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J. D. JONES PUBLISHER
(1908-1955)
DOYLE JONES JR.—Editor and
Publisher
Published every Thursday at 129 South Mulberry
Street, Jackson, Georgia 30233 by The Progress-Argus
Printing Cos., Inc. Second Class Postage paid at
Jackson, Georgia 30233.
Address notice of undeliverable copies and other
correspondence to The Jackson Progress-Argus, P. 0.
Box 249, Jackson, Georgia 30233.
NATIONAL NEWSPAPER
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It’s This Way
By Doyle Jones Jr.
Jest of the Week: Typographical errors or “typos” as
they are known in the trade, are the bane of editors. Most
papers guard against them closely but despite every
precaution they do occur. The following are a classic of their
kind from a North Carolina newspaper.
Monday: For Sale, a used sewing machine. Call Mr.
Tom Kelly at 555-3455 after seven o’clock and ask for Mrs.
Perkins who lives with him cheap.
Tuesday: Correction An error appeared in Mr.
Tom Kelly’s classified advertisement yesterday. It should
have read, For Sale, a used sewing machine cheap. Call Mr.
Tom Kelly at 555-3455 and ask for Mrs. Perkins who lives with
him after seven o’clock.
Wednesday: Mr. Tom Kelly has reported several
annoying telephone calls as a result of a classified
advertisement that appeared in this newspaper yesterday.
The ad stands corrected: For sale, a used sewing machine,
cheap. Call Mr. Tom Kelly after seven o’clock at 555-3455 and
ask for Mrs. Perkins, who loves with him.
Thursday: Notice: I, Tom Kelly, no longer have a
used sewing machine for sale. I took an ax and smashed it. I
also no longer have a housekeeper. Mrs. Perkins resigned
yesterday.
xxxxxxxxxx
THIS AND THAT ABOUT THESE AND THOSE
Representative Ray Tucker, widely known
McDonough attorney and Butts County native, said this week
he continues to hope that a second judgeship may be obtained
for the Flint Judicial Circuit. Rep. Tucker represents the
Worthville district of Butts County in the 73rd House District.
The State Judicial Council of Georgia recently recommended
that the Flint Circuit continue with only one judge at the
present. Both Rep. J. R. Smith and Sen. Peter L. Banks have
indicated their desire to see a second judgeship and it is
believed they will intercede to persuade the Judicial Council
to reconsider when that body meets on February Bth. Rep.
Tucker stated, “They must be convinced of the need for an
additional judgeship.” Another judge is sorely needed. Judge
Hugh D. Sosebee of the Flint Circuit, one of the state’s most
able jurists, is about worked to death, needs and deserves
some relief. The circuit is overtaxed and it is but a matter of a
short time before additional judges will be added to many of
Georgia’s court circuits. Most are in the same boat,
overworked and underpaid with help desperately
needed .... Nevin Duffey says the weather is too warm
for folks and rabbits both and it’s the latter that is disturbing
him. Nevin fancies rabbi* like a beef eater devouring a
porterhouse and has at least two rabbit boxes in the woods
near the Duffey’s attractive home on McCaskill Drive. But
with the unseasonably warm weather of the past few weeks
his catches have been minimal or none. But when the frigid
winds roar out of the northwest and Bre’r Rabbit gets cold
and hungry, business will pick up or at least Nevin
hopes .... Congratulations to Donald Comer, 111 upon
being chosen president of Avondale Mills. He is the fourth
representative of the Comer family to serve as president and
it is a foregone conclusion that he will serve ably and well as
did his distinguished father, Donald Comer, Jr., whom he
recently succeeded .... The Waycross Journal-Herald
wrote the other day, “The camellia is one of the gems of
nature. Its beauty is particularly striking bursting out, as it
does, during the gray and gloomy winter season. Waycross
and Southeast Georgia are blessed in that we have the climate
and soil, along with the expertise and patient care, that
produces some of the most beautiful camellias in the world.”
