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JACKSON NEEDS
A COUNTY
HIGH SCHOOL
JltoL. 48—NO. 4
OFFICERS NAMED
TO SERVE CITY
%
FEW CHANGES MADE IN OFFIC
ERS. FLATTERING FINANCIAL
REPORTS SUBMITTED. COM
MITTEES APPOINTED.
r* ■■■
Excellent financial reports were
submitted Monday night when the
new council organized for the year.
All departments of the city were
shown to be in good financial con
dition, the school fund in partic
ular being in the best shape in years.
Mayor Watkns appointed the fol
lowing standing committees:
Finance J. B. Settle, J. L.
Bailey, C. M. Kimbell.
Water and lights—G. E. Mallet,
J. B. Settle, J. L. Bailey.
Poljce—J. B. Settle, G. E. Mal
let, J. L. Bailey.
Sanitary—C. M. Kimbell, J. L.
Bailey, J. B. Settle.
Streets—J. L. Bailey, G. E. Mal
let, C. M. Kimbell.
Cemetery—G. E. Mallet, J. B.
Settle, C. M. Kimbell.
Litigation—J. L. Bailey, G. E.
Mallet, C. M. Kimbell.
Ordinances—C. M. Kimbell, J. B.
•Settle, J. L. Bailey."
Schools—J. B. Settle, C. M. Kim
bell,, J. L. Bailey.
Printing—G. E. \ Mallet, C. M.
Kimbell, J. L. Bailey.
A few change s were made in the
officials. A. R. Conner was elected
as tax receiver and collector to
succeed J. W. Carmichael, who was
not an applicant, having moved to
Atlanta.
Charles T. Thornton wa s elected
a s chief of police, and O. B. Knowles
as assistant chief. J. T. McMichael
was elected a s policeman at the de
pot. The salary of the chief and
assistant chief was raised to SIOO
per month. This w.a s the only in
crease in salary granted.
J. A. McMichael was elected as
clerk and treasurer for another year.
A. B. Lindsey wa s re-elected as
superintendent of the water and
light department.
J. T. Moore wa s elected as city
attorney. - *
E. L. Smith wa s elected as a
member of the bond commission.
City tax assessors were elected as
follows: J. H. McKibben, W. P.
Nutt, J. B. Guthrie.
The election of a sexton wa g de
ferred until later.
The question of purchasing a trac
tor to work the streets was con
' sidered but no action wa s taken.
' The matter i s being investigated
and prices on different machines
are now beng obtained.
The city begin s the new year
with its finances in good condition,
with the various departments in 4
high state of efficiency and a year
of progress along every line is in
dicated. ,
DEATH MR. J. E. PRICE
OCCURRED IN ATLANTA
Had Been 'With Pepperton Cotton
Mills Since 1903
Mr. Joseph Emil Price, 51 years
of age, died at an Atlanta hospital
Friday, following an illnes s of sev
days. He had been sick with
and other complica
m and was taken to Atlanta last
Jeek for treatment.
' Mr. Price had been master mecha
nic at the Pepperton Cotton Mills
since the spring of 1903. He was a
skilled machinist and was one of
the mill’s most valued employees.
A man of honorable dealings and
lygh integrity, Mr. Price was highly
esteemed by his assocates. Hi s death
is widely regretted by those who
knew him best. During the recent
world war Mr. Price displayed his
patriotism and love for America by
supporting the government loyally.
He is survived by hi s wife and
two daughters, Misse s Alma and
Mabel, and two sons, Emil, all of
Cincinnati, and Joe E. Price, Jr.,
of Pepperton.
Funeral services were held in At
lanta Saturday at the chapel of Aw
trey & Lowndes, the rites being con
ducted by a priest of the Catholic
church, of which Mr. Price was a
member. The body wa s brought to
Jackson Sunday morning and short
services held at the grave at 11
o’clock, Rev. S. R. England officia
ting. Interment was in the Jackson
cemetery.
The pallbearer.; were Messrs. H.
D. Williamson, Sam Henderson, E.
A. Tillery, J. W. Hamlin, W. A.
Wells, W. R. Mahaffey.
THE JACKSON PROGRESS-ARCUS
GEORGIA DEMOCRATS
TO HOLD MEETING SOON
Judge J. J. Flynt Will Soon Issue
Call For Meeting
Judge James J. Flynt, of Griffin,
announces that he will call the state
executive committee in meeting the
first week in February, to take ac
tion on the matter of selection of
delegates to the national conven
tion.
