Americus weekly recorder. (Americus, Ga.) 18??-1891, November 14, 1890, Image 1
HON. W. J. NORTHEN TAKES THE OATH OF GOVERNOR. Hl» Inaugural Address—A Brilliant Scene-Tie Proccsiion-Who Were There and Who They Were. Special la Rkcoudkr. Atlanta Nov. 8.—Hon. W. J. Northen was inaugurated to-day as Governor of Georgia. An occasion of the sort was probably uever in the history of the State, surrounded by fairer auspices—the first gov ernor inaugurated in the new Capi tol. The scene In the hall of repre sentatives was a memorable one. The galleries were crowded, until standing room was not to be had. The floor of the house was packed and down along the aisles seats were “arranged; for the distin guished men participating, by their presence in numbers, in the cere monies. Governor Northen headed the procession as it filed into the legis lative hall. With him was Senator J. P. Walker, of the 12th. Next came ex-Governor Jno. B. Gordon, with Representative E. W- Martin, of Fulton. Then Chief Justice Bleckley, with Senator C. H. El lington, of the 29th; Representative Jno. T. Boifeuillet, of Bibb, with Judge Mark Blanford; Representa tive John Turner of Floyd, and Judge T. J. Simmons; Senator Col quitt with Representative J. D. Branch, of Polk; Secretary of State Gen. Phil Cook, with Representa tive W. C.„Halbrook, of DeKalk; Comptroller-General Wright with Treasurer Bob Hardeman; Secre tary J. T. Nisbet, with Secretary J. W. Warren; State Librarian Jno. Milledge with Adjutant-General Kell, Assistant State School Commissioner Fenmor Bennett, with principal keeper* of the peni tentiary, Col. J. R. Towers; Com missioner of Agriculture R. T. Nes bitt with ex-Commlssiouer Hender son; Assistant Commissioner J. O. Waddell with the ex-Assistant Col. R, J. Redding; State* School Com missioner Hook with Attorney- General G. N. Lester; ex-Attorney Clifford Anderson with Judge C. J. Wellborn; State Geologist Spencer with Assistant Commissioners J. W. Robertson and L. N. Trammell of the Railroad Commission; Prin cipal Physician of the Penitentiary Dr. H. V. M. Miller, with ex-Sena- tor Pope Barrow; ex-Congressman N. J. Hammond with ex-Seuator T. M. Norwood; ex-Governor Bul lock with ex-Governor McDaniel; ex-Governor Boynton with Gen. P. M. B. Young; ex-Congressman Seab Reese with ex-Congressman Jndge Clements; Congressman Lawson with Congressman Rufe Lester; CongressmanJL. F. Living ston and Congressman Tom Wat son; Judge J. K. Hines; Judge Sam Lumpkin with Judge Falligihit; ex. Judge W. R. Hammond with ex- Judge Wm. Gibson; City Court Judge Van Epps, of Atlanta, with Judge Wm. D. Hardin, of Savan nah; Hon. W. C. Glenn with ex- Speaker Louis Garrard, with sev eral distinguished citizens of At lanta bringing up the rear The applause. was continuous as the procession marched down the aisle. _ • Mr. Ndrthen was introduced by President Mitchell, of the Senate presiding over the joint session. Gov. Northen said,' as the ap plause subsided: Mr. President and Members of the General Assembly: Before I begin the duties of this hour ' I must congratulate the people upon the recent brilliant victories won by the people over usurpations and wrong In the gen eral government. Custom has made the law of this occasion. It is expected before I proceed to take the oath of office and assume the duties of the execu tive of the State, that I will outline somewhat the public policy I will commend to the representatives of the people, who are for a time, to direct thA Interests of the common wealth. Pile object of all government fairly administered, is the jjood of the governed 1 . This is especially rue of the theory of our system, °th State and national. Its fun damental principles are found In die equality of all men before the law; untrammeled freedom In the no Individual and no class. In our system the law maker and the ad ministrator of the law, at the expir ation ot their brief authority, re turn again to the level of the people from whom they received their commission to control In the face of all history we con- dently bold ours to be the most perfect theory of human govern' ment the world has ever known. Of all others, it secures the largest popular freedom, It offers the high estdinducements for Individual ef fort, while it guarantees the security of the general good under the safest and wisest control. No human government has ever been, practically, perfect. Our sys tem has not been spared the orporH of mistaken judgment, the evils personal ambition, the demands self-seeking, the power of class that burdens the interests of the many, the unscrupulous tyranuy of aggregated money that oppresses the weak, and the centralizing forces that destroy the liberties of the people and absorb, from the states, the right of local self-control Public policy, both state and na' tionai, should seek to restore the government to Its rightful author