Newspaper Page Text
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 1908.
THE TIMES-RECORDER
B4II.Y AND WEEKLY.
'The VmerJcus Recorder, Established
1 > 79.
The Americus Times, Established 1890.
^Consolidated April, 1891.
Entered at the postoffice at Amert-
cus at second-class mail matter.
THOMAS GAMBLE. JR.. .. • • E< J 1 . tor
C W. COUNPORTH, Business Mgr.
J W. FURLOW, City Editor.
%V. !_ DUPREE, Asst. Business Dept.
Editorial Room Telephone 99.
The Times-Recorder Is llio
Official Organ of the City of Americus.
Official Organ of Sumter County.
Official Organ of Webster County,
-.fflrtal Organ of Railroad Commis
sion of Georgia for 3rd Congres
sional district.
Official Organ U. S. Court, Southern
District of Georgia.
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.THE TIMES-RECORDER,
Americus, Ga.
nerlcus, Ga.. Dec. 24th, 1908.
“BRING THE OLD GOVERNOR
t HOME.”
Tfnder "tills captiqn Mr. L. L. Knight
■makes a beautiful and forceful appeal
in behalf of the removal of the re
mains of Gov. James Jackson from
tbe banks of the Potomac to- Geor
gia soil, and the erection over his
grave of a monument worthy of the
■ man and of the State he so unselfishly
. bravely and nobly served.
Mr. Knight points'out that In all
the annals of Georgia it Is not possi
ble to find a name more redolent with
patriotic unselfishness, more sug-
gestive of distinguished achievements,
more fragrant with the recollections
which attach to heroic devotion and
to unblemished personal honor, than
that of this chivalrous citizen and
soldier of the olden times.
On:, of the greatest services ren
dered by Gov. Jackson to Georgia,
if not the very greatest, was that
growing out of the Yazoo land grab
scandal. Mr. Lamar tells of his suc-
. cessTul efforts to redeem the good
name of the,State as follows:
■.‘When the good name of Georgia
--,vas besmirched by the mercenary
traffickers In legislation and the Ini
quitous Yazoo fraud. Involving the
•wanton sacrifice of millions of acres of
xvUd land, was fastened upon the
-state by reason of the subtle arts
practiced upon the legislature and
the chief executive, It was this fear
less old patriot who .came boldly
and resolutely to the front. He was
- serving at the time In the United
i States senate: and, despite the fact
- that four years remained before the
^expiration of his term of office, he
Promptly relinquished the toga. But
this waB not all. He took his seat
In the state legislature, and, with
.the prestige of his high character and
■wide Influence, he. proceeded at once
to-unclasp ‘the gauntlet and to offer
.the gage of battle. The opposition -was
securely entrenched. To undertake
-.a crusade of this nature invited per
sonal peril. It necessitated the mak
ing of enemels. It involved the ac-
acceptanco qf challenges to fight
duels. It exposed hi m tocovert at
tacks from the dark.
■'Even Governor Jackson s colleague
in the United States senate was him
self Involved in the meshes of the Ya-
- zoo conspirators. But the intrepid
old governor was not ttteman to be
Intimidated by threats. He was like
the nigged old 8cotch reformer in
the sense that.be,feared not the face
of mortal man. The war was prose-
- cuted with relentless vigor: the
measure was finally rescinded: and
the good name of the Btate was sav
ed. When the time came to des-
troy the records of the Yazoo fraud in
order that no trace of the foul tran
saction might be left upon the rec
ords of the state, old Governor Jack-
son thought that the destroying fire
-should come from heaven: . and,
with the aid of a sun-glass, he con
verged the solar rays and made the
■firmament Itself contribute to the ex-
tlnction of this foul biot uppn Geor-
gia's honor. On account of the feu-
. dal animosities growing out of tms
dramatic episode. Governor Jack-
son became Involved In numerous
personal encounters on the field ot
.honor; and his death, which occur
red while serving Georgia again In
the United States senate, was super-
. induced by his unhealed wounds.
