Newspaper Page Text
XL be XWton <3a3ett
Published Weekly
THE TIPTON GAZETTE,
fished by the light of llghtwood-knot
.The night for sleep, the sleep of «1—.w UU;
' sprawled on the wiregrass with no covering
Entered >t tha Postofflc. at Tilton. G'«or*iit | but “■« »ky. «»d in the morn to the ftohinj
M mail matter of the second class.
ta>. L. HurHng Editor and Mmit
Official Organ City of Tiftoo
end Tift^ounty, Georgia.
SATURDAY NIGHT
again, until the water was gone and the fish
left behind n o tN worth saving. Then
what could not be eaten was salted down and
carried home for the rainy, day. to divide with
neighbors, or send to distartt friends, and the
great picnic was over-
Long ago the seven-year tradition was dis
sipated, and now'Ross lake has become mod
ernized and like other things of this fast age
empties itself every year or so These empty
ings are still occasions for gatherings, but with
those who were boys forty years ago the memo
ries of-old times, when its waters sought their
> ' When the Water Went Out
“The water in the lake is running out.”
By v*ord of mouth, miraculously rapid, from
home to home through the sparsely se^lad
wiregrass region, populated almost exclusively underground way to the sea. lingers with the
by stockmen, with homes sometimes ten miles > things which many fond recollections cluster,
apart, the news passe,d. in the wireless "grape-
vireless
vine.” way so effective, as the Indians proved,
but hard to Understand
The July sun poured down with scorching
heat. For weeks there had been no rain and
small streams were dry, or running siuggiahly.
The blades of corn were twisted and hung
drooping; even the wiregrass rustled dryly.
Through the northwestern wiregrass region
ran obliquely a limestone strata, indicated by
occasional “limesinks" and other phenomena
giving surface indications of the porous lhne-
rock underneath
In the midst of this, was a lake nearly half a
mile in^length. celebrated for periodical out
pourings- Once every .seven years, so tradition
said, the water from this lake ran out through
a great hole near the center into the
bowels of the earth. The lake was then dry
for a few months, but following the fall rains
the water would return in some queer way, and
for the period of Jacob’s service the lake was
its normal self again Its water abounded in
fish and its banks were a favorite resort for
lovers of the sport. But when the waters ran
out. thousands of fish were left stranded, and
then for a few days there was much fishing and
feasting-
When the waters began to take their depart
ure the fact was made known by a dull roar,
audible fot quite a distance, and it was this
that gave notice to near-bj; settlers that the
great fishing time was at hand- Word was
passed through the country for miles around,
and soon the fishers began to gather They
came on foot, with packs on backs; in horse-
carts and ox carts; in buggies and wagons, and
horse and mule b&ck. Soon the banks of the
lake were an immense camp-ground. and the
fishing was on.
There were seineS^made of guano sacks;
seines made of cord, homespun and tied during
many nights and noontides of painstaking labor;
there were seines made of brush, and some fished
wtih their hands, scorning a seine of any kind
Some fished with' “striking irons.” made from
a section of tire filed sharp with a h.andle af
fixed; still others clubbed the fish unlucky
enough to come within reach. But all—men,
women and children, fished
At it they went, as soon as it was light-
Through the deeper waters men in squads drug
their seines, bringing the fish in, fluttering loads
to the bonks- In the small pools and under
neath the cypress knees, beneath the overhang
ing tussocks of grass, the men with the irons
or with clubs, occasionally with a dip net. and
“many with nothing but their hands, fished.
Some were noisy, but all were busy.
An occasional shout denoted the taking of a
grand prize. Perhaps a trout (black bass)
esteemed highest of all. weighingTive pounds
or more; perhaps a long and slender jack, with
flesh sweet and white despite the myriads of
small bones; perhaps a long, red finned pike:
next a large warmouth perch, broad and flat
with moss grown back; perhaps the dark
bream or red perch of many‘species; not even
the small “red-eye" was despised In fact all
was fish that came to hand except the hated
gar. sometimes five to seven foot in length,
which cut seines and evaded the aSvlftest Wow.
but anas finally slain and thrown out to be de-,
THE DIVORCE EVIL.
