The Montgomery monitor. (Mt. Vernon, Montgomery County, Ga.) 1886-current, August 02, 1917, Image 1
Wtp Utmttiunnmi Monitor* VOL. XXXII. Questionable Methods in ■ New County Scheme Details of the summer row in Atlanta never reach the country people. They only know, in a general way, that the business men of Soperton, aided by Mr. N. L. Gillis of Emanual county, president of the Bank of Soperton and owner of other interests in J that town, have for several years ’ endeavored to have the Assembly i give them the upper part of Montgomery county. For many years the citizens of this county were wont to assemble in Atlanta to defend their rights, and after i spending thousands of dollars in the effort to gain recognition, seem to have reposed enough con-! fidence in the Assembly of Georgia as to feel that their rights will yet come to the recognition of the Assembly, and that the county may be spared from final ruin ation. Os the intrigues resorted to, year after year, some are of the most diabolical—some beyond mention. Some seem favored with success; others stupefied with rot, aid in the downfall of the promoters of the new county schemes; and while similar in stances could be recited in con nection with the new county ef forts in general, (there being not less than half a dozen pending) a brief reference to the hearing of the Treutlen county bill before the senate committee July 25, in which the bill was given a favor able report, will be of interest to the country people who have lit tle or no opportunity of knowing how their rights are being robbed by outsiders. The Treutlen county promoters had their argument presented by Judge B. T. Rawlings of Sanders ville, many other employes standing by to see that it was done according to approved meth ods—an outsider telling the Sen ate what should be done and what should not be done with Montgomery county, and an argument to which the committee' assented by a vote of nine to three. As far as could be judged by impartial spectators, Judge Rawlings’ plea contained but two points, as follows: That Mr. D. | A. Mcßae of Mt. Vernon, one of the wealthiest men in Montgom- j ery county, while in Atlanta at the time, had refused to attend; the hearing, thereby giving his j consent to the creation of Treut len county, individualizing the ■ plot as formerly, and absolutely j ignoring the wishes of the people, j The second point enunciated through the vaporings of the Judge was that Montgomery county was 20 miles wide and 50 miles long (equivalent to 1000 square miles). This fake idea as; to the area of Montgomery coun- • ty was also rammed down the throats of the House committee a few days ago by the Judge. Arguments against the Treut- 1 len county outrage were made by Senator M. T. Rhiner, Represen tative I. S. Woods and Dr. C. E. l Rhiner of Emanuel. The Mont gomery county side of the argu ment was presented by H. B. Folsom, who, after showing the enormity of the scheme of ruina-i tion, presented the committee : with a written statement from the Hudgins Co., Atlanta, show-j ing that this company surveyed Montgomery county in 1914, that it contains 374.5 square miles, 1 and that the same company had just measured the proposed' Treutlen county part, as stated in the bill pending, and that the new county, if made, would take from Montgomery 131.57 square miles. Editor Folsom recited how the county had been cut: three times in the past twelve years, together with other statis-; tics, which should be of interest and value, and with which the Assembly, as a body, is familiar, by reason of the years of presen tation. Evidently the issues have been lost sight of: it is simply a ques | tion of lopping off the northern ' part of Montgomery county for the benefit of Mr. Gillis (of Emanuel county) and his busi ness associates in Soperton, or al lowing Montgomery county, or rather the pauperized remnant, to remain, with the feeble spark of vitality still burning. No representative has been elected by Montgomery county on the new county issue, while the people at one time voted against the creation of Treutlen county. In last year’s campaign there were promised that the question would be voted on in the Novem ber election, but after the present representative was nominated, this privilege was withdrawn, and as a result the people of Montgomery county were again victimized, and the special inter est again placed in the saddle. If these facts are disputed, against the presence of about thirty or more men, The Mont gomery Monitor will reveal to the Montgomery county public, and to the people of