Tocllla has led off with the Christ
mas tragedies with four men killed
jVn officer and a shooter of firecrack
ers had a duel fatal for both. A son
of the officer and a brother of tbe fire-
-works man. exchanged shots and both
Jell dead. This is celebrating with a
Tvengance.
Right at the beginning of the pre
parations for the planting season
for cotton, it would he proper for
tlie farmers to consider well the
acreage which They propose to de
vote to the fleecy style, and what
lo other products.
At the present price ot cotton
there Is no money in raising it. Last
season money was made by those who
had the cotton, but at prices pre-
ailing this season returns have been
very disappointing.
It it not as if cotton were the
only thing which Southern farmers
could raise oil their laud. The rich
soil which produces cotton, a bale to
the acre, will also grow cane, vege
tables, cor!> and the multidlnous
wealth to which the farmer is heir.
Besides this, the establishment of g
creamery in Americus lias made the
dairy business a profitable one,
while the raising of poultry al
ways been h money maker.
A powerful object lesson Is given
by the success of a Doughert ycoun-
ty farmer in cultivating a 200-acre
farm. Only 24 acres were put in
rotton this season, the bulk of the
Jract being devoted to corn, oats, liay,
-anteloupes, peas and other smaller
jroducts. Yet the farmer's net pro
fits were $6,000 or about $1,000 to
the plow. Next season he will not
put an acre in cotton. This was in
telligent farming, done with a reali
sation that the profits were not to
he found In cotton, but In diversified
farming.
The South has a large monopoly In
jie cotton growing field. The size
if'the crop is controlled largely by
the disposition of the Southern plan-,
ter to make a large or small crop.
For a generation the chief thought
was to raise cotton, cotton, until the
price fell so low that it was a posi
tive loss to grow It, even when a
good part Of the labor was done by
the farmer and his sons.
This continued clinging to cotton
as THE crop is all the more amaz
ing when It has been proven time
and again that other crops are more
profitable than cotton. It is not like
big factory, where a curtallm-at
ef a particular output leaves
lp.ery idle and caplttl iavested large
ly unproductive. It ,1s more like d!
verting the powers of an engine
to a more profitable work.
It Is chimerical to seek to keep
up the price of cotton by holding.
To make this a success the output
would have to be in the hands of a
close corporation with almost un
limited means. Such a combination
Is manifestly Impossible where each
small farmer can undersell th cen
tra'. Louse, and keep the milk
plied, at least In a moderate
ure.
The only sure and effective
to raise the price of cotton is cut
down the yield. And when this can
be done, especially by the larger
/Banters at a profit over the old cot
ton planting plan, It would seem that
such a result should not be diffi
cult to attain.
Many planters have a few bales of
cotton on hand, and would thus
able to take advantage of any rise
In price for another Beeson which
resulted from a decrease in acreage.
Once this diversified farming gets
established and the farmer gets di
vorced from the Idea that cotton
must he raised regardless, then the
outlook for cotton prices will
bright.
No such pleasures as prevailed In
the tobacco districts of Kentucky
would be necessary. The tobacco
lands are not adapted to diversified
crops; and the owners of the land
were restricted almost to that one
crop. It Is far different with the
Southern cotton grower, as already
pointed out.
It Is to be hoped that every farm
er In the South will seriously con
aider the pn^osition to greatly res
trict the acreage for the new sea-
ton. That Is the only sure ray to
lirce the spinners to terms.
sup-
-cas
way
The census to be taken in 1910
will show that Americus has had a
growth of fifty per cent, in ten
years, that, in round figures, its * pop
ulation has Inrceased from 8,000 in
1900 to 12,000 in 1910. If the same
rate of growth continues ■this would
give us 18,000 people ten years
hence.
Tills rate of growth, however, Is not
apt to continue unless means of em
ployment are found 0- for men
with families. There Is not a suffi
cient expansion of agriculture In this
vicinity to justify the hope that It
will be adequate to support six thou
sand more people In trade in Ameri
cus. In fact we all know that it
will not do so. If we are to continue
to grow at the same rate we have
grown during the present decade
there must be avenues of employment
opened up here that are not now In
existence.