ity, the people; public policy should demand the lowest rate of taxation •consistent with a judicious aud economical administration- of pub lic affairs; the elevation of the masses to the fullest appreciation and the fullest exercise of the priv ileges of citizenship and a proper and due understanding of its duties the best development of our mate- rial resources, the broadest and most liberal support of the state' benefactions toward its unfortunate oitizensjthe strictest enforcement against the violation of law aud the surest enactments for the thrltt, prosperity and happiness of all the people, without distinction class or condition. The freest government is that controlled by the least law; the wisest government is that maintained by the bes't law. The freest and best gov ernment, therefore, combined, is that exercising the least control under the wisest law In my deliberate judgment the people of this State are burdened by too much law. Under arbitrary government the badge of the officer, the awo of the court, the grim walls of the prison and the chains of the convict make the security of* the community and the safety of the -State. With us the. safeguard is the high American -tfeutiment that exalts peace and order and law the abiding principle that yields to every man the fullest exercise of his rights, consistent with the com mon good and inflexible justice that demnndB the equality of every citizen before the law. The Ameri can idea trains the people to live largely, without the restraints ot law, by the uniformity of its opera tion, the justice of its demands, and the certain, speedy and adequate punishment for Us violation As our laws have increased, their uniformity has been destroyed and the rigiits of the people have been Impaired. As our laws have chang ed, the. practice in the courts has been confused, and, in making dis tinctions where there should be no difference, communities have been wronged and the people unwisely burdened. The best government, I repeat, is that controlled by the (east law Local legislation in this state, by reason of its character and its amount, has grown to be intolera ble. The constitutional convention ot 1877, foreseing the tendencies of the times, attempted to restrain, somewhat, this apparent difference of interest, by limiting provisions for local enactment. The general assembly has since sought to hinder this evil in our legislation, and yet its last session gave to the State an amount ef local legislation unpre* cedented in the history of our peo ple. The acts of the last general as sembly occupy 1,410 pages of print ed matter. Of these, only 184 pages are devoted to laws of a general character, and 1,226 pages are given to local and special laws, Intended to restrict the rights and privileges of citizens in certain counties ot the state, in the one case, and Indirectly to enlarge the rights and privileges of citizens in other counties of the state in another case. Why this «-««■>■»•• »n<l Individual liberty under a wise govsrnmfn . sod judicious popular control for! Not to detain you*i Urt ?u ^InThe repuhdlc and in the States receT^acts of the general assemblyi that'seeka to make insecure ordej rSalWUortwVlv. counties In 1 .troy the legitimate investment of this state, that conid have been cov ered under a general state law that would bring uniformity of rule and ease of adjustment. If such law Is good for twelve counties, in the restrictions it imposes, why it Is not good for the state 7 If good for the state, it should not be enacted with only local force. If such law needs to be engrafted upon our sys tem at all, let It be done under gen eral enactment, that our govern ment may be uniform aud just, the work of the general assembly short ened and the expenses of the state reduced. If the State is to act without dif ference and distinctions involving rights, it should, In all [cases, act under uniform law. Laws to be ef fective muBt be impartial aud Just. To preserve the symmetry ot gov ernment and defend, without dis tinction, the rights of citizens, they must be uniform. The policy I commend for your consideration would make the laws of the State few, simple, uniform and just. Change in an established law should never be made Juntil the public good positively demands it. When the government 'of the State becomes uniform and established, the work ot the general assembly will be greatly reduced. Co-partnership in business has now given place to corporations. Corporations demand charters. These the State has granted with out uniformity of privileges and right. One bank should not be al lowed rights and powers and privi leges not granted to another bank. One railroad should not exercise rights and powers and privileges not granted to another railroad. As far as possible, let this legislation, also, be uniform, putting all cor porations ot a kind under the same