Georgia, some of the dastardly schemes put forth by the advocates of Treutlen; county, sparring neither the rich nor the poor, including bold efforts at bribery, political chicanery at the expense of the people ot Mont gomery county, and graft in gen eral. Whether or not Treutlen • county is made, by whatever methods, The Montgomery Mon itor purposes to see that the peo ple, who, heretofore, have been misled to the extent of having been deprived of their rights, have some voice in the matter. Must this injustice still exist? How long can the Assembly tol erate falsehood and injustice? | How long must the people of ' Montgomery county be made to suffer for the greedy whims of a few individuals? Georgia has ; seen Montgomery county people j hemmed in by corruption and in ; famy, her people maligned beyond ; measure, with a loss of her terri : tory year after year, with thein j fernal demand still existing in ! the face of truth, liberty, and patriotism? Does Montgomery j county care, or is she still en | titled to some consideration ? 1 Yes. Does Georgia care, or does she still consider Montgomery county worthy of preservation, to the extent of snatching her as a firebrand from iniquitous hands? I God save Montgomery county, I and Georgia, from the new county 'craze—from the hands of men who would rob a commonwealth j for individual gain. Macon Man Ends : Life with Pistol. j Macon, Ga., July 29. —W. O. Wright, salesman for a local wholesale grocery concern and former city license inspector, shot himself through the right ; temple at his home, 712 Main | street, East Macon, and died within ten minutes, i Since , last May, when Mr. i Wright underwent an operation 1 for appendicitis, he had been in poor health and recently he had ; suffered with malarial fever 1 which is thought to have affect :ed his mind. Members of his family say he had been worrying recently about the loss of his home, which was | destroyed by fire. Mr. Wright was widely known • in fraternal circles, especially the ; I. O. O. F. MT. VERNON, GEORGIA. THURSDAY. AUGUST 2, 1917. | FLANDERS TRENCHES LOST BY THE BRITISH •••• : ' . ..v........ ■■ ■ -W.\ —v.-.v-x— .. ... ---• ■ - \„V.. ~V..v■:(^ Ouo of the trenches lu West Flanders from which the Germans recently drove the British. Married at Parsonage Last Tuesday Evening. Tuesday evening at the Method ist parsonage in Mt. Vernon, Mr. Willie G. McDonald of Ailey and Miss Vela Thompson, residing south of Ailey, were happily mar ried, the Methodist minister, Rev. John Hudson, performing the ceremony. While the event was in the na ture of a surprise affair, some of the Ailey friends received a wire less message announcing the ap proaching marriage and drove ! over in time to witness it. The bride is a daughter of the late G. J. Thompson and Mrs. Thomp son and a sister of the Messrs. Thompson, well known business men of Ailey and vicinity. She is a young lady of grace and un usual domestic attainment. Mr. McDonald is recognized as one of the best men in Montgomery county, being a successful farmer and business man. For about a year he has resided in Ailey. He is to be congratulated on having won so estimable a bride. Success and happiness to them. They left yesterday morning for a trip after which they will be at home to their friends in Ailey. Services Sunday at Presbyterian Church. The pastor, Rev. D. A. McNeill, being absent in South Carolina on account of special services which he conducted at his old home, Red Springs, services at the Mt. Vernon Presbyterian church next Sunday morning will be conducted by Mr. Ben D. Brantley of Black shear. The public is cordially in vited to attend. Mr. Brantley is recognized as one of the strongest Presbyterian laymen in the South, and his dis courses are listened to with gen eral interest, not by the Presby terian alone, but by church peo ple of all denominations. Regular morning service at 11 o’clock. It Ought to Lose Out, Gentlemen. (From Wrightsville Headlight.) Your honorable body will commit an unmistakable error if you allow the creation of Treutlen county. You will do a grave in justice to Emanuel, to Johnson and to Montgomery counties as a whole and to Montgomery county in particular. You will do a few a great political favor to pass |he bill at the expense of these three counties but let us encourage the hope that in your wisdom and judgment you will not be misguided, deluded and lobbied into such a disastrous move. Paid lobbyists are at work, wealthy citizens are spending the cash and innumerable efforts are being made to take almost all of j Montgomery county, a