That is the question pf most vital
importance to Americus, the question
industries where the- boys now
growing up can find employment, and
here incoming strangers can also
secure the means of a livelihood and
cast in their lot with us in building
up the city. Unless we secure such
establishments there is no reason
to believe the' city will enjoy anything
but a small growth, or stand still
In population while Improving its
appearance.
Now we know there Is no citizen
of Americus who wishes the town
to become stationary. All long for its
continued development in population;
in wealth, In beauty. And there Is
no reason why Such natural aspira
tions should not be gratified. There
Is no reason why Americus should not
grow fully as rapidly as any other
city in Georgia. All that Is needed
is for our people to pull together, to
work with determination to secure
industries, to help men to lofiate here
In manufacturing lines. If that policy
Is adhered to fruit must come,
All that Is needed Is to secure the
first one or two industries. Take the
proposed factory for the manufacture
of gas and electric fixtures, for In
stance. "We understand that what
Is asked is a site and practical
emptton from taxes for a term of
five years. Americus certainly could
offer that. That especial industry
calls for highly skilled and well paid
labor. It would mean a desirable
class of citizens. Such an opportun
ity should not be allowed to pass,
If this Industry could bo located here
it Is Inevitable that another Industry
would soon follow it. Nothing suc
ceeds like success, and the old adage
applies to the location of Industries
in a cl,ty as much as to any other
sphere of activity. Get one factory
or mill and another jylll surely fol
low It.
"We must be awake and doing. That
Is all there Is to it. We have
many mercantile businesses now as
the city and county can carry. We
need pay rolls, we need money
turned looso every week or twice
month. Then we will have the very
best city In all Georgia,
Atlanta has sent out a sensation In
'the way of an attempted street car
robbery. As the alleged robbers did
mot try to get any money, the story
must be put down to the press agent
In large measure. y
Judge Spence, who Is credited with
saying at Newton that one of his
’ Juries was composed of citizens worse
•Than tbs defendants, denies that he
.nsed any such language. In one of
•the cases which are said to have
-brought out this expression, he says
. that he commended the Jury, and In
the other ue was only midly crlttcis-
., Sensationalism is’ still the long
. „salte ot some correspondents.
In the list of game bagged in the
Maine woods this season Is an Item
of thirteen human beings. It Is said
that the slaughter was unusually
large. ,
A bill has been Introduced to in
crease the President's salary to $100,-
000 and the vice-president's to $50,-
000. The Jobs will be worth hustling
for after a while, almost as good as
the presidencies of railroads and life
Insurance' companies.
The Atlanta Georgian chivalrously
Insists that the woman who was the
sunshine of a man’s life before he
married her is only maintaining such
a reputation when she makes things
hot for him afterwards.
Editors are comings to see Presi
dent-elect’Taft at Augusta as repre
sentatives of the various cities in
the South which want to get a hear
ing with the new Chief Executive. It
Is said to be the plan of Mr . Taft
not to leave Augusta except la very
special cases.
CONGRESS SHOULD NOT HALT
. Now that members of Congress
and representatives of the press have
had more opportunity to go oyer the
mass of matter sent to Congress
the President In his recent message
on the alleged Panama Canal scan
dal It Is found that there Is much
less supporting evidence for the
President’s broad claims than was
at first- supposed. As a matter
fact it Is pointed out that no light,
after all, is thrown upon the really
vital question as to who got the $40,
00,000. There Is no list given that
would throw any information upon
this question, and no genuine data
presented that would enable the peo
ple, or their representatives, to de
cide whether there 'really was graft
In the business or not.
There will always remain a shadow
of suspicion upon the entire Panama
Canal transaction unless the matter
Is gone thoroughly into by Con
gress. There Is a strong feeling
throughout the country that behind
all the smoke lies fire, and that It
the business ot Congress not to ac
cept vehement denials from any
soiftce but to proceed with a pains
taking and most thorough Investiga
tion here and abroad that will
move any and all possible suspicions’
or place the guilt, If there is any
guilt, directly where It belongs.