grants, with charters obtained through some less expensive ma chinery than the general assembly. Corporations will then be subjected to uniform action aud held more completely under the State’s right ful authority. A recent decision of the supreme court, determining the unconstltu- tionallty of certain local legisla tion affects, disastrously, tte agricultural . Interests of one- third of the area of the State, while It furnishes sufficient argument to enforce the sugges tions I have submitted, urging uni form general laws for the govern ment of the State. Among the first duties of thlB general assembly should be the enactment of such relief as will protect the property, that is now threatened undqp the unwise local legislation of your predecessor. If we will secure only such legis lation as is absolutely needed by the State and fully observant of the rights of all the people, only such local and special laws as come un der uniform general laws, enacted by properly constituted local au thorities; charters granted under delegated authority and uniform stipulations; it will then be possi ble to restrict the sessions of the general assembly to the donstitu- tionai prlvlslon and make them nnnual instead of biennial. Taxes will be reduced and the burdens of government made lighter. Looking to the economical ad- adininlatratlon of public matters, our organic law determines the ex penses of the government in the fixed salaries of some of its officers respectfully suggest uniformity in this matter also. • Let the general assembly put themselves In line with all other State officers, making such changes n our constitution as will give its members a fixed salary for their services, reduced to the standard they have, for along time, endorsed for others. This will further tend to lift the burdens of government from the people and make uniform the rewards given for service to the State. Civil government comprehends not only the enactment of wise and just *lawB and their Impartial en forcement over an intelligent and virtuous people, but it looks also to the development of material re sources as the basis of' our civiliza tion. Whatever encourages gen eral industry in this State] marks the State’s progress in power and in wealth. Whatever makes fertile its fields, prosperous Its manufac tures, thrifty its business and se : cure its capital, advances the en lightenment of its people and makes the stability.of their institutions. One high duty of all government is the protection of the property of its citizens. The policy, therefore, citizens, whether Individuals or corporate, lays violent bands upon the vitality of the State and the prosperity of the people. Under the strongest protection our State will secure, my administration will invite to our fields, our factories, our mines, our railroads and our shops, capital that must make the resources of the State’s strength and the steady basis of our civiliza tion. I shall not take part, therefore, in auy indiscriminate war made aguinst coi porations in this State. Corporations are but the union of forces to develop the wealth of the State. They are made up of indi vidual citizens, who do not sacrifice any right to - protection under a combination of capital.' The same rights and protection guaranteed to an individual citizen should be guaruteed to several citizens when they become properly associated under corporate power. Nothing more; nothing Jess. It js not the policy of the State to build its railroads, run its factories and work its mines. Individual efforts, iudividual influences and individual wealth oan never com pass the great possibilities in our material development. Aside, then, from its duty to our citizeus in af fording the strongest protection guaranteed by law, the advance ment of the State, in all its highest powers, demands the seourlty and protection of all‘legitimate invest meuts, whether by individuals or corporations. Having said this much, it be. comes me further to say, that the greatest danger now -tureatening our government, both State and na tional, is the power of aggregated money. It buyB the ballot and makes the law; it purchases the citizen and makes a slave; it bar gains with class and oppresses the people; it purchases power and centralizes the government. Un checked, it will override the free dom ot our institutions and build upon the ruins of the republie the absolute .power of a merciless plu- tocracy. In the presence of growing cor porate power, let every citizen stand guard over the rights of the people; every legislator be true to the trusts he bears, and every officer of the law faithful to the orders he holds; lest, unbridled, It tread out, in mer ciless stamp, the liberties of the people. In the earlier aud better days of the republic business, began in part nerships and grew to corporations. Corporations have now united and made