage, a chance to fit him
self by education for the battle of life.
I unhesitatingly assert that money, ex
pended for this purpose is not only the
best investment that Georgia can make,
but I am unalterably fixed in the con-
- vfctlon that it is not only the right
thing for the children of Georgia, and
that the best country school system ab
solutely is essential to the future devel-
4 opment of our state and the perpetuity
of our cherished institution. It is abso-
- lutely necessary for the preservation ot
our liberty. lam not here at this time
to elaborate the benefits of popular edu
cation, but I stand today, as I have al-
ways stood, urging that it is , the para
.mount duty of the state to furnish the
best that money will supply in a. nine
months school system that will be with
in the reach of every poor white boy and
' girl in the state of Georgia.
ON TEACHERS' PAY.
I am here to say that you cannot do
this without the best teachers, ana w»
cannot either get or keep rural teacners
without prompt payment of their sala
ries. You cannot place the benefits of
1 your schools within the reach of those
who most need them without free scnooi
books. I advocate prompt payment or tfte
teachers, and in the absence of legisla
tion which will secure this result, if 1
, am elected governor and there Is no»
enough money with which to pay the
state's salary list in full. I will pro
rate the available funds among all to
whom salaries are due, and my warrants
on the treasury will give their prorate
share to the teachers along with the
judges and state house officers. I will
not pay other officers on the civil list
in full and make the teachers wait. The
furnishing of school books by the state
will not only effectuate a great economy
but prevent the frequent changing of
text books which is a heavy and useless
tax especially upon those parents wno
patronize the rural scnools.
I have made myself quite familial
with the conditions and needs of me
Georgia Normal and Industrial college
as at present conducted under the wise
, leadership of Professor Parks. He is
the right man in the right place. He is
1 doing a work for Georgia than which no
man has ever dgne a greater, and yet at
> each session of this great Georgia insti
tution the applications of hundreds of
worthy girls are refused and Georgia
i with unmctherly unconcern shuts tn®
doors of this great school in the faces
of ber daughters because she has not
’room to shelter them nor means provid
ed Yor their needs. I protest agains?
closing of the doors of hope to any ot
the daughers of our great state, ana
do not .believe that Georgia, a loving
mother as she is, can turn a dull and
deafened ear to the cries for relief that
come from bumble bomes in every sec
tion of the state from the mountains to
the seaboard.
1 , INDORSES RAILROAD COMMISSION
1 I indorse the present railroad com
-1 ' mission law, and I am opposed to an)
reduction in the number of commis
sioners. Changes the law may be
necessary growing out of changed con
ditions,. but there should -be no lessen
ing of the powers of the commission,
(and no diminution of its membership.
The state can and must exercise ‘.he
right to regulate anu in a measure
control all of its. -creatures, kt so fir
1 gs they affect the interest of others,
and it cannot permit any corporate
association, however, worthy its object
' origipally, to be diverted from the
purpose for which 1t was created, or
: suffer It to engulf the Interest of »ts
stockholders and of the public in the
I maelstrom of politics. The sovereign
I people, who through their representa
-1 tives, or otherwise, in accordance with
law, have granted valuable franchises
and rights of way to corporations en
gaged as common carriers, have the
right to exercise the power of regula
tion over the conduct of the business
of these corporations to the end that
charges, eit-.er for freight or passenger
transportation -shall not be unreason
able nor discriminatory.
Every corporation engaged in public
utility service should feel assured or
a guarantee of fair and just treatment
In the conduct of its legitimate bus
iness—no more, no less—and In the
exercice of the business functions for
which It was created. It should kno(w
that its every legal right will be pro
tected. and its everj Illegal effort re
strained.
The powers of the railroad commis
sion should not be diminished. nor
should the efficiency of the commis
sion be weakened by decreasing the
number of that body. } think we can
safely trust a commission elected by
tn* people with the enacting of such
regulations and providing sueh facili
ties as will afford to the public, com
tort, safety and convenience, and allow
a reasonable return upon the capital
ON LOCAL OPTION.