All of this is true but we might add that Jackson enjoys
similar blessings. The beauty of camellias now in bloom here
is ample proof .... The Progress-Argus extends
congratulations to The Monroe Advertiser in Forsyth upon its
121st birthday. The Advertiser published its first issue in 1854,
just 31 years after Monroe County was founded in 1823. It is
one of the oldest papers in the entire Middle Georgia area and
we send best wishes for its continued success and growth to
Walter Prestwood, publisher . . . . W. H. (Billy)
Shapard wrote a moving and emotional letter to the editor of
The Griffin News, the sad occasion being the poisoning of his
children’s two small dogs. According to the letter, a
veterinarian gave as his opinion that the dogs had ingested
the poison over a period of at least a week, proving
premeditation and a callous heart. We join with you, Bill, in
asking why and trust that time will soon heal the wounds in
the hearts of your children .... The airlines that
employ Hartsfield International Airport are beginning to
TELEPHONE 775-3107
OFFICIAL ORGAN
BUTTS COUNTY AND
CITY OF JACKSON
|pP v M
THE JACKSON PROGRESS-ARGUS, JACKSON, GEORGIA THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1975
FtHTOIFR
By Mrs. Cindy Brown
WIIY I LOVE
BENNIE BROWN
February is the month of
love, so let’s talk a little
about the romantic variety. I
once heard love defined as
“caring more about someone
else than one cares about
himself.” I always did think
that the best definition I ever
heard, for true love is an
elusive thing. Love is also a
tricky thing because you can
love a person without liking
everything about him. In real
long-lasting love, two people
learn to put up with the little
aggravating qualities the
other may have.
Bennie is my first and
foremost love. He has kindly
put up with all my written
stories about him and has
never once complained at my
telling some of the predica
ments he has found himself
in. Perhaps that is because I
promised to write a column
one day telling all his good
qualities. Today is the day.
First let me say that
Benjamin Hugh Brown, Jr. is
his full name. I could use a lot
of adjectives in describing
him, but the one that really
sums him up would have to
DON’T BLAME THE PAST
Mrs. Theresa Capone had five sons. One of her sons
was the notorious criminal Scarface A1 Capone. Another son
was Salvadore, who was known as “Frank.” Another was
named Matt and nicknamed “Mimi.” A fourth son was named
Ralph. People called him “Bottles.” Most people knew about
these four sons of Mrs. Capone because they were all
infamous for their criminal acts.
The fifth son of Mrs. Theresa Capone was named
James. James was ashamed of and embarrassed by his four
brothers. He was sorry for the disgrace they had brought to
the Capone name. James moved to Nebraska and changed his
name to James Harte.
He became a law officer in Nebraska. He was well
liked and respected, especially by his fellow officers. He
worked hard to be a productive citizen of the community. He
took part in many activities to better the community. He
worked especially hard with the Boy Scouts of the area. When
he died he did not have to carry the shame and disgrace of his
brothers to the grave with him.
Too many of us blame our environment and our
background for our shortcomings. We refuse to accept any
responsibility for what we are. Well, we won’t deny that our
past does influence us. But we will deny to the hilt that our
past cannot be overcome.
We all have the freedom to become the kind of person
we want to be— good or bad. This truth is evident in the life
of the Capone boys. Five brothers. Four die as notorious
criminals and one as a respected law officer. All had the same
mother and were raised in basically the same environment.
The difference between them was that one decided to use his
God-given freedom of decision to live for that which is right
and good.
Maybe you weren’t given the mind of a genius when
you were born. So what? It doesn’t take a genius to love
people. Only a willing heart. Perhaps your parents were poor.
So what? It doesn’t take money to do good. Only desire.
Maybe you were raised in the midst of immorality, or
drunkeness, or continual fighting by your parents. So what?
You don’t need a saintly pedigree to provide a home of love
and happiness. Only the will to work at it.
It isn’t where you have been that counts. It isn’t
necessarily where you are. Rather it is where you are going.
It isn’t what you have been that is important. Rather it is what
you can become.
Each of us has the opportunity to live a good
constructive life, just as each of us has the opportunity to live
outside the law if we desire. Blame your past if you desire, but
ultimately each of us has to accept the major responsbility for
being what we are.
What James Russell Lowell wrote nealry a century
ago is equally true today:
Once to every man and nation
Comes the moment to decide,
In the strife of truth with falsehood,
For the good or evil side ....
Your life is God’s gift to you. What you do with it is
your gift to God.
question with much reason if a second airport Avill ever be
built. Opposition to the airport is strong and moving
purposefully in both Henry and Paulding Counties and legal
suits either joined or contemplated could delay any
construction many years. The airport is needed now! There is
a good likelihood the present airport may be expanded. In the
meantime tempus is fugiting and air traffic at Hartsfield
becomes heavier and more dangerous as the months roll
by . . . . Spring is still six weeks away but you
couldn’t prove it by the antics of some University of Georgia
students. Spurred on by the balmy temperatures last week
the first streaking incident on a Georgia campus this year
took place. The streakers were roundly cheered by an
audience of 500. So be it! Despite the cold weather ahead
Spring is stirring. Panty raids, streaking, telephone booth
stuffing, gold fish gulping and the other idiosyncracies of the
college young will break forth in all their pomp and panoply.
It’s wonderful to be young!
be patient. He puts up with
all my little quirks, and I
have “quirked” many times.