combinations. Combinations have grown strong and given us the power of moneyed monopoly, ab sorbing to itself the BUBtenance of tlie poor, while it dictates the policy of the government and overrides, without mercy, the liberties of the people. Monopoly is the monster evil of the times. It it the constrictor tightening its folds about the body politic. It is the tyrant ruling without pity and without law. The legislation of the state and the gov ernment should arrest and destroy its aggressive power. Tho peace aud good order of the state depend, finally, not so much upon the efficiency as upon the ad ministration of the law. The rights aud liberties and property of the citizen, in the last issue, must be protected by the speedy and certain enforcement of penalties for the ^violation ot the law. Delays in the courts, when fla grant crimes have been committed, stir an outraged community to vio lence and to wrong. It behooves you to Inquire whether or not the present law allows- needless delay, occasions needless expense and sometimes defeats the ends of jus- dice. Criminals should not be al lowed to abuse the law to the detri ment of the publlo good. Tem pered with mercy, only where Individual Justice demands, and the peace of society will justify, the criminal laws of the state Bbould be strictly enforced. The perpetuity of our system, and the illustrat ion of its principles rest, at last, upon the purity of the bal lot. While popular sentiment rebukes personal ambition, aud the public interests forbid individual power, the law must guard the bal lot against the evils of both. Un awed by force, untrammelled by power, and unbought by price, every ballot should express the un qualified choice of a free man, as, together, they embody the will of the people. No higher duty rests upon tho general assembly than the protec tion of the citizen In the expression Interest was the reception of the of his choice at the ballot box. Under a pure ballot let Tie have every man, elevated to office, the unquestioned choloe of the people; every measure advocated, subject to the unbiased criticism of the cltl zen; then every . law enaoted will he the embodiment cf the popular will • and we will destroy the arrogance of In' dividual power, the tyranny of class legislation and the centralization ql government. By far,the most important matter iuvolved in our State policy Is the education of the people. In a re' publican government,.where every man Is a sovereign, the masses should be enlightened aud made able to understand the duties of a citizen and to guard, intelligently, the interests of the State. Illiteracy is, in no sense an ate ment of security. It never can master the forces that make pro press and power. Ignorance leads riot and vice, hand in hand, to dis turb society, destroy business and overthrow the government. The surest* foundation for our system must be laid in the Intelligence and virtue of the masses. Until recent years it has not been the policy of the State to educate its children. Now, it is a fixed pro- In the interest land dignity and honor of the State, the general as sembly should Improve the practi cal workings of the system, or the effort should be abandoned by the State and left to the direction and management of individual citizens. The State cannot afford to dis charge such Important duties so Imperfectly. Our public school system has cost the state more than eight mtlllous of dollars, and won for us, among the states the hetd of the column for Illiteracy. The system has fallen far short of the popular needs. The times are now favora ble and the necessity pressing for further aid, either hy general or local taxation, and the general as' sembly should so provide. Taxation by the state is but an appropriation for the security of Boolety, protection to property and the advancement of the people. These epds, the general assembly cannot better secure than by the education of the masses. Our social, political and material conditions all call for the more genorhl education of the people. Looking, therefore, to tho final prosperity of the state in the elevation, enlightenment and virtue of its people, I appeal to the guardians of our liberty to prepare every child for the high and re sponsible duties of a freeman.