voured by the hogs, ready for the leavings- And
always .the catfish, with- •neetHedricr fh»-Mid-
working whiaketre, which furnished material
for tempting stews Occasionally also, the
snapping turtle, the loggerhead, or soft shell
fall prize to eager searchers w
While the fishers were busy, fires had been
kindled and beds of coals glowed- Over these
in covered three-legged spiders corn-bread was
soon baking to a rich, dark brown in broad, flat,
oval-shaped pones Near by on other coals
huge tin coffee-pots were bubbling darkly
sending up jeta of steam. Last, in big, flat
frying-pans lard was sizzling, and into this the
freshly cleaned fish, glive n few minutes before
—white, with sides slidqt}, to facilitate browning
and rolled ,in meal— were carefully laid-
Soon. platters were piled with them, appetizing
odors giving-notice that the time to eat had
come. Corn pones were' 'stacked handy, ana -
the coffee poured into gourds and tin cups-
Then. up from the lake the fishers came,
some barefoot, with pants legs rolled to their
knees; others taking it straight through, shod
but muddy to the waists ;.-all wet to their skins,
and all hungry, for they had earned the feed-
And as they squatted or lounged around the
spread beneath the shade of overhanging trees,
there was such eating as we in these days of
dyspepsia and indigestion know nothing.
With only a short period for rest or -Story
telling after the meal, the fishing went on again
sntil darkness forced surcease—although many
AN OPPORTUNITY AT LEAST.
Representative Bankston Is a man after our
own idea. His resolution, introduced on the
first oportunity. that the Legislature adjourn
July 21st was just the right thing.
Doubtless the resolution will be discussed
and debated, but will not prevail Adjourn
ment would be the proper thing. a nd the right
thing,’ the patriotic thing, but that is not what
the legislators are there for.
Twenty-four days would afford ample time
to transact all necessary business; in fact, it
should be done in much less, for there is-verv
little to do. Rut there are some slates to fix
and some political hens to set, and many of the
members want a vacation at the state’s ex-
Says the Bainbridge Post-Searchlight:
With nil of Friend John Herring’s homely
philosophy and old fashioned advice, his pa-
p«»r ja fnrry*PK : * nig imnnh of divorce libels.
Those libellants must not read those good
suggestions handed out in the Gazette. Keep
’em together over there, say we.
Wq wish we could say something that would
impresjy on the young and thoughtless the
sacredness of the marriage tie; upon the quick
of temper or the quarrelsome by nature the
necessity of forbearance; upon the jurofr his
duty to the home and to society in carefully in
quiring into the merits of each society before a
verdict is given.
Not that we oppose divorce. Occasions
sometmeg arise when a separation is best for
all concerned. But these are very rare. Too
often.young people tire of the yoke only too
thoughtlessly assumed and the courts and juries
arc made a party to their desire for a free
dom which will perhaps prove even a greater
mistake than their hasty marriage. Speaking
broadly, perhaps in one case in ten where i
vorce is asked- should it really be given. Yet
the laws are very lax. the jurisdiction of the
courts limited,’and where a fight is not made
the divorce is usually granted.
Much good could be accomplished if jurors
were of more irtjuiring nature and refused
give verdicts unless they 'were shown (that i
tual, pressing necessity existed. Some vvork
along this line would bring about a more whole
some respect for marriage and its obligations.
If divorces were not so easy to obtain, many
couples would adjust their differences without
appealing to the courts and the world would
be much better off.
Ve cannot make it very difficult for young
people to eater the married state; this would
lead the way to evils much worse. We cannot
make it impoaaible for people once married to
obtain release; this would work many hard
ships on innocent parties. But we can, by
closely watching these things, impress it on the
minds of the young that once they are married
they cannot throw off their obligations unless
by so doing a greater wrong is averted. Once
this is thoroughly understood; perhaps so many
marriages would not be lightly made and th<
appeals to the divorce courts would not be so
frequent.
Certainly, it is time that something was done.
a» the steadily growing dockets attest.
So while Mr. Bankston’s resolution is worthy
of instantaneous and unanimous adoption, it
won’t go through—not within a mile or so.
The people don’t want any more legislation;
they are tired of politics; they have their minds
on something else. But they will never get re
lief from the present state of affairs until they
take the matter in their own hands and have
biennial sessions. That will be very difficult
to secure, for the necessary enactment must
come from the General Assembly and it doesn’t
want to see its job cut in half.
The farm demonstration agent for Turner
reporta that not over twenty-five per cent, of
the cultivatable land in that county is in cot
ton, a very gratifying showing for its farmers-
He" also reports the boll weevil in practically
tall the cotton crops visited, but says the infest
ation is light and thinks that with diligence in
,l(eeping the squares picked, three-fourths of a
crop can be made- The report from Irwin in our
news columns Saturday bears out other reports
from men who have visited that county from
time to time as to a- large cotton acreage, and
even under the best .circumstances, those farm
ers are facing a loss. Weevil conditions in Tift.
