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HUE MESSAGE OF GOVERNOR SMITH I To General Assembly and the People of Georgia. VIEWS EXPRESSED |New Chief Executive Discusses Affairs of State, and Recommends Re form Legislation Along Many Lines. Gentlemen of the Legislature and Fellow Citizens: . I take the oath of office with the purpose, God helping and directing line, to perform every duty the office permits in the interest of the masses tof (he people. But there are certain ■duties which have been speclfiically placed upon me. They have been ■voiced by the voters at the ballot box. |They have been declared by their rep resentatives at the Democratic ccn (ventlon. I accept office under sol emn direction by the people to car ty out the platform pledges. We must not be led away to other It* slis until our specific pledges to the people have been performed. A government fails to reach its fcigh est sphere if it does not protect lire light of property, and at the same time constantly broaden opportunities ior mental, moral and financial *rowtti to the less fortunate. A government by the people fur nishes the only hope for such a re sult. '.. To make It sure, ballot boxes inust pe pure, and legislative halls must be free from the influence of predatory wealth. Bvefy frank man admits that in na tional and state legislation more pow er has been exercised by the great ♦orporations than has been consis tent with the full protection of pop ular rights. The time has come when it is necessary to determine whether cer tain favored interests or the state ghftll rule. < Suppress Lobbyists. What has been told of hired politi cal agents Infesting legislative halls jls no idle story. They have been the curse of national legislation; their Influence for evil has been felt in jaearly every state, and Georgia has jheen no exception to the rule, i The great body of the people in terested in legislative matters are Juisy at .home with their daily labors. The hired political agent has been permitted to press his master’s inter est, not only by using his own per sonal influence, but by bringing from different parts of the state his little •trlkers to sit around hotels, and present' in the presence of members of the legislature, with professed Im partiality, what he terms the wishes 4>t the people, while at the same time, •terotly, he is hired to defeat their Interests. 1 believe that you will pass legisla tion to make it a crime for an attor ney or agent, hired fa support or op pose legislation, to discuss his cli ent's interest in the presence of those ■who are to vote upon it, except where that discussion is at a public hearing or with members of the legislature (pfßcially named for conference. Stop Free Passes. I urge also the passage of a bill ; ftfhlch will put an end to the free pass •ystom between local points in Geor gia. This practice began, ami was Hollowed for a long time, with but Hew harmful results. It has grown to be a crying evil. It has become 0 means of petty political bribery. Our oonuuon carriers have no right to charge for transportation more than a' 1 •um reasonably sttfficleut to pay them Joi their services. IT some ride faee, those who pay must be charged suf ficient rates to cover the legitimate ©ost of their trauspoprtation and the passage of the free pass holders. The time has come when all should pay. less for transpor tation. The hired political agent sad the free pass system are twin evils. Within a few days you can make their existence Impossible in Georgia. It these laws are prompt ly passed, we may expect from ■throughout the state words of confl uence and praise, inspiring us to fur ,|her action in behalf of better gov ernment . Money in Politics and Clean Elections. The best results from popular gov ernment can ouly be had where the individual voter approaches the ballot box iufluouced alone by a patriotic purpose to*%erve his county, his state and his nation. One of the evils which ptas polluted elections and debauched voters has been political contributions by the great corporations and spe cial interests. Their money has been given not to advance principles, but to debauch character and defeat pop ular rights. First the voters are to be bought for the candidate, and then the office holder is to be owned because the cor. poration bought the voters for him. Every time money is used to buy a vote, or to hire a striker at the polls, true ideals of popular government are overthrown,, and somewhere the peo ple themselves will suffer from it. Make it a crime for a corporation or special interest to contribute money to politics. Make it a crime to buy a voter or hire a striker at the polls. Place upon every candidate the duty of showing, under oath, a detailed statement of what he spent, how he spent it and where the money came from. With these three provisions enacted into law, a great step for ward will be made. Then let us make elections so clean in Georgia that other states, seeing our good works, may follow our example. Constitutional Amendment Fixing Franchise Standard. 