In spite of all the adverse criticism
r ePre " entat ‘ on wh,ch has been
jnuned at me, my unequivocal declara
tion in favor of local option, as the wisest
BO “ nd * s: P la *i by which we can con
trol and diminish the use of intoxicants
in this state, needs no defense or apol
ogy. And by local option I mean pre
cisely and exactly this; that every county
in Georgia shall settle for Itself by a ma
jority vote of its own people whether or
not intoxicating liquors of any kind shall
.T Ithhl ,ts borders, and they
shall decide for themselves severally as
to the matter and under what Regula
tions the traffic in intoxicating liquors
shall be conducted, if at all. in declaring
for local option I am standing consist
ently by a record of 30 years since local
option was first proposed tn Georgia as
a means of preventing the evils of in
temperance and diminishing the use of
intoxicants. With me the question is
not one of liquor but of human liberty. I
can in a measure understand how a pro
hibitionist or an anti-prohibitlonlst who is
not a Democrat can be opposed to local
option, but I cannot see how any Geor
gian, who is a Democrat indeed, and as
such Is true the traditions and fun
damental principles of the Democratic
party from its birth, can oppose local
option as to any subject which effects
the individual rights of the citizen as to
his personal habits and home Mfe. As
related to the sale of liquors a local op
tionlst may be either a prohibitionist or
an anti-pro..ibitionist, but he is always
a Democrat because he accords to the
man who may differ with him the same
right to a voice and share In the gov
ernment as he claims for himself. But
the man, be he prohibitionist or anti
prohibitionist, who would seal the mouths
of his fellow-citizens forever and de
prive a freeborn white man of the right
lof at least giving his consent to a-law
which would abridge any of the natural
rights of a freeman, is not, in my opin
ion. a Democrat. <
LOCAL OPTION DEMOCRATIC.
Democracy from its very derivation
means the power or rule of the people
I am aware, a studied effort has been
made to place a new and unheard of
meaning upon the. term local option, and
! that it is freely asserted that any man
: who favors local option is a w-hisky man.
Thia attempt upon the part of the adhe
rents of the present political prohibition
bill to supply by a term of reproach
what they lack in argument, requires no
further comment than to say that those
to whom such clap-t ap commends itself,
if they are really intellgent enough to
know the meaning of the word local op
tion, will receive the contempt of all fair
minded men. •
IMPLANTED IN CODE.
Nothing is more firmly implanted in the
code of Georgia than the* principle of
local option. Recognizing the county as
the unit of state government, and wisely
delegating to each county the regulation
of its own internal affairs preserves
home rule. Nothing else will The term
local option has no special reference to
the sale of liquor. For by local option,
and the settlement by the people of each
county at the ballot box. we have local
option as to stock law or fence law. as
to systems of local schools, as to dif
ferent systems of road law, as to local
taxation, and the creation of bonded in-
THE ATLANTA SEMI-WEEKLY JOURNAL. ATLANTA, GA., FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 1911.
debtedness, provided it does not exceed
the constitutional limit. As to all ot
these matters, and others which might be
named, the people of each county in
Georgia by local option determine what
is best suited for that county fn its
peculiar situation. Foq many yeans
local option has been the fixed policy ot
Georgia as to every matter of internal
regulation which affected a county. The
regulation and control, or the prohi
bition ot the sale of intoxicants was
recognized 30 years ago as a proper
subject for local option. This view was
urged by those Democrats who fa
vored prohibition, and It was at the in
stance of those who wished to diminish
the evils of intemperance that the local
option law was passed. Tn 1882, 1883, 1884,
and 1885, as the representative from
Clarke county, I supported the local op
tion bill introduced by Hon. Charles R.
Pringle, each time that he introduced
it. and stood by the proposition when it
was defeated as well as when it finally
passed. Before the long four years’ fight
which finally ended In the passage of
Mr. Pringle's local option bill was con
cluded, on my own motion, I had passed
a -special local option bill to be sub
mitted to the people of Clarke county.
ALWAYS FOR LOCAL OPTION.
I did not support local option for any
reason other than because I wae a
Democrat, and I believed then, as I be
lieve now, not bnly in the right but in
the ability of the people of a county to
govern themselves by regulating, accord
ing to their own judgment, the conduct
of their internal affairs. I stood then, as
I stand now, for the immutable, imper
ishable, ever essential principle of local
self-government and borne rule. If the
two cardinal principles of Thomas Jef
ferson. that local self-government Is the
essenpe of democracy, and that all just
laws' derive their powers from the con
sent of the governed, were true and as
sented when he proclaimed them, then
they are stiH true. No lapse of time, no
change of condition, no specious ar
gument, no hypocrisy, and no amount
of unmerited abuse can destroy an im
mortal truth. Certginly none of these,
nor all of them combined, should be suf
fered to deprive tlie humbest citizen of
his rights as a freeman and a Democrat.