tremendous {slice from Emanuel and 35 j square miles and a half million dollars of taxable property from the i good old county of Johnson. The people of Emanuel and the citizens! of Johnson, 95 per cent, of each, bitterly oppose the creation of Treutlen county no matter what anybody says to the contrary. Adrian, Scott, Swainsboro and Stillmore want to see you defeat Treutlen county. Montgomery is gasping for free air in which to breathe, Emanuel desires no more cuts and Johnson is already too small to be cut and slashed and the whole Treutlen proposition is a direct slap iu the face of all three counties. Therefore for these reasons, gentlemen, and for many others which the people are ask- j ing you to give a listening ear to, beg of you that you do not pass | the bill creating Treutlen county. I Making a Tour of South Georgia Counties. Messrs. D. H. Burney and John T. Brantley of Blackshear, representing the A. P. Brantley Co., of which Mr. Brantley is the junior member, were here a few hours yesterday, mingling with friends and patrons. This is one of the largest manufacturing plants in South Georgia, making fertilizers and handling sea island cotton in every form, as far as crude product is concerned. This business, established by the late B. D. Brantley, Sr., has been in existence since 1857, being now in its sixtieth year, and is well and favorble known through -1 out the South. Mr. Rurney has been with the company for thirty-five or forty years, and is a regular visitor to Montgomery county. These gen tlemen are making a tour of the South Georgia counties, casually meeting their patrons, and view ing the croD prospect, which they consider very good. Reported Seaboard May Buy G., F. & A. Bainbridge, Ga., July 30.—The threatened strike on the Georgia, Florida and Alabama railway may result in the sale of this line to the Seaboard Air Line, according to report in circulation here. The report has been widely cir culated, but as the officials of both lines live elsewhere it has been impossible to confirm the report. The sale would mean the loss of the general offices and shops to Bainbridge and with them would go a payroll amounting to several thousand dollars a month. Most of the trainmen also live in Bainbridge and the change would take them to other places. The sale would, however, benefit the section covered by the Georgia, Florida and Alabama in the mat ter of train service if the Sea board would use it to connect its line from Columbus to Richland with the one from Tallahassee to Jacksonville, thus giving through train service, as it is said is con templated in the event of the purchase by the Seaboard. WILL THE ASSEMBLY SAVE MONTGOMERY? Will You Allow Montgomery to Exist? To the General Assembly of Georgia:— The people of Montgomery county plead for the existence of the county. They cannot curb the ambition of a few business men, seeking a vast amount of its already scant and impoverished terri tory, but as Georgians, with the same burdens and patriotic obli gations as other citizens, respectfully ask the mere privilege of ex isting as the small remainder of that which was ONCE one of the best counties in South Georgia. The people of Montgomery county have SOME hope left, despite the ravages of the new county craze, which, in the past twelve years has circumscribed its bounds to 374.5 square miles, with the Oconee river swamp the entire western boundary line, leaving approximately 300 square miles of tillable land. Montgomery Has Done Her Share. Any conservative man will agree that Montgomery county is al ready small; and likewise any Georgian should know that Mont gomery county, after having been cut THREE times since 1905, has already done more than her pai t toward supplying counties for the benefit of a limited number of business men and office-seekers. What more could be asked? Has as much EVER been exacted from any other Georgia county? Verily no! Toombs was created partly from Montgomery, with 80 souare miles in 1095 and 15 square miles added in 1907; in 1912 the ENTIRE county of Wheeler was made from Montgomery, taking 293 square miles, all of this AGAINST the wishes of the people. And now, without opportunity of re gaining these losses, it is proposed to rob the county of 131.57 square miles toward the creation of Truetlen county —a movement promulgated absolutely by former Senator N. L. Gillis of Emanuel county, who owns considerable property in the northern part of Montgomery county. Where are the Rights of the People? With the issues worn threadbare, with a horde of paid lobbyists howling for the