Turner and Irwin appear about the same—
weevils ip nearly all the crops, and these con
ditions probably obtain throughout South Geor
gia- * , ! *
A sudden ending of the war by a spectacular
air battle or a decisive sea conflict appeals to
the imagination, bht goes no further. The war
will not be ended that way. The end will come
when the gradual nibbling of Haig’s and Pe-
tain’8—and 1 Pershing’s—men in France eats
away the last German stronghold and the Teu
tons are driven back to their own soil.
A long time, you say? Yes, but this war is
a long one- No one really acquainted with
conditions expects a speedy victory. When Sir
John French entrenched before 60-metre hill,
on the Belgian front, perhaps the public thought
his men would carry it within a week. But they
did not. When at jast that hill was a hill
no'longer, demolished by approjiniately a mil
lion pounds of explosives, it/was only after
patient mining for nearly two years—after tun
neling. under the most adverse conditions for
over half a mile. Did the British expect speedy
resuts when they began that stupendous un
dertaking? If they had. they would have been
jsJjadlyjQoled as _will the man-who base*.his
hopes on a sweeping victory by air. sea or land-
For there will be.no such victory—at least not
for many months.
A sensational element of the American press
appeals for a vast fleet df airships—enough
to wipe out Germany's air fleets in a day and
to strike terror to the German heart. A great
dream—but a dream only- v -
Another element insists thht the German
navy be routed out and destroyed. So far as
known, all the Teuton battleships are safely
encircled by mine fields and forts, that insure
protection. Germany has never risked any
considerable number of them, and what risks
were taken was when all advantage was
their side. It is safe to say that they will not
be brought out until all other hope is gone,
despite the oft reported and natural anxiety
of both commanders and men to get into ac
tion-
Routing warships out of mine-enclosed har
bors is no light task, as the Allies' proved in
the Dardanelles when they lost six ships worth
fifteen million dollars -and over five thousand
men .within less than two hours.
This war will not be won by the dreamers
and idealists—although they may in season do
their part. Victory will cprrie to the heaviest
metal and the greatest resource in men. food
and munitions; valor and applied science in the
meantime playing their allotted part-
To hope for anything else is to deceive our
selves. and by deceiving'-bring dscouragement-
If Governor Dorsey’s administration follows
out the general lines of his inaugural address
it will be a constructive one- The things he
recommends are among those the state has
long needed and bringing to the office.youth
and energy and prpgressive ideas he shopld,
bv force of executive influence, be able to
secure a majority of them.
The great mass of the people of the state
support his position that the tax equalization
law should not be repealed unless a better law
is substituted- This law only came after many
years hard fighting by public spirited men
against a strongly organized lobby for the tax
dodgers. It marked the emancipation of the
state from the “passing the hat" plan of re
turns. No doubt the law has faults and in
many respects needs improvement, but its
peal without a satisfactory substitute would
set Georgia back forty years jir^rnethods of
taxation.
Another needed reform ia the inauguration
©f-the-Governor on the- ftrst-of the year instead
of near the middle There are many reason:
for this besides the fact that practically all of
the departments of the state government run
•ith the calendar year, one of the chief is that
governor is nominated, which is equivalent
to an election, nearly a year before he goes
into office-
Perhaps the strongest recommendation vn
the message is that which proposes a set of
general laws to relieve the Legislature of rh
mass of local legisation which takes u.p, s
much of its time to the negect of the real bu
iness of the #tnte This might enable us to si
ure uniform methods for the establishment
if-jritv and county courts, incorporating towns
ind creating commissioners of roads and re***
tues. and eliminnie many other items of petty
md expensive legislation that take up two-
thirds of the time of each annual session
The creation of aa efficiency commission and
comprehensive system of state accounting,
cal taxation for schools, prompt payment of
ho»l teachers and pensions, reforms in the
administration of the criminal laws, and fos
tering agricultural interests, are all things
that should be strongly commended.
Governor Dorsey goes into office not only I
with the endorsement of the great majority
of the people of state as was evidenced by his
sweeping victory in' the primary, but with the
hearty wishes of a majority of his former po
litical opponents that the principles he advo
cates may be enacted into laws.