It is certainly to be hoped that the
Panama Canal scandal will not'
lost sight of in the differences
tween the President and Congress
growing out of his gratuitous insult
to the legislators anent the extension
o ftho use of the Secret Service, and
in the debate's that will probably en
sue from the reopening of
Brownsville incident. These are mat
ters ot minor Importance, after
compared with the charges that have
been bandied about for several
years as to Improper and underhand’
ed dealings connected with the pur
chase of the Panama Canal.
Chicago News.
A sensible man is one who knows
when to let go before taking hold.
“He’s a corporation lawyer,” was
the terrific accusation that was hurl-
e3 against Senator Knox when he was
made attorney general. In that high
office he acquitted himself in a man
ner that established him In the con
fidence of tile people, demonstrated
the superb quality ot his professional
equipment for the office—immeasur
ably superior to that of the present
incumbent—and prepared the public
to receive with satisfaction the an
nouncement of his election to - the
Senate.
Now comes the official statement
that he is to be the premier of the
Taft administration, the next Secre
tary of State,, and the one man in the
cabinet more than any other on whom
President Taft will rely for advioe.
That he will be as' eminently success
ful in the Department of State as he
was in the office of Attorney-General
one questions. That he will be a
orthy successor to the long line
brilliant and able men who have
shed lustre upon the Department
throughout its history is accepted by
American people as a foregone
conclusion..
And yet genator Knox was that
terrible monster “a corporation law-
He. actually represented great
companies with enormous capitaliza
tion and employing armies of men.
defended them in the courts, he
represented them before legislative
bodies, he drafted their contracts, he
protected and promoted their rights,
gave to them the best that was
his in a mental way, but he did. not
give to them his soul, his honor, his
fair name. He was a corporation at
torney by the very virtue of his vast
ability. Corporations do not seek
mediocre men to represent them,
they do not sdek shifty, indifferent,
dishonest practictioners. They waijj
men of unquestioned standing, men
whose position at the bar is above
reproach or suspicion, men who carry
weight with judges and juries
much by their character as by their
ability. Knox was a man of this
type.
The time has fortunately
passed
ex * wjien a howl arose from one end of
the country to the other because "a
corporation lawyer” has been Selected
for high official position, it is recog
nized now that the finest brains the
country has is in the service of cor
porations, that corporations, through
the vast number of stockholders they
have, are really public Institutions in
more ways than by the service they
render to the people, and that a cor
poration lawyer may serve the high
cst Interests of the public in his ser
vice to his employlbg corporation. The
country is actually congratulating It
self upon the fact that this former
corporation lawyer Is to take the
position at the ‘right hand of the
President. And associated with him
in the cabinet will be other men who
are now, or have been, "corporation
lawyers.” And- the country, fortun
ately for Its own common sense and
future welfare, Is not tearing its hair
In a frenzy and predicting all sorts
of dire calamities because of this
fact.
POSTAL SAVINGS BANK
CWashtngton Post.)
Whether the postal savings bank
clause was put into the Republican
platform to forestall the govern
ment guarantee of national bank de
posits, or whether thft latter was
put forward as an advanced bid
over the former. matters little.
Neither ‘party was honeBt In its de
claration, and tho whole object was
to catch ignorant voters.
The assumption is that the peo
ple are Incapable of taking care of
themselves: that when thqy have
money they do not know what to do
with It. and that a paternal gov
ernment must take them In ward, ad
minister on their affairs, and Invest
their money. It. Is the passion the
American people have been Inoculat
ed with to govern, govern.
Suppose a postal, savings bank
established and every postofflee
made jl depository. Timid folk will
remove their deposits from the
hanks we now have to the Injury, 11
not the If of thousands of worthy
financiers, who do so much to ad
vance the material prosperity
the people. If It be good for
government to take care of part of
the money of the people, why Is it
not better for the government to
take care of all the money of
people? _ ■ , .
One argument is that England has
postal savlngB banks, and that is
true; but thpy report a deficit year
by year, and If conservative Eng
land, where life Is comparatively
slow and the quill pen has not yet
vanished before the typewriter in
hanking Institutions—if England
cannot Invest the savings of her
people to advantage, how is it possi
ble for a government whose people
are as widely scattered as ours and
so fond of get-rlch-qulck enterprises
to providently manage the hundreds
of millions that would pour Into the
public coffers?