1 realize how difficult it will be to reach the standard for which I plead when a great number of qualified vot ers are nopelessly ignorant and pur chaseable. The difficulty is greatly increased when a class of voters has for generations inherited incapacity, and must transmit the same incapaci ty for generations to come. i favor an amendment to the con stitution of the State which will fix anew standard for the elective fran chise. The proposed constitutional amendment will be before you. With an oath fre,~h upon my Tips to support the Constitution of the United States, 1 favor the amendment. There is no restriction upon the right of a t rate to fix the qualifications of those who may vote, except the provision of the Constitution of the United States, which declares that “the right of the citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridg ed by the United States, or any State, on account of race, color or previous condition of servitude.” ] have no doubt that the amend ment proposed is entirely free from constitutional objection. It neither denies nor abridges the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race, color or pre vious condition of servitude. It only fixes certain standards which must be reached by every citizen of the United States before he can become an elector in Georgia. Regulate Primaries by Law. Popular government can only exist as a substantial reality where the voters are given a full opportunity to express their convictions at the ballot box. In our state it is especially im portant that this opportunity should be given our primaries. By com mon consent, an overwhelming ma jority of the people accept the verdict of the primary as conclusive. If machine politicians are allowed to ma nipuate either the time or manner of holding primaries the will of the people can be defeated, and the schemes of the machine may be sub stituted for popular goVernment. A common dodge is to call a primary long before an election when the issues are not before the people. No pri mary should he permitted more than Sixty days before the election. Regulate Railroads and Public Ser vice Companies. Ohr pledges made to the people covered legislation to promote pure popular government, and also legisla tion upon the great question of pro tecting the rights of the people In their relations with common carriers and public service corporations. Railroad corporations and public service companies are monopolistic in their nature. It is impossible for the ordinary rule of competition to protect the rights of the public in their dealings with such comaanies. Rail road corporations and public service corporations are given special privi leges primarily that the people dis connected with those companies may be benefited. It is especially important at this time when many are ready to trans fer all control to the national govern ment that the state show capacity to meet Its part of the responsibility. Western and Atlantic Extension. I commend this suggestion to your careful consideration. I believe the ownership of the State Road to be a thing of great value to the people of Georgia, not only on account of its capacity to produce an income, but on account of the influence It may have upon the future regulation of transportation questions. If it can be extended to the sea at one or more points, I have no doubt the investment would be profitable, and its value to the people as a whole greatly increas ed. I trust that you may be able to present & satisfactory plan for the i completion of the road. STOP AT THE ZETTLER HOUSE. The best SI.OO a dsy house in the city. 2b3 FOURTH ST., MACON, G*., Mrs. A. L. Zettler, Proprietress. Liquor Legislation. For a long time the St;\te of Geor gia has adhered to the policy of lo cal option applied to the sale of li quor. All restrictive liquor laws arouse intense feeling. As the enforce men tof the laws depends largely up on the sentiment in the counties in which they are to be enforced, we hake permitted the voters of each county to decide what should be the policy of their county. While my sympathies in a local election are with those who oppose the sale of liquor, for the present, local option may fur nish the best plan for controlling the liquor traffic. But after the people of a county vote liquor out, it is not fair to permit the daily in-pouring of li quors by jug trains. Our platform demands that the dry counties of Georgia be kept dry. I cordially fa vor legislation to accomplish this re sult, and I believe it possible to re strain to a great extent the use of liquors shipped from outside the state. I suggest also the propriety of making the operation of a “blind tiger” a fel ony. Education. The chief object of government should be to prevent special privileges and to give to' all equal ( rights and opportunities. To this the men and women of Georgia are entitled, and you are preparing legislation which insures it to them. , The relation of the State to the children goes much further. It is tire duty of the State to see that the chil dren are given an opportunity for all preparation which their probable life work requires. Education from books alone is not always of much value. It should be accompanied with practi cal training, having in view the fu ture of the child. Let me refer to the negro children in this connection. Any plan for the negroes which fails to recognize the diffefence between the white and black races will fail. The honest student of history knows that the ne gro had full opportunity for genera tions to develop before the days of slavery; that the negro race was im proved