creation of Treutlen county, an institution which would mean nothing to them, aside from the dollars turned over during each summer, where do the rights of the people of Mont gomery county enter? There is no avenue of approach save through the conscience and manhood of the General Assembly of Georgia, who, in refusing to be made parties to this travesty, have not only served Montgomery, for a number of years without impartial rep resentation, but will have served Georgia, in preserving one of its counties which has already been victimized until the very mention of another new county has become a nightmare to its people. Individual Benefits or County Progress. Gentleman, do you stand for individual interests, against good roads? Are you willing to benefit private individuals instead of aiding Montgomery county to maintain a good system of schools? Must the increased values of any one man be put above the progress of a county? The further division of Montgomery county, accord ing to the demands of the Treutlen county advocates, would most certainly sink it below the self-sustaining mark; likewise the crea tion of Treutlen county would establish an insignificant common wealth, the present generation of whose people could not put it in tangible civic form by reason of a lack of tax values. Montgomery county, exclusive of the railroads, has far less than $3,000,000 in tax values, the northern part of the county having one railroad and some of its best towns. This means that the remainder would be left with practically nothing—five or six thousand people and less than two million dollars worth of property. Vital Interest or Local Squabbles. It matters NOT if the people are divided politically, with nine tenths of the offices filled by Treutlen advocates; it matters not what methods have been resorted to to gain this power; let the people of Montgomery county labor for their own salvation, if by methods too questionable to unfold. The Assembly of Georgia has ALREADY been called on to settle more Montgomery county squabbles than have gone up from any other county in the state. These questions are but childish prattle, compared with the life of a Georgia county, such as Montgomery still is. Which the Winner—Power or Virtue. Gentlemen: The question is simply this: Can your body, un der oath, having the interest of Georgia at heart, afford to turn ov er the fate of Montgomery county to the whims of a few business promoters because they employ smooth-tongued men from other sections to ask it of you, while our people, gagged by superior fi nancial powers, have to remain at home and wait their fate? The law of God forbids it; the law of the land is against it; the soul and conscience of the Assembly of Georgia should NOT allow it. Mont gomery county, as a shorn lamb, pleads for the last drop of its life blood. Will you take it, or will you bind up her wounds, that she may still exist? 17th Engineers On Way to Board Ship. Atlanta, July 28.—The Seven-j teenth Regiment of Engineers, Colonel John S. Sewell command- j ing, Friday was speeding to an | Atlantic port preparatory to em barking for service in France. ; The regiment left Atlanta, where; it trained, Thursday afternoon.; A crowd of some 800 saw the boys depart and bade them god speed. Mrs. Sewell, wife of the colonel, following the departure of the regiment, told reporters that she, too, was going to France in a few weeks to be near her husband. A Fine Suggestion. This town should have a home market place for every single pro-j duct of the farm, large or small. It should be a place where the farmer can dispose of his produce at market prices and for spot cash, without the trouble and ) waiting incident to shipping to |outside points.—Fayette ville News. j Services at Ailey. The protracted services at the Methodist church in Ailey will ! continue through the week. Ti e pastor, Rev. J. N. Hudson, is be !ing assisted by Rev. M. W. Car michael, pastor of the Methodist church at Vidalia, and consider able interest has been shown in 1 the services. The presiding elder, Rev. L. W. Colson, will preach Sunday morning, 11 o'clock and at night. The quarterly conference will be held Monday morning. Macon Lad Killed By an Automobile. Macon, Ga., July 29. Riley Lindsey 6-year-old son of Mrs. W. F. Lindsey, of this city, died early today of injuries received when he was struck late yester day by an automobile driven by Dr. J. W. Cowart, of Walden. The boy’s skull was crushed, He was crossing a street near his home, when the car struck him. Witnesses said the acci jdent was unavoidable. NO. 14.