For instance, I am the type
person who, upon unpacking
the groceries, puts the milk
in the cabinet and the cereal
in the refrigerator. When
discovering I’ve done some
thing like that, Bennie will
calmly tap me on the
shoulder and say, “Sug,
someone has broken into the
house and put the milk in the
cabinet. I don’t know how he
got in because I couldn’t find
any broken windows, but he
did anyway!”
Another one of Bennie’s
good qualities is that he
doesn’t mind helping out
around the house. He’s an
excellent cook and is a far
neater housekeeper than I.
He also deals with the kiddie
crew better than I do. If
Donnie and Bart put Play
Dough in the pressure cooker
or baby Clint puts baby oil in
Daddy’s slippers, Bennie
never panics. He goes about
remedying the situation with
the serenity of a Mona Lisa,
whereas I am more liable to
resemble Maude on a bad
day.
Don’t let all this informa-
‘Whatsoever
Things’
By Donald E. Wildmon
tion mislead you, though.
Ben Brown is by no means a
sissy. He’s an excellent
hunter and fisherman. The
only complaint I have about
those two qualities is that our
living room resembles a
lodge with all the mounted
deer heads and bass bodies.!
Bennie also has the talent
of putting me in a good mood,
no matter what kind of rough
day I or he might have had.
He's a great yarnspinner and
if invited to appear on the
Mike Douglas show, could
make Euel Gibbons look like
Gobble Golden Flake.
As space has inclined me to
end my dissertation, let me
close by saying that although
Bennie and I might not agree
on everything, we do have
some things in common: we
love pizza, football, Columbo,
the country life and each
other.
(And Bennie, I’m expect
ing a night on the town for
this. You promised!)
EVER WONDERED?
Why all the sales are on
when I am broke has always
been a mystery to me. Of
course, I’m really broke all
the time, but especially so at
sale time.
And by the way, have you
ever stopped to wonder why
we say broke instead of
broken? For instance, “I am
broken so I can’t afford anew
coat today.” Does sound kind
of stiff, though, doesn’t it?
Another thing I’ve often
wondered about is why
children think their parents
are older than they really
are. I guess we’re all so big to
them that they just piece
together age with size.
Bennie was telling Donnie
and Bart a “fish story” the
other night. The story, to
make a long one short, was
about the time he caught a 60
lb. catfish. When Daddy
finished his tale, Donnie
looked up and said, “When
WAS that, Daddy —4O
years ago or fifty?”
I have wondered about
many things and have never
really figured many of them
out. One thing I still wonder
about is why I wasn’t born
with a silver spoon in my
mouth. All I had in my mouth
when born was a tongue and
a thumb. The tongue has
become busier and the thumb
has learned to keep its place,
but I never have found my
spoon!
METHODS USED TO
WRITE STATE
CONSTITUTIONS
By Albert Saye
University of Georgia
Alumni Foundation
Distinguished Professor
of Political Science
In the election of Novem
ber, 1974, twelve amend
ments of statewide applica
tion and fifty-two of local
application were added to the
Constitution of Georgia. This
brings to 831 the total number
of amendments to the
Constitution of 1945. The
biennial flood of amend
ments is a repeated reminder
of the need for constitutional
revision.
How does a state go about
revising its constitution or
adopting anew one? What
procedure has been used in
the past by Georgia and other
states of the American
union?
Two general patterns have
evolved, the constitutional
convention and the constitu
tional commission. The con
vention is the older, traditio
nal pattern. The commission
is a product of the present
century.
Basic points of distinction
between constitutional con
vention and commissions are
size and method of selection.
Conventions are composed of
a large number of delegates,
a hundred or two. Commis
sions are much smaller,
around thirty members.
Delegates to conventions are
elected by the people.
Members of commissions are
appointed.
Definitions are usually
clarified by illustrations.
Georgia had has wide
experience with both conven
tions and commissions in
writing constitutions. We
may draw illustrations from
our own history.
/ ///V
-I PROSPERITY / Je
: r PRovucriON op~ I i
I up [
CeoMOMY 1
A few days after the
receipt of the news of the
adoption of the Declaration
of Independence, Archibald
Bulloch, President of Geor
gia, issued a proclamation
for the election of delegates
to a convention. The Conti
nental Congress, he pro
claimed, had recommended
to the assemblies of the
united colonies that they
adopt local governments best
suited to the happiness and
safety of the people. Details
of the convention are
meager. The Revolutionary
Records indicate that the
Georgia convention acted
both as a legislature and as a
convention to write a
constitution. The convention
lasted from October, 1776, to
February 5, 1777, but it was
actually in session less than
half of that time. The
technique of ratifying consti
tutions by popular vote was
not yet perfected, so the
Georgia convention itself
declared the constitution
which it had framed to be
adopted.
New constitutions were
adopted in 1789 and 1798.