Convinced as I am by mature experi
ence that local option affords the best so
lution of the liquor, and proud as I am
that every fiber of-my being is democratic
•to the core, I am prouder still that the
issue which has been raised jin this cam
paign affords me the glorious privilege
of being at once the champion of the
people's rights, and an advocate of a
law whose morality shall be placed upon
the highest plane, and which can be ef
fective because it rests upon the consent
of the governed. - \
NOT A WHISKY MAN.
With a contempt, of which their small
souls are incapable of understanding. I
hurl back into the teeth of the hypo
crites who have made it, the slander
ous charge that I am a whisky man. I
Invite the attention of all faiigmindefi
men <to my record as legislator, solicitor
general, and judge of the superior and
appellate courts, and I fearlessly invite
a comparison' even of my personal life
with that of my detractors.
My personal views as to what course
should be pursued by any particular
county under local option are, of course,
outside of the issue, and my frankness in
expressing them on some occasions In
I the past seems to have been so abused
i and purposely confused and misrepresent
ed as to becloud the great issue which
I I have presented, that I shall make no
reference to them. My Individual ideas as
to details of regulation are utterly unim
portant when compared with the great
underlying democratic principle of gov
ernment for which I am contending. As
fellow Democrats we might disagree as
to details, but if we are Democrats at
all we stand together in favor of the
principle of local option. I am not mak
ing any apeal for support to law-break
ars, nor seeking the votes of the crim
inal class. I want to make an appeal
to the hearts ,and cortbclences of the
thoughtful citizens and taxpayers of this
great old state, to the fathers and the
mothers, and to the young men who are
frank and straightforward and honest
! and not sneaks and hypocrites. I ask
J the careful consideration of every man.
no matter what his calling who desires
safety of life, liberty and v property, and a
government of law. decency and opier.
And since I am criticized for preferring
the regulation of the liquor traffic by
local option rather than by the prohi
bition legislauon now in force in Geor
gia, I ask you patiently to compare
the two law’s and the effect of each. I
am not opposed to temperance, I am not
opposed to regulation, I am not opposed
to prohibition in a county that wants
prohibition. I put my canvass upon the
highest plane possible for a mortal man.
and that Is we should have this great evil
controlled, and I think I propose some
thing better than what you have. Under
the local option bill If the majority
of the voters of a county voted against
the sale of Intoxicating liquors, then it
became unlawful for anyone to sell, bar
ter or exchange for any consideration any
alcoholic, spirituous, malt, vinous or In
toxicating liquors. This was a sincere
and real prohibition bill, and the law
could be because it had be
hlhd it the public sentiment of the com-'
munlty, and a consciousness even on the
part of the minority that the will of the
majority should by rights be the law.
Under this law 130 counties in
adopted prohibition as their method of
police regulation in regard to the liquor
traffic, and when the people thus made
the law for themselves it was fairly well
enforced.
They felt an interest in its enforce
ment because it was their law. The
right of the people to rule was the great
underlying principle in the local option
bill, nor w’as there then any question
that the people had sufficient intelligence
to decide the question for their best in
terest not only materially but morally.
I revolt at the thought that after 30 years
of advancement along every line of gen
eral intelligence, and millions have
been spent in this state for popular "ed
ucation, as well as for the maintenance
of the gospel, that our people have now
sunk to so low a scale that they are
considered less worthy and more incapa
ble of discharging the duties of citlzen
' ship than they were 30 years ago; espe-
I daily when we consider that by the
passage of the disfranchisement -law we
have eliminated at least to a very large
degree the most vicious and venal ele
ment in our society, the negro voters.
THE SALE OF LIQUOR.
We are now told by some prohibition
ists that while local option was a good
enough position for the prohibitionists in
1882 and 1885, that no true moralist nor
consistent prohibitionist can now Indorse
it for the reason that the statewide pro
hibition law, which was enacted, is a
great step forward. I deny this proposi
tion In toto. In my opinion, any move
ment which seeks to lessen or circum
scribe the right of the citizen to partici
pate in the government is a step back
ward instead of forward. The whole
trend of advanced modern civilization la
to bring power of government closer
to the people rather than to deprive the
people of this right. What a travesty
upon the advancement of which we. are
accustomed to boast when we confess
that the white voters of the state are
either too ignorant or too immoral to
Ye trusted to say whether an article,
which is recognized the world over as a
legitimate subject of ewnmeFce, can or
cannot be sold in any locality In the
~ •-■ '.*" X
' •; • I
JUDGE BICHABD B. BUSSELL.
i -state, no matter what may be the con
i dltions that environ tnat particular lo-
I cality, and which might properly influ
ence the decision of the ; question as to
that locality.