by slavery, and that the ma jority of the negroes in this state'have ceased to improve since slavery. Few have been helped by learning from books. All nave been helped who have been taught or made to work. It. is not the difference of environ ment; it is the difference of race— 'deep-seated, inherited far generations and generations through hundreds of years. The large majority of negroes are incapable of anything but manual labor, and many taught.from books spurn labor and live in idleness. Few negroes are willing to work beyond the procurement of the Hardest neces sities of life. The negro child should be taught manual labor and how to live. The negro teacher should be selected less by book than by char acter of examinations. The negro school to be useful needs less books and more work. I favor a complete change in the examination of teach ers for the negro schools, and for them a different plan of management; l would have the schools help the ne gro—not injure him. i will not discuss the subject more fully at present, but I wish to be dis tinctly understood. I seek the in telligent treatment of the negro, and to that end radical difference be tween the white and negro races must' be kept in view. Racial differences cannot be over come by misguided philanthropists. They should not be disregarded by us, hhwever much criticism may come from any source upon us. There are other, .subjects which I would be pleased t.o .discuss, but I desire to raise no new unnqeessaTy issues at present. The reforms with which we are specially charged are entitled to first consideration. To them immediately we will give cur best thought with the earnest purpose to serve those who placed us here to represent them. ■ Ours is a great State. The people make the state. To receive their confidence is an inspiration. We will lay aside ail other plans, and, moved by a great unselfish love, we will seek to serve the Georgians of today and the children who must make Georgia of the future. , May God help us to meet the re sponsibilities which are upon us. That the problem of sailing the air has been solved and that the age of flying machines is here, are some of the statements made by Professor Alex audr Graham Bell. SALE OF ROAD A SURE FACT Control of the Central of Georgia is Transferred to New Hands* RUMOR IS CONFIRMED Consummation of Deal Causes Much Spec ulation in Railroad Circles and Among People of Georgia in General. Rumors which have been freely circu lated for the past few days have final ly culminated in the definite announce ment that the controlling interest iu the Central of Georgia railway has been sold, or transferred, to Oakleigh Thorne, president of the Trust Com pany of America, and Marsden J. Per ry, president of the Union Trust com pany of Providence, R. I. According to New York dispatches the Southern arranged the transfer. It was formally announced Thursday by Adrian H. Joline, chairman of the Richmond Terminal reorganization committee, that the committee has sold to Thorne and Perry all the capital stock of the Central owned by said committee, and which was received by that committee in 1894-5 upon the con summation of the Richmond Terminal reorganization, and after the reorgan ization of the Georgia Central Rail road and Banking company. The net proceeds of the sale are to be paid over to the- Southern Rail way company, which, as stated in the testimony given by the late President Spencer and now on file at Macon, was entitled to the financial benefit of any sale of the stock, though it did not as sume to control the railroad. As part of their purchase Messrs. 'J’horne and Perry have, declared their purpose to be to operate and to de velop the system as an independent one for the benefit of its stockholders and the public served thereby;, and, accordingly, they will, for at least two years, continue to hold sixty per cent of the stock. The control of the Central will even tually pass to the Rock Island-Frisco interests, if predictions made in rail road circles prove well founded. It is said that Messrs. Thorne and Perry purchased the road with an un derstanding between themselves’ and the Rock Island interests that formal control should pass to the S:. Louis and San Francisco after the expira tion of the two years during which the, present holders of the road have agreed to keep it as an independent line. Mr. Thorne would neither confirm nor deny the report. People could draw what inference they would, he said. It was pointed out that close relations have existed between Mr. Thorne and B. F. Yoakum, who is the guiding spir it in the affairs of the Rock Island- Frisco system. Mr. Yoakum is a di rector in the Trust Company of Amer ica of which Mr. Thorne is president, j and in other ways Mr. Thorne and Mr. Yoakum have co-op; rated in busi- - ness undertakings. At the session of the directors of . the Central of Georgia in Macon a ! few days ago, Charles Steele resigned as a member of the board. George M. Havel resigned last fall and another vacancy was created by the death of Samuel Spencer. These three vacancies were filled by the election of M. J.. Perry, W. F. Sheehan and Oakleigh Thorne. Following this meeting President Hanson said that the sale of the road would not mean any change in its of ficers and that he would remain as president. He said that the same poli