BERRIEN'S SCHOOL ELECTION.
Ordinary Norwood has called an election in
Berrien county for Wednesday. July ISth. on
the question of local taxation for public schools.
Sopn after locating in Berrien, over twenty
years ago. (Tifton was in Berrien then) the
editor of the Gazette earnestly seconded the
efforts of Thos. E- Williams, at that time Coun
ty’ School Commissioner, and a number of other
progressive citizens of Berrien, in an effort
secure local taxation for schools We failed
by a large majority, but we hope public si
ment Ijgs changed sinbe then
The first thing Tift county did when it
gan housekeeping was to vote local taxation
for schools. We have never regretted thi
movement, and regard it as’one of this coun-
most progressive steps. We want our neigh
bors to share in this good thing, and feel si
that, after two years under local taxation, they
would not go back to the old order of thing?
under any circumstances-
SOUTH GEORGIA SHIPPING WHEAT
Who'would have thought a lew years ago
that Southf Georgia wr»ild be selling wheat in
•arload lots? Yet the Cordele Dispatch tells
us of two Crisp County men "who made up a
3oIid carload of wheat grown on their farms
and sold R f<# approximatHy S 1.750- The
Dispatch also tells us of a Crisp County farmer
who sold buO mJ3he!.-< nf~ofit3'"initr251T - tnn!tret3‘ w-ould be attained if it
of. vyhpat
Verily', this is’becoming the land of corn
and wheat, if wine is obsolete. South Geor
gia is coming into her own and the first e
lienee of this is that she is feeding herself.
STRAIGHTEN THE CURVES.
Much can be done for the conservation of
time and the savjng of life by eliminating sharp
road curves wherever possible. * In many in
stances where roads are being rebuilt a little
work can remove a curve without loss to the
land owner and with little expense to the
builder.
Many auto accidents are due to sharp and
unnecessary curves. Much delay and conse
quent loss of time is caused by them- Wise
economy in road building adheres wherever
possible to the straight line, and when curves
cannot be avoided they are made as long a s
possible.
The third bill introduced in the Georgia
Senate was by Mr- Wohlwender. of the 24th,
to tax soft drinks, automobiles, gasoline, and
kindred properties to make up the big deficit
caused by the bone-dry law As gasoline is
nuch more intoxicating than alcohol when run
through the engine of an auto for some peo
ple, and soft ones are the only drinks left us
the Senator’s bill has something to com
mend it
Change Wherehy Committee! Can
not Bury Pot Moaiuree.
Atlanta, July S.—The progrea*-
ives in the Hotue of Representative*
who supported Culpepper for speak
er have won a victory almost as
pleasing to them as would have been
their candidate's election- to preside
over the deliberations of the House.
They hare refolded, to a very -
considerable extent, the rules of the
House, and while one reform which
they inaugurated did not go
through, they- carried all th e c-thers
and are very much gratified with .
the success of their movement.
‘We have freed the House from J
the control of the committees," d
clared Cecil Neill,
Countyr one of Representative Caj
pepper's strongest supporters,^
cussing the subject yeaterd
placed the House in a
where it can be £ic master j
own actions, instead of I
and bound by the eomi
has always been uigj
Back in 1915 odj
the House :
the bill <
to discharge the c3
further consideratkB
old rules, a coodUU
a bill and keep it J*
fusing *o report it o
other atii thereby chokW|
tion. while the House ’
. force
Tb-r fluid Committee can now
kc—: a proposed change in the rules
or - proposed special order, for two
days; then if it does not report, its
automatically discharges it
from further consideration of the
matter in question. Under the old
rule, the rules committee had an
"incubator" where it stowed away
the resolutions to which it was ap
posed. mid the House could never
compel the committee to report.
These nr e only two of the reforms
which the House has made in the
standing rules, ami the cthere ere
along the same lines, and of equal
SWIMMING POOL AWARDS
l Contests on Fourth Brought Good .
Crowd to Interesting Events,
[ia-pite bad weather .for it rain-
je-l intermittently/all day, the swim
ming pool enjoyed a nice Fourth of
! July, and between 125 and 130 took
la plunge in the cool, clean water,
j The poijl is becoming noted for sen-
A FORGOTTEN LAW.
We have a machine at work in Atlanta mak
ing another volume of laws, when there nre
already so many v on the statute books that) The sports, though handicapped
have been forgotten, even by the lawyers them- by the feather, were pulled off with
selves and the men sworn to enforce them.