! I deny that either the cause ot good
i government or of temperance took a
great forward movement in the pass
age c* the act of 1907 generally known as
the general prohibition law, and I assert
that as a prohibition law it is a farce,
with the revenue attachments which the
same general assembly grafted upon it*
Whatever else may be said of the law as
<-f whole, it is a misnomer to call it a pro
hibition law. Bo far from the general
assembly of 1907 having taken any for
ward step in the interest of good gov
ernment by depriving the people of any
expression upon the liquor traffic, from
my standpoint, the passage of that law
was ■ a step backward in the direction
of class legislation and inquisitorial
methods that oppressed our forefathers
400 years ago. 8
I favor the submission of the liquor
question, as'all other quest<pns, to the
people because the only forward step
that is ever taken ir\ public institutions
Is when the people are accorded greater
liberty of action In the control o. tl.eir
own affairs, and the recognition of the
right of the people to .rule is always and
everywhere the highest evidence of their
advancement. The withdrawal of power
from *£he people can only be sanctioned
upqn the theory that the people them
selves are, Lncapable of self goyernment,
and popular rights are always the great
est where the people are the most intel
ligent. Statewide • prohibition was not
an issue in the campaign of 1906. No
candidate for governor hinted at it, and
the question was not presented in the
selection of members of the general as
sembly. For this reason the reversal of
policy involved in the passage of this
act, without the advice or consent of
the voters, who were never consulted,
was. in my judgment, a long step back
ward instead of a forward movement.
'• THE PRESENT LAW
The local option law of 1885 was de
signed to prevent the evils of intem
rance, and so states in its caption.
Where it' was passed by the people of
a county as a "police regulation, it was
so effective that it was adopted by the
vast majority of the counties of Geor
gia and as in other matters of police
regulation it was effective because it
was suppoifted by the expressed will of
the people who were affected by it. The
present so*called prohibition law, which
is said to he too sacred to be criticised,
is of purely political /origin. It was
begotten by political prtifice, conceived
in stealth, and .ushered into the world
as a simp judgment which silenced by
force the voice of any humble citizen
who might dare to protest against It.. 1
am not of that number who think that
even the loftiest end justifies the use
of ignoble means fdr Its achievement.
The legislators who passed the Act ot
1907 were elected in the campaign of
1906. In that campaign the passage
of a state-wide prohibition law was not
hinted at.
The issue of repealing a system of lo
cal option with regard to the trafic of
intoxicating liquors which had been Im
planted as a policy of the State for
nearly a generation and of substituting
prohibition in its place and thereby de
priving the individual citizen of any
right whatever to express his views up
on the suliiect. was not submitted to the
voters ,of the state even indirectly. If
any pledges were extorted they were
surreptitiously obtained. I do not care
to comment «upon tnis dark lantern
form of politics, which imposed upon
the confidence of at least a large part
of the voters, who, if they had known
the candidate for the general assembly
was pledged to state-wide prohibition
would have voted for him. The pas
sage of this law depriving some of th*,
counties of the right to regulate the
sale of intoxicating liqours without
their consent and thus depriving then,
of tlie right which had therefore been
accorded to their sister counties, was at
least an act of seeming injustice tend
ing to create a natural resentmen
against the ruthless exercise of the
mere power of might.
Granting, for the sake of argument,
that it was necessary by brute force to
overmaster the wills of those citizens
of our state who are of the opinion
that the traffic of intoxicating liquors
is not necessarily criminal, pe se and
may be legalized, let us see what the
legislature has given us. Let us ten
derly examine this oracle of the law,
that we dare not touch with impious
hands. It Is a Janus-faced, two sided
affair. In front it etand out ostensi
bly as a most drastic measure designed
to absolutely prohibit not only the
traffic, but the use of all intoxicants
of whatever name or nature. It goes
further; it diminishes the uses to whicn
our orchards and our vinyards can be
put by rendering them worthless so far
as the manufacture of any fluid in any
degree intoxicating may be concerned.