It i s probable that the political
situation will not have sufficiently
! developed at that time, says Judge
Flynt, to determne whether or not
a presidential preferential primary
is gong to be necessary, but there
are reasons why the committee
should be called at a very early
date and if the matter of a pri
mary can not be determined by the
date of that meeting, an adjourned
session will be held later.
The meeing of State Democrats
i s beng looked forward to with a
great deal of interest ancT indica
tions, says Judge Flynt, are that
there will be a large attendance.
Chairman Flynt ha s issued a call
for' the commitee to meet in Atlan
ta on February 6.
PAYROLLS FULL
OF EMPLOYEES
WASHINGTON OITY HAS MORE
THAN 100,000 GOVERNMENT
EMPLOYEES. UNCLE SAM’S
EXPENSE ACCOUNT HEAVY
Washington. Uncle Sam has
handed out a lot of jobs. In Wash
ington alone, he has about 100,000
on hi s pay roll. Some of them are
needed, many only hamper efficien
cy.
But, it seems, Uncle Sam just
can’t bring hims.elf to tell these
folks that they’ell have to get out
and shift for themselves.
Five year s ago Uncle Sam’s es
tablishment in Washington wa s run
with 37,900 employees. Today it
employs 100,000. They just get in
each other’s way, and do little more
according to Senator Smoot, of Utah
who ha s made a special study of
their activities, than was done be-s
fore the war;
“What can be expected,” Smoot
asks, “when to obtain the record
of any soldier for any purpose it
i s necessary to go to six different
files, traveling from one bureau to
another in order to get the record
of a soldier?
“Another trouble i s that employ
es of the government soon find it
is not the policy of the government
to keep work current. The policy
i s never to finish the job until it
is absolutely necessary. Unfinished
work is the basi s for demands for
larger apprapriations.”
The chances are Uncle Sam will
not reform his government this con
gress or next. The cost of govern
ment is going to remain high, like
th cost of living, till some hard eco
nomic jolt shakes things out of joint
and brings the pressure of actual
necessity. Till that time, its an
even bet that when one government
bureau fires an employe another de
partment or bureau will take on one
or maybe two.
Last month for instance, the
war risk force viig cut by 3,000 but
not Uncle Sam’s pay roll. For si
multaneously the census bureau put
on 3,000, and the old cost of gov
ernment went merrily on.
ALEXIUS COMMANDERY WAS
INSPECTED FRIDAY NIGHT
Grand Captain General VUited The
Local Comraar.dery.
Alexius Commandery NO. 22,
Knights Templar, wa s inspected
Friday night by Eminent Sir H. S.
Jones, Captain General of the Grand
Commandery of Georgia. During
the evening the Temple degree Vila
conferred upon Dr. Sloan, of Mc-
Donough, following which Sir Knight
Jone s inspected the commandery.
He complimented the officers on
the work done. On account of the
extremely inclement weather there
was not a s large an attendance of
the Sir Knights a s would have been
the case otherwise.
During the past year Alexius
Commandery ha s been very active
and has conferred the degrees on a
large number of candidates. Much
of the credit for the excellent show
ing made is due to Eminent Com
mander H. M. Fletcher who has
been tireless and faithful in the
work. _ ___
* JACKSON, GEORGIA, FRIDAY JANUARY 23, 1920
"PASSING HAT"
TO BE STOPPED
STATE TAX COMMISSIONER
WILL RAISE ASSESSMENTS
TO 35 PER CENT OF ACTUAL
VALUE OF PROPERTY
Atlanta —That the state of Geor
gia has abandoned the policy of
passing the hat among taxpayers
for voluntary contributions to the
expense of operating the -govern
ment, and instead of thi s policy well
apply a definnte percentage of as
sessment to the property listed on
the tax books, is made quite plain
to the tax officials of the several
counties in a booklet of instruc
tions mailed to them yesterday by
.Henry J. Fullbright, state tax com
missioner.
In other words, instead of allow
ing the tax officials of each coun
ty to place upon taxable property
whatever per centage of valuation
they see fit, the state will insist
upon and will enforce a minumum
standard of valuation, and will not
consent to le ss than this minumum
standard 8f valuation, and will not
consent to less than this minumum
by any county.
Commissioner Fullbright’ s book
let of instructions contains some
remarkable statements concerning
the tax situation in Georgia. These
statements show that the valuation
of property returned for taxation
is a haphazard proceedure in which
every county acts for itself without
regard to uniformity of assesment.