Here is a case in point:
Attention was called by a news article sent
out from Atlanta Sunday to the law enacted in
ID! 2. requiring all state and county officer-?
who receive fees to make quarterly report- of
same to the Comptroller-General. This law
was passed presumably as a step toward abol
ishing the fee system and putting all officers
<>n salaries. A rather severe penalty was pro
vided for its violation—a fine of $1,000 or six
months' imprisonment, or both. Yet despite
the fart lhat it was thoroughly discuss- ___
.d at the time, the law appears to be pretty w on by Felix Hatgrett: 95-foot
of the (.iris’ swimming
race wllich’was called off for insuf
ficient entries.
Many, in fact, an unusually large
number of visitor* were down and
enjoyed the antics of the swimmers
on the swinging rings, the Ira pete,
the slide, high d:ve and spring board.
Following is a summary of the ath-
tiJkct
Cola,
much a dead letter.
It is stated thqt fo r 'ho second quarter of
1016. only twenty-eignt Ordinaries, four Coun
ty Treasurers, three Tax Receivers and the'
same number of Tax Collectors filed reports.
For the first quarter of 1917. only twelve
Clerks of Superior Courts and twelve Sheriffs
reported. Thesd figures nre tnken at random
to show the general disregard of the law.
Equally remiss are Solicit-ors-General. Solici
tors of City and County Courts, and other of
ficials of both state and county whose duty it
is to see that the law is enforced-
Now that attention is called to the way the
law is ignored, the question arises—what good
complied With
Jfone. -perhaps.-yet' cvnrptismcp'therevrtth means
a lot of work and book-keeping on the part of
the officers affected, and the useless piling up
of records in the capitol. where room is at a
premium already—records that no one will
ever want to see and that would be of no use
if they were seen.
Then, if the law U useless and practically
a dead letter, why not repeal it? It was doubt
less passed on impulse and when the impulse
was gone, everybody except a few directly
concerned forgot it. And when this one is re
pealed, why not stop grinding out so man;
others* of the same value and efficiency?
Although he doesn’t make as much noise
about it. President Wilson ia 'doing his bit in
the same way Col- Roosevelt is doing his- Two
of 'Roosevelt’s 9ons are in the expedition to
France, and Mr. Wilsfti’s son-in-law. Francis
B. Sa'yre. is going with the American troops as
Secretary of the Young Men’s Christian Asso-
ciation-
To supply the deficiency in revenue caused
by war prohibition, the Springfield Republican
(uggests that the government issue a billion
and a half of "bone-dry” 3 1-2 per cent bonds
and let the prohibitionists take them up as
proof that they mean what they say.. Which
they would probably do, if we m*^judge by
the way Liberty Bonds were gobbled-
* ■ "V
dive
!•:
■eek*’ ticket to
i Spring Board.
first prize, Fe
in lh' • ticket to
i McCrea caae
The "Phnnnie.t" Stont.
On rings, spring board or trapezo
»n by Tom Shipp on best all-round
erugc. on.- .-use (. hero Cola.
Th.. Tug of "War wound up the
contest*. Two.yearns of four men,
Tom Shipp. < > ■ .,r P ile. Sum Good*
nh.l Harold ’RTggtib «pn against J'm
Mitchell.. Tom McCrea. Fred Wil-
■linm> nr-,I Fn.liv HanwotVafUr which
they al! joined in disposing of t
prize—two cases of Chero Coll,
turning the contest into a regular
Chero Cola day.
The management regrets
have giver more notiet- of the con
tests, but promises a nice series of
events in the near future for adults
and younger folks also, which '
be well advertised so the contestants
and public will both have I
prepare.
Hurfah for our swimming
THton/s Pride.
What is LAX-FC
LAX-f01 IS AN MPftOVU C
A Digestive LiquifU-sxative, »
and Liver Tonic. CdBtains Lascar all
Blue Flag Root. Rhubarb Root, BL.
Root, May Apple Root, Senna Leaves si
Pepsin. Combines strength with pala
table aromatic taste. Docs not vijrw.. SQr
WEDNESDAY’S ENLISTMENTS.
Those, enlisting from thi* sec
July 4th were:
Jak^ W. Wilcox. Barney.
Williams T. Wright, Adel.
Charlie H. Meek*, Douglas.
CASTORIA
For Infants and Children
In Um For Over 30 Years
Always bears <rt H
Slfna^reof 1