It does not stop there. It makes •
criminal of the gentle house-wife who
may dare to make a bottle of wins
from her grapes or an ounce of cordial
from h® r blackberries. The puritanti
cal soul of old Praise God Barebones
might shout for joy at this inlusion of
the Massachusetts spirit into our Geor»
gla laws, but the legislature of 1907
knew that their archaeic production
(though it might have been well fitted
to the Puritans of 1650) was not likely
to be longer lived than Jonah's gourds
when applied to the liberty loving An
glo-Saxon cavaliers of Georgia, and so
they added byway of provisions for
revenue another side to the political
scheme.
LOCKER CLUBS AND BEER.
Twins were born; locker clubs and
near beer. The locker club was design
ed to provide an avenue for the rich
and cultivated gentleman who would
not tamely submit to the stringent reg
ulations of old New England. The
“near beer” denominated in the law as an
imitation and substitute was thought
good enough to alleviate the pangs t»f
the thirsty poor. Prohibition itself, the
real article, was reserved only for the
hypocritical jug-wump who betakes him
self to the secrecy of his closet and in
spects the contents of a package from
Jacksonville or Chattanooga instead of
saying his prayers. Thus, we have < the
spectacle of a law never designed to
prohibit the use of intoxicating liquors
except upon the part of those too ig
norant to know how to obtain intoxicat
ing liquors, or too poor to pay for it. If
there ever was a piece of legislation
obnoxious to every sentiment of justice
/nd fairplay, and absolutely repulsive
as class legislation, it is the so-called
prohibition law. I have already called
attention to the fact that under the
provisions of the local option law. when
a county adopted prohibition, it got the
real thing. Under the present prohi
bition law it is within the power of any
number, of gentlemen, either real or so
called, to organize a locker club where
unlimited quantities of liquor can be
dispensed. Provided that the purposes
of the club are purely social, all other
>rules for the government of the club
are practically within their own discre
tion. Thus is the use of liquor made
easy to those who should be models of
temperance. On the other hand if an
humble laborer should receive a sudden
injury and need a stimulant to enable
him to bear a deadly shock until he
can be conveyed to a hospital, he is re
mitted to the tender rjnercies of the con
sciousless blind-tiger, or the soulless
boot-legger, who will sell him a chem
ical compound beaded with baM potash
and guaranted to kill at forty yards.
. HEARTLESS INEQUALITY.
And such heArtless Inequality is sanc
tified and glorified in the name of de
mocracy and temperance. Then a license
is Issued for a "near beer” saloon, and
if the law is actually obeyed the dealer
is required to have an imitation beer
only partially brewed that will tan the
mucous membrane of his stomach, pro
duce nausea,* sickness and death. Out
statute boasts of Its hypoersy and gloats
over the dissimulation and'deception by
requiring the decoction that is sold to
be an imitation and an attempted sub
stitute. As compared to the real prohibi
tion law that we had under local op
tion and the prohibition law we no/
have, it can well be said that the Act
of 1907 is itself only an imitation and
a substitute.
I have never said that no prohibition
law could be enforced. I have often
said, and I desire to repeat it now witn
emphasis, that the so-called prohibition
law of Georgia is a farce. I favor the
enforcement of every tew upon the
statute-books as long as it is a law.
But certainly I am entitled to a right
which canot be denied even the humblest .
citizen of our state; the right to pro
test agains an unjust law, and of mov
ing for its repeal. It is the duty of
every judge to enforce the law as it is
written, but no official position, no in
signia qf office can rigTftfully deprive
the man and the citizen of bis just
rights as such.
PRESENT LAW A FARCE.
I have invited a comparison between
the effect of the prohibition law in force
prior to the Act of 1907, and the result
since the passage of' the General Pro
hibition law. At the time the General
Prohibition Law was passed prohibi
tion prevailed in more than 120 coun- |
ties, knd in' many of these counties the
law is well enforced because there was
a public sentiment behind it. It can j
readily be seen, therefore, that the only |
possible reason for tlife passage of the
state-wide prohibition law was to af
fect those counties which had not
adopted prohibition under local option,
and if prohibition was what the 120
counties needed they already had it.
What has been the result in the re
maining counties"? Instead of saloons
from which the state derived a revenue,
there has been a multiplication of vari
ous devices by which intoxicating liquor
can be sold, and the general effect of
this disregard of the law in the counties
in which there is not sufficient senti
ment to support the prohibition law I
has been to teach disregard of law and
contempt of law in counties in which
prior to the passage of 1907 the prohibi
tion law was fairly well enforced. It
is not my purpose to aid in putting the
sale of liquor upon any county that does j
not desire It to be sold, or upon any
county which had prohibition before the
passage of the Act of 1907, unless a l
majority of its own voters so decide but I
conceding that the law Is effective and
effectual in all of these, more than 100 '
counties, what is the result of the pas- '
sage of the sacred Act of 1907?