Among the statements makes
are the following:
1. That the returned valuation of
$982,623,580 is only 32 per cent, of
the actual value of the property on
the tax books of Georgia, which
actual value in round numbers is
$3,000,000,000.
2. That 96 counties are below 32
per cent in the tax returns for the
year 1919.
3. That every county in the state
vv.ll be expected in 1920 to ob
serve a s a minumum 35 per cent
in the valuation of property, and
that 97 countie s are below this
minumum.
4. That to bring up these 97
counties to a minimum of 35 per
cent of the actual value of their
returned property will produce an
increase of $171,000,000 in tax
values, and that the other coun
ties will probably show a normal in
crease of 10 per cent, amounting
to $54,000,000, so that the total
increased tax values in 1920, as
compared with 1919, will be $225,-
000,000.
5. That the increase in values
will produce at the state’s tax
rate of five mills an increased rev
enue of $1,125,000, and that in
creased revenue from occupation
and inheritance taxes is expected to
run the total increase to $1,500,000
and that all of this money will be
needed to pay the appropriations
already made for 1920 by the gen
eral appropriation bill which the
legislature passed at the 1919 ses
sion. ‘
6. That the relation of returned
value to actual value ranges all
the way from 20 to 50 per cent
among he counties of Georgia; those
counties as low a s 20 per ecnt being
Cherokee, Elbert, Gilmer, Green,
Henry, Houston, Jackson, Jones,
Lincoln, Madison, Monroe, Mont
gomery, Morgan, Murray, Paulding,
Screven, Washington and Wilkes;
and those countie s as high as 50
per cent being Appling, Chatham,
Chattahoochee, Fulton, Glynn Har
ris, Miller, Muscogee, Pierce and
Talbot.
In securing the increase above
mentioned, it is not required or ex
pected that it will all be assessed
against real estate, but that it will
be apportioned to all property alike.
It is earnestly hoped that a large
part of it may be obtained from
property heretofore unreturned, and
to thi s end, I bespeak the hearty
co-operation of all tax officials.
This office has been authorized by
the legislature to secure the servic
es of special investigators to assist
the local authorities in unearthing
the unretumed property, and I
shall be very glad to furnish one of
these men to any county that will
co-operate with him.
LEE’S BIRTHDAY WAS
OBSERVED IN JACKSON
Bank s Cloied in Honor of Great
„ Southern Leader,
(P
The birthday of General Robert
E. Lee, January 19, was observed
in Jackson by the being
closed. Lee’s birthday i s a legal
holiday in most of the Southern
states.
BUTTS COUNTY MUST
RAISE OVER MILLION
Estimated Total Property Worth
Over Twelve Million
Accordng to the figures furnish
ed by Tax Commissioner H. J.
Fullbright, Butts county last year
returned taxes amounting to $2,568,-
044. This, he estimates, is 21 per
cent, of the real value of the prop
erty in the county. Total property
in the county he estimaes to be
worth $12,228,780. This year the
countie s of the state will be re
quired to return their property on
a basis of 35 per cent, of actual
value. This means that Butts coun
ty will be required to raise her
tax digest $1,721,036.
Real estate in Butts county was
given in last year on an average of
$8.28 per acre. The full value of
this land, it is estimated by Mr.
Fullbright, is $40.00 per acre.
If all properth in the state i g re
turned on a basis of 35 per cent of
its actual value, me total returns
will amount to more than three
billion dollars. Total returns last
year aggregated $982,623,580.
GOVERNOR WILL
TALK ON BANK
WILL BE IN JACKSON NEXT
TUESDAY TO ADDRESS CITI
ZENS ON COTTON BANK.
LARGE CROWD EXPECTED
Hon. Hugh M. Dorsey, governor
of Georgia, will speak to the people
of Butts county in the court house
Tuesday morning at 10:30 o’clock
on the Cotton Bank and Trust Cor
poration. Much interest centers in
this engagement of Governor Dor
sey and no doubt he will be accor
ded an attentive hearing.
The object of this new enter
prise is to assist the farmers of the
South in making their cotton, and
other produce, under the most fav
orablej conditions. The bank will
have *a capital and surplus large
enough to buy and hold “distress”
cotton off the market until it com
mands a fair price. There have been
a number of movements and worlds
of talk about helping cotton far
mers, but this is the only practica
ble, working plan yet devised to
lend the cotton growers financial
help.
Governor Dorsey is entirely fa
miliar with the plans of the new
corporation. He nas made a can
vass of the state in interest of the
enterprise and has met with encour
aging success, reportg show. In
his address here he will outline the
plan 3 and purposes of the bank,
and show why it will be to the in
terests of farmers :and business
men to take stock in the new bank.