There Is now Idle In the banks
more money than business de
mands. If the banks cannot find
customers, where Is the government
to find them? It Is not the office
of our government to lend money.
It Is a natural-born borrower of
money, and today It owes a billion,
and here It is proposed to make It a
banker, when it already has too
many Irons in the fire.
Attorney-General Bonaparte an
nounces that the Department of Jus
tice still has under consideration ac
tions for criminal libel against those
editors President Roosevelt regards as
having, “libeled the government.”
Tile 'libels, If there were any, were
not against the people of the United
States, for whom the government
merely stands. They were against
certain Individuals, Charles Taft, bro
ther of President-elect Taft, Doug
lass Robinson, brother-in-law o
President Roosevelt, Cromwell, the
promoter of the Panama Canal deal
and others to whom the courts of the
land are all open under the ordinary
procedure of law it they have been
libeled, criminally or otherwise.
It Is a very-far strained construction
that President Roosevelt puts upon
“the government..” When did the
President's brother-in-law, the presi
dent elect's step-brother, promoter
Cromwell, et al., become "the govern
ment" of the United States. No won
der Attorney-General Bonaparte is
still "considering'^ the best manner
In which to bring the libel suits. The
Attorney-General recently had a very
severe set back In certain Florida
peonage cases. He doubtless does
not aspire to have another Judge dis
miss a case brought by him with
equal contempt for the Attorney-Gen
eral's legal methods.
The time for the crime of “lese rua-
jeste” has not yet come in this coun
try. The "divinity that doth hedge
about” the president does not yet ex
tend to his brother-in-law, the presi
dent-elect’s half-brother, and their al
leged companions in a business deal.
The country knows that. Tho country
Is not yet prepared to believe that it
is the duty of the government
prosecute libel cases for private in
dividuals, , no matter if they may
have been grossly wronged. If Presi
dent Roosevelt's .mischievous ideas
had full swing no criticism ot public
acts would be tolerated. To criticise
or condemn or Impeach or suspect the
acts of a member of the official fam
ily, or any one of near kin, would be,
if such a procedure as • Roosevelt
desires were possible, the signal to
turn loose all the power of the gov
ernment to prosecute, harrass, annoy,
damage and punish those guilty
of having denounced Improper public
acts or directed attention to their
suspicious character.
It will be an evil day for the Amer
ican people when such an Idea su
this Is allowed to Becure' a foothold
when the press and public must fall
prostrate before officialdom and its
family and business conectlons, and
close Its eyes and cars to their do
ings for fear of governmental prose
cutions, or persecutions, for libel.
Even In Germany they don't go quite
that far. Even Russian conditions
could be no worse.
If Messrs. Taft, Robinson, Crom
well, et. al., have been libeled they
have the same recourse In the courts
that other citizens have. The govern
ment, as an Institution representing
the entire people of the United States,
hns absolute?} nothin-; to do with it.
Such Incidents as this will make
thoughtful mn:i everywhere hall the
coming of Mar.-.b 4, next and liic nd
cut of an adm'iiutt&tlnn headed by
u calm, conse-vatlve, judicial and
highly trained mind. The country is
not apt to hear of any government
prosecutions for libel under the Taft
administration. Attorney General
Bonaparte will doubtless keep “con
sidering” until that time and the in
cident will then be closed save as It
remains
for a closer restraint upon the exe-
cutiA than has been maintained dur
ing the rsst seven yi'rs.
Miserable by Kidney and
Bladder Tronble.
Kidney trouble preys upon the mind,
discourages and lessens ambition; beautr*
vigor add cheerful!
ness soon disappear
when the kidneys are
out of order or dis
eased.
Kidney trouble has
become so prevalent
, that it is riot uncom-
f ltion for a child to lie
|=- born afflicted with
weak kidneys. If the
child urinates tooof ten, if the urine scalds
the flesh, or if, when the child reaches an
age when it should be able to control the
passage, it is yet afflicted with bed-wet
ting, depend upon it, the cause of the iliffi.
culty is kidney trouble, and the first
step should be towards the treatment of
these important organs. This unpleasant
trouble is due to a diseased condition of
the kidneys and bladder and not to a
habitus most people suppose.