As I see it, it is merely the transfer
of the liquor business necessary to sup
ply the uses of the people of this state
from the control of our laws to the
control of the laws of ovaer states in
which we have no voice and no concern.
I would not mention the, subject of
revenue as effecting this question if the
act accomplished any good, because I,
for one, would be willing to sacrifice
revenue for moral uplift. But with the
state cramped for funds, with our peo
ple groaning under the highest tax rate
permitted by the constitution, with one
of the highest percentages of illiteracy
in the union, our teachers underpaid
and not promptly paid, and yet with no
benefits in return, the question is pre
sented to every serious mind whether a
better solution cannot be presented than
is afforded by the act of 1907. Most can
did prohibitionists with whom I have
talked are thoroughly dissatisfied with
the present law. The prohibitionists
were undisputed masters of the legisla-
■ ture in 1907, and the general prohibl
; tlon law of 1907 was their solution of
the question. They have had their day
in coun. Their experiment has been
fully tried out. It matters not whether
it has been a faJlure or partially a suc
cess. Certainly no candid, Impartial
mind will object to a different solution
of the question if his judgment approves
it as being something better than what
we have, and especially must this be
true unless it be conceded that the peo
ple have no right to have a say so in
the premises.
THE STATE’S DUTY.
If it be conceded that any considerable
quantity of intoxicating liquor is con
sumed by our citizens, I contend that
the state should see to it that the quali
ty of this stuff shall not be such as to
damage those who use it, or endanger
their lives, or permit the purchaser to
be defrauded and cheated by receiving
in exchange for hfs money a worthless
chemical decoction. Every drop of an
intoxicating fluid which is sold to our
citizens and consumed by them should
be submitted to analysis and inspected
: under the supervision of the state; and
yet with every railroad and express
train bringing vast streams of intoxicating
liquor Into Georgia, the state is unable
to control its quality any more than
its quantity, and our citizens by the
i thousanas are being debauched physlcal
'ly as well as morally. We cannot In
spect any of the liquor which may be
| bought by our. ciitzens or condemn it be
! cause it is outlawed. No principle of
I law is better settled than tnat outlawry
■ and regulation are absolutely inconsist
ent and incompatible with each other In
connection with any provision /of law
wmeh may authorize the citizens of any
county in this state to legalize the sale
of intoxicants under strict regulations, 1
shall favor a rigid analysis and inspec
tion by sworn inspectors of all intoxi
cants which may be sold in this statu,
and the uestruction o* any liquors whicn
may not be pure.
It la mockery’ to talk of protecting the
poor drunkard and ydt consent to his
killing himself by poison. None of our
people should be defrauded and cheated
in the purchase of stimulants, nor their
lives and health be endangered by vile
chemical depoctions.
If It be said that the present prohibi
tion law was designed to protect the
wives and the children of the man who
Is so weak and so heartless as to not
care for the children of his own bouy,
and wife of his own bosom, I would
suggest' a far more effective plan than
the mere attempt to place the base of
supplies for such a creature out of hl
reach in Jacksonville ofc. Chattanooga
a law be passed by which any bus
oand, or father, ’who is able to work,
and who, on account of drunkenness, fall.-
to support his wite or children, will be
guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by
imprisonment from one to twelve months
without the alternative of a fine, and
with provision that the value of his
service upon the public works shall ~4>e
paid weekly by the county authorities for
the support of his family, and you will
perform a more substantial service to the
helpless family than can be derived from
mere expressions of sympathy. No pro
hibition law will prevent the heartless
husband or father from spending in oth
er ways the earnings which he should
give his wife and ••-'ldren, but the law I
suggest will accomplish three things. It
will prevent the wife from sacrificing
herself to pay a fine. It will put the
inebriate where he cannot get whisky,
I and it will provide support for his family.
Fellow-citizens, t am tn favor of the
enforcement of every law until it is Re
pealed, but I am also in favor of the
passage of sound, practical, straight
forward, honest laws which meet the ap
proval of the best public sentiment. I am
opposed to the passage of hypocritical,
deceitful, double dealing laws, and it
such are on the statute books I favor
their repeal. I am not in favor of more
whisky in Georgia- Those wbo buy and
use it alone are responslbile if there are
any intoxicating liquids in Georgia. For
without buyers there can be no sellers.