They were both written and
adopted by conventions
authorized by the legislature
and composed of delegates
elected by the people, the
county being used as the unit
of representation.
The practice os submitting
anew constitution to a vote of
the people for ratification,
developed in other American
states, was first used in
Georgia in 1861.
The Civil War and Recon
struction period gave Geor
gia three new constitutions,
or four if the Constitution of
1877 be included. The one of
1877 is of greatest interest
today, for more than half of
the present constitution is a
carry over from 1877. In
calling the convention that
wrote the Constitution of
1877, the General Assembly
adopted the senatorial dis
trict as the unit of represen
tation. At the time there were
44 such districts. They were
given from one to eight
delegates, on a population
ratio basis, with a total of 194
delegates for the whole state.
The work of the convention
was carried out by 13
subject-matter committees
and a Committee on Order,
Consistency, and Harmony,
headed by Robert Toombs.
Influenced by the memory
of Reconstruction abuses, the
convention wrote a long
constitution, full of statutory
material, especially in the
area of finance. The inclusion
of statutory material brought
on the era of wholesale
amendments. By 1943 a total
of 301 amendments had been
adopted, 87 of them relating
to finance and taxation.
In March, 1943, the General
Assembly passed a resolu
tion, sponsored by Governor
Ellis Arnall, providing for a
commission of twenty-three
members to revise the
Constitution. The cortimis
sion was to be composed of
the Governor, the President
of the Senate, the Speaker of
the House of Representa
tives, three members of the
Senate appointed by the
President, five members of
the House appointed by the
Speaker, a justice of the
Supreme Court designated
by the Court, a judge of the
Court of Appeals designated
by the Court, the Attorney
General, the State Auditor,
two jduges of the Superior
Courts, three practicing
attorneys-at-law, and three
laymen appointed by the
Governor. The resolution
provided that the report of
this commission should be
submitted to the General
Assembly either in the form
of proposed amendments to
the Constitution or as a
proposed new constitution, to
be acted upon by the General
Assembly and submitted to
the people for ratification or
rejection.
There were two principal
arguments in favor of the use
of an appointed commission
instead of an elected conven
tion to revise the Constitution
of Georgia. In the first place,
the existing Constitution
required a two-thirds vote of
the total membership of both
houses of the General
Assembly to call a constitu
tional convention, and pre
vious attempts to call a
convention had failed. Since
the work of the proposed
commission would be sub
mitted directly to the
General Assembly and sub
jected to revision before
submission to the people, the
resolution creating it met
with approval whereas a
resolution calling a conven
tion would probably have
failed. Secondly, the pream
ble of the resolution authori
zing the commission ex
pressed the view that a
revision of the Constitution
could be accomplished
“more satisfactorily by a
small commission ....
than through a constitutional
convention.” A criticism
advanced against the use of
the appointed commission
was that this method gave
the incumbent administra
tion too great an influence in
shaping the fundamental
law. Governor Arnall himself
served as chairman of the
commission and appointed
eight of the other members;
yet it should be noted that
none of the ex officio
members (the Attorney
General, State Auditor, etc.)
were appointed to their office
by the Governor.
The constitution written by
the commission was ap
proved, with slight changes,
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DODGE
PLYMOUTH
PERSONAL
Mr. and Mrs. A. A. Cook
and Andy Kersey were
dinner guests of Mr. and Mrs.
Ronnie Cook and family of
Griffin on Sunday. Also
visiting her parents over the
weekend was Miss Rhonda
Cook, a student at the
University of Georgia.
Mr. Chester Power of
Albany and Mr. Clint Power
of Decatur spent several
days last week with their
brother, Mr. Pierce Power,
and Mrs. Power at Jenkins
burg.
Mr. and Mrs. Naamon
York were guests Sunday of
Mr. and Mrs. Robert L.
Merritt and children, Robert
and Deborah in Jackson.
Friends of Mrs. Ruth
Kirkland will regret to learn
that she has been transferred
from Sylvan Grove Hospital
to Macon Coliseum where
she remains a patient.
Friends of Mrs. Lurline J.
Jones are delighted to know
she is improving satisfactori
ly from an operation at
Griffin-Spalding County
Hospital on Tuesday, Janua
ry 25th. She is expected to
return home during the
week.
by the General Assembly, It
was then ratified by popular
vote.
Anew constitution was
written by a commission
during the administration of
Governor Sanders. The legis
lature approved the docu
ment, but a federal court
prohibited a referendum on
it. The theory of the court
was that a malapportioned
legislature could not propose
anew constitution. Another
constitution was written by a
commission during the ad
ministration of Governor
Maddox, but it failed to pass
the upper house of the
legislature. The need for
constitutional revision re
mains with us.
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