Hon. J. H. Mills, president of the
Georgia Farmers’ Union, will accom
pany Governor Dorsey on this trip
and will probably make a short talk.
Following his addres s here Gov
ernor Dorsey will leave for McDon
ough for an address at 3 o’clock.
He speakg in Cpvington Wednesday
morning and in Monticello Wednes
day afternoon.
STEPS TAKEN TO LOCALIZE
FLU OUTBREAK IN CHICAGO
Number of Ca*e Reported Small
Compared with Year Ago.
Washington.—The outbreak of in
fluenza in Chicago should not be
the occasion of any alarm, the pub
lic health service said tonight in
announcing that steps had been
taken to localize the disease.
Admitting that so little is known
about influenza that it was impos
sible to make a forecast with any
degree of certainty, the health ser
vice expressed confidence that there
vv>uld not be a recurrence of the
disease because the malady ran its
course a year ago and left millions
immune, movement of large bodies
of troopg have ceased, doctors and
nurses have returned to civillian
work, there are no reports of se
rious outbreaks in foriegn countries
and because of a few cases in the
United States, there being only
7,689 reported from September 1,
1919, to January 10, 1920, in com
parison with 55,000,000 during the
same period a year ago.
Tuesday, Jan. 27, will be return
day in Butts superior court. Accor
ding to Clerk S. J. Foster there
ha 9 been but little new business
filed. However, there, will be a con
sidrable amount of criminal bus
ines* to come up at the February
term. _
MEET SATURDAY
TO FIX PRIMARY
DATE FOR PRIMARY TO BE SET
TLED. CANDIDATES WILL BE
ASSESSED TO DEFRAY ELEC
TION EXPENSES
i
What will prove an occasion of
interest in the political affairs of the
county is the meeting of citizens
called for Saturday mornng at 10;30
o’clock to select an executive commit
tee. At that time anew committee
will be elected from which body a
sub-committee will be appointed to
draft rule s governing the coming
countyprimary. A date for the pri
mary will probably be set at the
meeting Saturday. Another item of
importance is the assessment of can
didates to pay the expense of hold
ing the primary.
Present members of the Democrat
ic Executive Committee, who will
serve until their successors are elec
ted, are as follows:
Buttrill—J. H. Mills, J. B. Childs,
J. W. Benson.
Coodys—M. E. Washington, O. L.
Weaver, W. M. Hammond.
Dublin—B. C. Ward, W. O. Moore,
Edmund Hay.
Indian Springs—Dr. A. F. White,
W. W. Preston, Miller Ogletree, W.
P. Castelberry.
Iron Springs—L. R. Dodson, J. O.
Cole, J. D. Thomas.
Jackson—A. M. Watkins, J. M.
Currie, I. H. Hattaway, J. D. Jones.
Towaliga— Troy Bell, Merritt
Ridgeway, J. N. McElhenney.
Worthville— J. H. Pope, R. O.
Stodghill, G. W. White.
Mr. J. M. Currie is chairman and
J. D. Jone s secretary of the com
mittee.
Mr. Currie, who ha s called the
meeting, requests that all districts
be represented at Saturday’s gath
ering.
While it i s not known what action
the committee will take, yet it is be
lieved an early primary will be order
ed. Many of the candidates favor
an early primary and the rtiajority
of citizen s will endorse such ac
tion.
MR. LANE EULOGIZES
GEN. ROBERT E. LEE
Point* to Lofty Character of Great
Southern Leader
. (Mocon News)
Ranking Robert E. Lee as one
among the greatest men the South
ever produced as a military genius,
a\leader of men, and a Christian
statesman and gentleman, McKibben
Lane addressed over 1,100 students
of Lanier High School and visitors
in the high school auditorium Mon
day morning in celebration of the
birthday of the commander in chief
of the Confederate army.
After being introduced as a vet
eran of the recent world war the
speaker began by paying a tribute
to the veteran 8 of the war of 1860,
six of whom were seSted upon the
stage, and said that he felt honored
to be called a veteran as he had al
ways associated the word with the
survivors of the Confederate army
and knevi of nothing that gave him
more joy than to be classed with
them.
Mr. Lane pictured to them his
idea of the model general who was
thoroughly conversant with all the
art s and tactics of war, familiar
with the great battle,, of history, a
natural leader of men, and a man
with a_ moral character that stood
out above that of his men in a
sufficient degree for all of them to
look to him as their leader in every
respect, and closed by saying that
all of these attributes might be at
tributed to General Robert Edward
Lee.