It takes two parties to make a contract
of sale, and I have always believed that
if the purpose of the prohibitory statute
was to prevent the use of
and the sale of whisky was a crime
then the buyer should be just as guilty
as ths seller. This is true of every othe«
act which is made a criminal offense by
law where it requires a concurrent ac
j tlon of two parties to commit the of-
I sense.
I am in favor of having a much small
er quantity of intoxicatlqg liquors con
’ sumed in Georgia than we, have been
buying in years, buv we should
see to it that whatever intoxicating
liquor is consumea it will be of a far
purer and better quality than is now
being sold to our helpless citizens.
When I consider that our citizens are
over burdened by taxation, which has
gone to the extreme constitutional limit;
when I consider that the finances of the
state are in an embarrassed condition,
and the state administratfon crippled for
the want of funds; when I. consider the :
apparent impossibility of giving the chil
dren of the state those educational ad- |
vantages which they deserve, and then ;
consider that Georgia is losing perhaps
two millions of dollars, annually in license .
taxes, to say nothing of intoxicant
1 which pour into our state by day and by j
night, and which, under the constitution *
of the United States, cannot be stopped
| and will never cease until our people
I voluntarily stop buying, I for one must
protest, and in the name of the best in
terest of Georgia demand a change. As
Nero of old fiddled while Rome was
burning, so Georgia is whistling while
her resources slip through her fingers.
Honesty and truth are immolated on the
altar of a shameless hypocrisy, and we
flaunt a living lie In the presence of
high heaven when we proclaim that we
have either a prohibition law, or prohibi
tion ‘itself in the state as a whole.
Having stated my w.ews on the pend
ing issues in the present campaign so
plainly that I hope they cannot be mls
j understood, I beg to be permitted to call
attention to some matters by which It
has sought to prejudice my candidacy,
and which may properly be designated as
campaign lies.
REGARDING PREACHERS.
The statement has been made that in
one of my speeches I attacked the minis
ters of the gospel without exception as
"pot-fed priests." To those who kpew
me and my private life, and my relation
ship to a number of ministers, ft is un
necessary for me to say that this report
was wltbou* foundation. So far from
using the expression "pot-fed priests," I
do not know that I ever heard or saw this
phrase until I saw it In ti(e newspapers.
I did intimate In my speech (and I now
repeat.) that there are some who wear
the garb and office of a minister who us*
"the livery of heaven to serve the devt
in,” and whose hearts are devoid of tha'
which truly makes ministers of the gos
pel. They live on sensationalism, ant
arraying the minds of their listeners bj
appeals to prejudice. To such I did ap
ply the contemptuous epithet of "stall-set
preachers,” because such are in the pro
session, not from any call of God, but
merely for the purpose of making a llvlnj
more easily in this way tha they cat
in any other. And even this epithet di* t
not half express the contempt which 5
feel for those who would thus prosti
tute the holiest of callings, and I an
sure the people of Georgia, who tenon
and have seen just such men, join m«
in this feeling of contempt. In the earn*
connection, however, I drew a compari
son between sueh men and the reallj
sanctified men of God who have con
secrated their whole hearts and lives t*
His service.
For the church, for all it stands for, iti
better movements for the uplift of man,
kind, and for the spread of the simpli
gospel of Christ, and for all its minister;
who are true to its purposes, I have no,
only the utmost respect, but the pro
roundest reverence, and as I said to mj
interrogator at Dawson, after drawing a;
best I could a picture of each class, i.
was not for me to say to which claw
he belonged.
TRIBUTE TO CLERGY. *’
The vast majority of our preachers an
men of honest purpose and of nobH
hearts, and for them, whether they agre*
or disagree with me upon any proposition
political or otherwise, I have no wort
of disrejpect. 1 feel honored to claim th«
personal friendship of many such minis
ters of the gospel, and many of those wh<
will vote for me at the election an
preachers. There are others who honestly,
but as I believe, unthinkingly and with
out good reason, are opposing me, and ye<
for none of these, if they are honest ant
fair in their statements, have I th*
slightest unkind word or feeling. I onlj
regret they cannot see as I see, that it
the enactment of what is known as th*
present prohibition law, as It was en
acted, a fatal mitsake was made, and t
serious blunder was enacted.