Women as well as men are made miser
able with kidney and bladder 'trouble,
and both need the same great remedv.
The mild and the immediate effect of
Swamp-Root is soon realized^ Jtis sold
by druggists, in fifty-
cent and one-dollari
size bottles. You may [
have a sample bottle _
by mail free, also a Home et Swimp-Boot
pamphlet telling all about Swamp-Root,
including many of the thousands of testi
monial letters received from sufferers
cured. In writing Dr. Kilmer & Co.,
Binghamton, N. Y., be sure and mention
this paper. Don’t make any mistake,
but remember the name, Swamp-Root,
Dr. Kilmer’s Swamp-Root, and the ad
dress, Binghamton, N, Y„ on every
bottle.
DANGERS OF ESPIONAGE SYSTEM
In the bands of an especially dom
ineerlng, or exceedingly ambitious, or
not overly scrupulous, President, the
Secret Service system might speedily
degenerate Into an adjunct of exe- age( j j n jj, e wood,
cutlve power positively dangerous to
a republican system of government.
Permission to use the government
detective force—for that Is' 'all the
Secret Service is—In whatever man
ner the executive power sees fit
direct, would open the way for abuses
that might speedily become intoler
able. An executive with a recalcitrant
Congress on hlB hands, a House whose
members as representatives of the
people refused to legislate to suit the
plans of the President, might—and
who can say that he would not—ime
the Secret Service to pry out private
secrete, to secure facts damaging
Congressmen to be held over their
heads like a big stick to compel sub
mission to executive domination. Such
a thing might not happen, but then
It also might. Many things have
happened which twenty years ago
would have been deemed equally
Improbable as this.
All Congressmen are not paragons
of personal purity, even though they
may be absolutely honest in all their
public dealings-and entirely faithful
to the trust imposed In them by their
constituents The use of the .Secret
Service to Investigate their private
lives, to secure a club to hold them in
line with, would inevitably come if
the detective corps referred to is to
he made entirely subservient to ex
ecutive orders. It might not come in
teu or twenty years, It might come
sooner, but such evils are an inevit
able outgrowth of continued usurpa
tion of power. Executive usurpation
speedily breeds contempt for legisla
tive Interference with executive plans.
Ten or twenty years ago the country
would have been Intensely shocked at
the Idea of the government threaten
ing to institute Butts for criminal li
bel in behalf of private parties con
nected by ties of kinship with the na
tional administration. Yet today such
threat Is In fact made in a message
sent to Congress, under the specious
plea that the "government has been
libeled." 'With, executive views and
policies taking such a course as this,
who can accurately prophesy what it
may or may not do- in the future If
further power and more adequate
weapons are placed In Its hands?
The country since the last Democra
tic administration has been drifting
rapidly away from the old time moor
ings. Democratic Ideas are swiftly
being left behind. We now sec the
executive denouncing Judges who fall
to render opinions to please the White
House, denouncing Individual Rep-
representatives who fail to view
public measures as the White House
does, denouncing newspapers that
venture to'criticise and demand in
vestigation of alleged improper tran
sactions, and ftnally Insinuating that
Congress in its entirety Is a cor
rupt body whose members are fearful
of investigation at the hands of the
Secret Service.
Patronage has long been used
mi efficient weapon, but If to this
to be added the spy system, the pri
vate note book to Which the dally
movements and actions of CongreM-
men are to be carefully collated, tees
the country will have taken a_ low
step forward to a government that in
Its essential features will be
With
Presl-
above that of Russia ■
dents selecting their successors, dom
reminder .1 II,• nrn.,.11, STiiS"*""* »■
needs an awakening.
Newspaper!! are publishing cowld
crablo stuff as to the outfit
veil will take to Africa «*»■**“
tion against death from snake bite
in not a single list do we find «i
only Infallible remedy, good ol
GOUGH
REM
&5S8S&