“The legions of Caesar, the co
horts of Alexander, or the great
armie s of Napoleon never fought
any harder battles or won any more
glorious victories than did the men
of the South in their great strug
gle of four long years.” He attrib
uted much of this spirit on the
part of the confederate soldier* to
the great leadership of General Lee.
139 ACRES SOLD HERE
TUESDAY FOR $8,700
Mr. A. C. Maddox as guardian,
Mrs. Tenella McMichael and Mr. A.
C. Tingle sold 139 acre s of land in
Monroe county at public sales hdte
Tuesday. The land was bid in by
Mr. Tingle for $8,700, or a little
more than $62 per acre. Quite a
lot of lively bidding was necessary
before the real estate vua* finally
sold.
MAKE 1920
A YEAR OP
COMMUNITY GROWTH
$2.00 PER YEAR IN ADVANCE
BUTTS COUNTY’S QUOTA
SOLICITOR’S SALARY $292
Court Official Paid by Seven Coun
ties of Circuit
Butts county’s quota of the sal
ary of the solicitor general of the
Flint circuit is $292.92, per annum,
records in the office of Commission
er of Roads and Revenues show
Effective January 1, 1919, the sol
icitor of the Flint circuit \va s plac
ed on a salary of $3,500 per year.
This amount is payed by the seven
counties in the circuit—Butts, Fay-<
ette, Henry, Spalding, Pike, Monroe
and Upson—according to the tax
able values. Spalding county pays
the largest amount, that county
having the largest tax digest.
The solicitor’s salary is payable
quarterly, warrants being issued by
the county commissioners of the
various counties for their prorata
of the amount due.
Help the census taker s in every
way you can. Civic pride demands
that,we make a s good a showing as
possible. If you haven’t been coun
ted, let it be known.
8 ACRES TO PLOW
ADVISES BROWN
STATE COMMISSIONER OF AG
RICULTURE SAYS FOOD CROP
WILL BE NEEDED THIS YEAR.
DANGER TOO MUCH COTTON
Atlanta.—Georgia farmers are
strongly urged by J. J. Brown, com
missioner of agriculture, in a state
ment given out Saturday not to
overplant in cotton thi 8 year. He
believes they are on the thresholdx
of their greatest year if they wHh
hold themselves down to a safe an *
conservative limit in planting cotton.
“Every farmer should h<Ad his cot
ton down to not les s than eight
acre g to the plow,” says Commiss
ioner Brown’g statement. “He should
plant early and cultivate intensively,
this way he will accomppiish a
two fold result by beating the boll
weevil and getting a good price'' for
hi s product.”
“Overplanting is not only bound
to result in greater destruction by
the boll weevil but will have a ten
dency to depress present prices as
soon a s it known it will
effect not only the price of the new
crop but the holdover crop in the
hands of the farmers. Preparation
of the ground is well under way
over the entire state. The farmers
verywhere are getting ready fpr
early planting to beat the boll wee
vil. Farm labor conditions have
somewhat improved and with any
thing like good season 8 and careful
cultivation there is no reason why
Georgia should not have the best
agricultural year in her history.
“We cannot make too many food
products. There is a world wide
demand for them at good prices and
this will probably continue for sev
eral years. It is Georgia’s opportun
ity not only to repeat but go beyond
her 1919 food producction of more
than $613,000,000.”
SAN FRANCISCO GETS
MEET OF DEMOCRATS
Convention Called to Meet on
June 28
WASHINGTON, L). C.—San
Francisco was selected today by the
Democratic National committee, in
session here, a s the place for the
party’# 1920 national convention.
Monday, June 28, was fixed as
the convention date.
Reso!tion s indorsing the treaty
of Versailles and denouncing as un
patriotic the attitude of senators
who would defeat it directly or by
nullifying reservation# unan
imously adopted today by the demo
cratic national commitee in session.
The “arrogant” republican lead
ership of the senate wa s denoun
ced a# having earned the “con
tempt of the world” by throttling
the treaty for seven months, and
the senate was called upon to “quit
playing politics with the question
of ratification.”
LIQUOR TAX FOR LAST
YEAR WAS $483,050,854.47
Fermented and distilled liquor
taxes collected by the government
in 1919 were $483,050,854.47, ac
cording te> a report by the internal
revenue bureau. The total reve
nue collected wa g given as $3,850,-
150,078.56, as compared with
$809,393,640.44 in 1917.