IN CONCLUSION-
The governor ot this great stat* >
should have -a clear head, i
heart void of offense towards his fellow
men. and an eye single to the welfar*
of the people. The governor of Georgii
should be a just man holding impartial!}
the scales of influence between conflict
Ing interests and absolutely blind to anj
selfish ends or aims of his own. Fal
above everj’ other attribute that a gov*
emor should possess he should be «
man of such great heart that his natu
ral instincts and innate sentiments eve;
remind ’ him that the prime object <M
the law is the protection of the weal
against the strong, and lead him to fee
that the happiness of even the humbiesl
home is as sacred as the incense whict
ascended to heaven from the altar of th*
covenant.
I appeal for no support that tt no;
based on faith in my sincerity, my man
hood and my loyalty to the people of mj
native state. f
BRUNSWICK SHIPPERS
WANT LIGHTSHIF
BRUNSWICK, Ga., Nov. 9.—A move
nent by shipping men of Brunswick has
>een launched to have the light sb in- oti <
•he Brunswick port placed where tt-will
j|rect to Brunswick instead
of to Fernandina and Jacksonville. As
the vessel Is' now placed,, it does the ,
Brunswick port practically np. good,
whatever, but is of great benefit to the
two ports in Florida. |
The protest has just been forwarded
to Congressman Brantley, and it is
claimed in the protest that the many
wrecks of vessels which have recently
occurred In the Brunswick port would
never have occurred if the lightship had
been placed on the north of the bar
instead of ten miles to the south of it
as is the ca*se at this time.
TWO ELECTIONS ARE
HELD IN MEMPHIS
MEMPHIS, Tenn., Nov. 9.—Two elec
tions are in progress here today, K. D.
McKellar, Democrat, and W. A. Weath
erali. Socialist, are candidates to fill th*
vacancy in congress caused by the death
of Gen. George W. Gordon, August a
last. E. H. Crump is a candidate for re
election as mayor. He is opposed by J. J,
Williams, a former mayor. Four city
commissioners and a city tax assessoi
are also to be chosen.
The congressional election affects Fay
ette, Hardeman and Tipton counties, and
this, Shelby county, composing the Tenth
Tennessee district.
newtoTpoultry SHOW
WILL MEET NOV. 30
COVINGTON, Ga., Nov. 9.—The NeWtoS
County Poultry association will hold it»
second annual exhibition here on Novem
ber 29, December 1-2. Last year the show
had something over 200 birds entered and
this year they "hope to have at least 350.
The show is a free for all, ribbons, MM '
1150 in cash will be given in prizes. Mayot
George T. Smith is offering a beautiful
loving cup as> one of the prizes, to be
known as the "mayor’s cup.” H. H.
Verdery, of Augusta, one of the best
known judges in the south, has been
secured to do the judging. Dr. A. S. H
Hopkins is president of the association
and R. F. Taylor Is secretary. /
$3.50 Recipe Free
For Weak Men
Send Name and Address
Today—You Can Have 5
It Free and. Be
Strong and Vig
orous.
I have iu my possession a prescriptiw for
nervous debility, lack of vigor, weakened *n*i>
hood, failing memory and lame back, brought
on by excesses, gnnatura! drains, ot the fol
lies of youth, that has cured so many worn
ami nervous men right in their own bomes—
without any additional help or medicine —that:
I think everj man who wishes to regain bls
j-auiy power and virility, quickly and quietly,
should have a copy. So 1 hare determined *e i
send a <-opy of the prescription free of charge,
in a plain, ordinary sealed envelope, to any
man who will write me for it.
This prescription comes from a physician who
has made a special study of men-, and I am
convinved It is ibe surest-acting combination
for tbe cure of deficient manhood and vigor
failure ever put together.
1 think 1 owe it to my fellow man to sent
them a copy in confidence so that any man ■
anywhere wbo Is weak and discouraged with ■
repeated failures may stop himself ■
with harmful parent medicines, secure what X ■
believe is tbe quickest acting restorative, np- ■
building. srOT-TOUCHING remedy ever de- ■
vised, and so cure himself st home quietly ■
and quickly. Just drop me a tine like this ■
Dr. A. E. Robinson. 3771 Luck Building, Be 9
trolt, Mich., and I wiil send you a copy of ■
this splendid recipe in a plain ordinary en- ■
relope- free of charge. A great many doctors ■
would charge $3.00 to $5.00 for merely writinc ■
out a prescription like thia—bet 1 send it en B
tirely tree. ■