- Four months for instruction and eight months for Idleness will not fit a oltizen for the duties that await him.' If tho State carries forward, successfully, the great work it has undertaken, we must have better teachers for tho schools, longer terms for Instruction and better pay for service. For the training und Instruction of teachers the State needs a normal school or normal institutes; for longer terms, and better pay the system needs more money. The governor of Georgia receives his salary when It is due. The judges of the courts re ceive their pay on demand. The members of the general assembly receive their per diem upon call. The teachers Inlour public schools are the only servants of the State whose pay depends upon contingency and doubt. The honor of the State de mands a change. The popular mind Is ready for It. AH the inter ests of the State urge your favora ble consideration of efficient plans for the better education of the masses. In all that elevates character, en lightens the people, strengthens the State, equalizes its burdens, adjusts its demands, enforces its government, protects ita citizens aud makes prosperous and content Its people, the general assembly shall have my untiring aid and my full co-operation. I am now ready to take the oath of office. The oath of office was then ad ministered by Chief Justice Bleck ley. The great seal of the state was de- Ivered into the new governor’s hands by ex-Governor Gordon; and handed by Mr. Northen back into the keeping of the secretary of state. The inauguration was complete. The joint session was dissolved and immediately both House* ad journed until Monda^T Besides tho Inauguration of the governor, the only other feature of governor’s message. Quite a number of pardons were Issued to-day by Governor Gordon, following after a custom. Governor Noitheu is to move into the executive mansion at once, Governor Gordon retiring, for the present at least, to bis home at Kirkwood, In DeKalb county. Ex-Governor John B. Gordon will address the general assembly of Georgia in the hall of representa tives on Mondsy evening at 7:30 o’olook. TWO WITHDRAWN. LEAVING GORDON, HINES AND NOR WOOD AS AVOWED CANDIDATES. Trying to Get Hammond to Announoo —The Baca About as. It Was, and AU Partial Confident. Special to RzcoKDiit. Atlanta, Nov. 12.—Gordon and anti-Gordon! That’s still the issue in tho Hena- torsbip. As long as it stays that way Gordon certainly can’t be beaten, and may be eleoted. There seems to be no prospect of the Alliance centering upon one man before the balloting begins. The best they cun do is to hold an aggregate majority against Gordon, but divide amongst several other candidates, for the first ballot or two. What will happen afterwards, in that event, nobody can predict. Gordon’s friends are confident of . his eleotlon; many of them going even further to d-clare that he will be eleoted on the first ballot. That isn’t Impossible at all; but ‘ he will have to gain several votes betWeen now and Tuesday to do It. Monday there was nothing in the way of his gradual gaining of votes. Now there is Nat Hammond I If he will run—if, remember— the anti-Gordon opposition IsOoltd; no longer a missionary field, so to speak. His candidacy would give dignity aud conservatism to the op position, and inspire confidence. I believe all 'faottons of the Gor don opposition are favorably dis posed towards him; and he would be the first or second choloo of more than 110 of the demoralized opposi tion. .That statement should be quali fied—he could gather that many under reasonably favorable olreum- stances; if no other blunder, like • that of Livingston, Is perpetrated, If 'ahactive canvass Is made; and if, most Important ot all, be will enter the race. Bo the matter stands now. \ Gordon’s frieuds confident! The opposition in better shape' than fqr several days past, still ag gregating a majority or joint ballot, still divided amongst several can didates, and looking to- Nat Ham mond for deliverance. What the outcome will be—the Lord only knows! To-morrow night there will be a caucus of anti-Gordon members ot the legislature to agree upon one candidate. This is from the Inside, and thoroughly reliable. Gen. Gartrell and W. 0. Glenn announced their wlthdrawol from the race for the Senate. Fat Cal houn and Judge Hiiles spoke to night Norwood will not speak, but has a long letter in to-mor row’s Constitution instead. - HON. O- F. CRISP. From the Philadelphia Times. If Crisp, of Georgia, bo chosen Speaker of the regenerated house, the selection will be in one way the most appropriate that could bu made. Crisp waa the one man on the floor bf the last bouse of whom Reed was afraid. The Maine czar could neither bully him nor silence him, and he was Reed’s master as a par liamentarian. How would Reed feel to find that calm, acute, satlrio and powerful eye turned on him from the ohalr? How They Are Placed. The representatives from this section are appointed on the fol lowing committees In the House. Cutte—Banks; Finance; Milita ry affaire; Railroads; Temperance.* McDonald—Special Agriculture; Auditing; Blind Asyimn. Glover, of Sobley—Special Agri culture; Corporations; Halls and Rooms. ' Sears, of Webster—Special Agr 1- culture; Education; Finance. Another Harrises. Thursday Mr. Walker, ot promi nent young merchant a the Plains, was married to Miss Lee Chappell. Both parties have friends in this city, with whom The Recobdkk JoIpb in offering congratulations. ' i XM