cies would prevail and all pains would be taken to keep the property abreast of the times.:. The operations of the road will be investigated by the new officers who are expected to come south in the very near future. TO CONTEST NEGRO’S ELECTION. Fight to Be Made on Only Colored Mem ber of Georgia Legislature. The seat of the only negro in the Georgia legislature will be hotly con tested, ahd a strong effort will be made to give Mclntosh county the first white representative she has had in several years. W. H. Rogers is the negro member, and Captain George E. Atwocd, a loading citizen, is tbs contestant. It is claimed that the recent elec tion in Mclntosh county, which result ed in the re-election of the negro, was irregular. BEAN CHEESE OF THE ORIENT, Method of Preparing It —A Dish Ri-h in Proteine. Mrs. R., on behalf of a club i a Orange, N. J., asks for a recipe for “the bean cheese so popular in many foreign countries.” Bean cheese, or bean curd, as it is sometimes called, is especially popu lar in Japan, China and Korea, where it is often peddled in the streets, it - is a .thick white substance, of a jelly, like consistency, and is called tofu In the Orient. The recipe for making it frhich is given herewith wa 3 taken from an ag ricultural report issued by the United States government. “Soy beans (the most .important of the Japanese le gumes'—the white or yellow variety) are soaked in water for twelve hours, then brushed between millstones of a uniform consistency. The mass is then mixed with three times its bulk of water and boiled for about an hour, after which it is filtered through a cloth. By this process nearly 30 per cent of the total proteine of the beau iis dissolved and contained in the fil trate ready to be precipitated as tofu. The filtrate is white and opaque, somewhat resembling milk. To this is added wiith constant stirring about 3 per cent of the concentrated mother liquid, obtained in the manufacture of salt from sea water, whereupon the albuminoid material is precipitated in combination with calcium and mag nesium salts After the liquid is filt ered off the precipitate, which is tofu, ia pressed In a wooden frame and then cut into cakes, usually about ten centimetres broad, tw r o thick and titventy-flve long. “The residue from the boiled and filtered bean is known -as kara, or tofu cake, and contains a large quantity of proteine and carbohydrates. It is a good fo-od material, being used by poor people as an ingredient of miso soup. “If, the milky filirrate mentioned above is boiled a sort of film forms on the isurface. This film consists largely of coagulated albumenolds and fat and is sometimes prepared in large quantity. When dried it is used as an article of food known as yuba. “Tofu is generally prepared every day, and .is eaten in the .fresh condi tion, with a little shogu, or soy sauce (a dark brown, moderately thick liquid very popular for use in cooking and as a relish or condiment; in odor and taste it is not unlike beef ex tract; prepared from soy beans, wheat or barley, sal. and water, ferment ed), though it is also frequently cook ed in shogu or miso soup. Fried tofu, abruaage, is also a popular article of food. Tofu may be prepared foe preservation and transportation. It is then cut in smaller pieces, frozen and then dried in the oven. “Tofu is used extensively ■ by all classes in Japan. Where fish cannot he obtained it is an important source of proteine, and for. Buddhist priests a popular and indispensable article of food.” —New York Tribune. Dresses Made o-f Pure Gold. The women .of Sumatra wear costly dresses, many of them being made of pure gold and silver. After the metal is mined and smelted it is .formed into a fine wire, which is woven into cloth and afterward used for dresses. — New York World. THE MODERN WAY. Mrs. Lawson: “How can Mrs. Wy kesleigh afford to keep three ser vants?” Mrs. Dawson; “Oh, she plays bridge with them every Monday afternoon and wins back all their wages.”— Somerville Journal. COFFEE COMPLEXION Many Ladies Have Poor Complex ions From Coffee. “Coffee caused dark colored blotches on my face and body. I had been drinking it for a long while and these blotches gradually ap peared, until finally they became per manent and were about as dark as coffee itself. “I formerly had as fine a complex ion as one could ask for. “When I became convinced that coffee was the cause of my trouble, I changed and took to using Postum Food Coffee, and as I made it well, according to directions, I liked it very much, and have since that time used it in place of coffee. “I am thankful to say I am not nervous any more, as I was when I was drinking coffee, and my com plexion is now as fair and good as it was years ago. It is very plain that coffee caused the trouble.” Most bad complexions are caused by some disturbance of the stomach and coffee is the greatest disturber of digestion known. Almost any wo man can have a fair complexion if she will leave off coffee and use Pos tum Food Coffee and nutritious, healthy food in proper quantity. Postnrn furnishes certain elements from the natural grains from the field that Nature uses to rebuild the nervous system and when that is in good condition, one can depend upon a good complexion as well as a good healthy body.."'* “There's a Reason.” Read “The Road to WeUvflle,” in fikgs.