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* + * + * * GEORGIA NEWS? *■ sAa Epitomized Items of Interest Gathered at Random. Secret Orders to Celebrate. The Fourth of July will be celebrat ed by The secret orders of Atlanta at Ponce de Leon Springs. Arrangements for the celebration have already been made, and it is probable that it will be The largest Fourth of July celebra tion that has ever been held in the South. * * * Commission Urges Reformatory. Strong reference to thr necessity for a state reformatory for youthful crim inals is made by the prison commis sion in its annual report, which has just been sent to the printer. T'here is a measure now pending be fore the legislature providing for an Investigation of toe reformatory ques tion. with a view to taking some ac tion at this suion. * * * Slaton Is Commuted. Governor Terrell, on recommenda tion of the prison commission, has commuted from the death penalty to life imprisonment the sentence of Jack Slaton, colored. Who was convict ed of the murder of a negro woman In Wilkes county, and sentenced to die on the gallows. This case has been pending for some time and one or two respites have been granted in order to | allow time for a proper consideration of the case. * * * New Electric Line Proposed. The latest railroad talk is that ilie electric company of Gainesville will run a line to Homer, Banks county, via White Sulphur Springs, Gillsville, Commerce to Homer. A meeting has been held at Homer and the puc » c there are enthusiastic over the pros pects of securing railroad facility.s. They stand willing to pledge large subscriptions and to* secure the right of way fo>- the line. * * Still Waiting for Their Money. Can a dead man be adjudicated a bankrupt? This is a question, being freely asked by attorneys interested in the affairs of the late R. H. Plain estate, and an answer to this question will determine just about when the hundreds of widows and orphans, poor people and rich will get whit is com ing to them from the I. C. Plant’s Son Bank. Since the collapse of the two banks the depositors of the private institu tion have waited patiently for the af fairs of the dead banker to be straight ened out by the receiver. * Raided Treasury First Day. Members of the legislature, or at least some of them, sw'ooped down upon the state treasury on the first day of the session and drew there from the sum of $280. Some of the members apologized to Treasurer Park for seeming eager ic> get their pay, hut stated that they needed the mon ey. Another delegation of solans call ed at the treasury on the second day and drew two days' pay. From now un til the close of the session there will he lively times in the treasury de partment, and the officials there will be busy paying out money and keep ing a record of it. ❖ * * Quota of Troops Cut Down. An order recently isued cutting Georgia's quota of soldiers from 2.200 to 1,500. and cutting the time of their presence on the Gettysburg battle field 15 to 16 days is the obstacle which seems now to stand in the way of the Georgia troops, and which will likely debar them from participation in the maneuvers. Much correspondence is now going on between the adjutant general’s of fice and the different commanders in the sta.e and the war department at Washington in an effort to have a contingent from the Georgia stare troops present. I * * # Farmers’ Institutes. An interesting and valuable meas ure that has made its appearance in the house is that by Mr. Leigh, of Cow eta, providing for the establishment anu maintenance in Georgia of a sys tem of farmers’ institutes. This meas ure provides that a farmers’ insti tute shall be held in each senatorial district in the state annually, and that tihe sum of $2,500 shall be appro priated in addition to the $1,000 now guaranteed by the state university to pay the expenses of the director and the lecturers at these institutes. These institute® are to last not less than days in each senatorial district. Last year for the first time, ers’ institutes were held in each atorial district of the state. * * * State Owes Teachers $60,000. The $60,000 which is due the ers of Georgia by the state cannot paid for some time yet. The has informed State School sioner Merritt that no more payments can be made at present, as the eondi- ; tion of the rreaury is very much de- i pleted, and with the legislature in sev | iiloa, it will take nevly all The money that is coming in to meet the I demands of the sole ns; j On that account the teachers .•in have io wait until the treasury get ; an overplus before they get that $;-0 j 000. Many of the pedagogs have be- ! gun a complaint to the stau houl commissioner, but he is powertes in the matter. If a loan is made by the ate. it is I likely that the teachers will be paid, I but borow the governor docs not want to ! | any money unless it is ahso lately necessary. No Increase in Pensions. ! * Commissioner of Pensions Lindsay j ! announces that it will not be- neees- ! sary for the legislature to increase j j ; the appropriation for pensions for the j r- ar siln!fican 1 lb ft"™' H ! t S S f. * t * 1 i” ,n :,i v i n u 1,1 aMOU appropriations .'V, *... ; j i)].i> grow css ..mil io year, i Not that the state of Georgia will to ; < joice over the tact, but it does , not stancl , to reason that ...... the old ,, . heroes 1 . who , wore the ,, gray will ... live much , ' longer, , and , every year now- will ... wit- ! ness their , , gradual passing away. | i The amount , needed , , fur - next year j will ... be . $85,000. AAA Commissioner . . Lindsay . . , ; . busy with ... , his . rolls „ for - next , year is and , wall ... be . engaged , in . getting 0 ... them ,, m shape tor some time , to - come. : 1 * * * Corporation Tax Bill. The feature of Frday’s session o 1 the house was the passage by a vot of 125 to 3 of a bill providing for tin appointment by the comptroller gti oral of a board of state tax asses sors. The bill, in substance, calls for the appointment by the comptroller gen eral of three disinterested persons whose duly it shall be to assess all corporation property in the state which is new returned to the office of the comptroller general. The assessors shall have the power to summon wit nesses and to examine hooks, and the valuation which they shall place on any corporation!! property shall be final and not subject to appeal. Ir, is ihe purpose of the bill to ap ply only to the property in the state owned by corporations. * The Georgia Educational Association. The Georgia Educational Associa tion at its closing session in Warm Springs elected cffireis for next year as follows: G. F. Oliphant ,of Barnesville. pres ident: M. M. Park, of Milledgeville,first vice president; Miss Ella Mitchell, of Sandersvllle, second vice president; M. L. Brittain, of Fulton, treasurer. E. B. Mell, of Athens, the present secretary, was elected for a term of three years. The time and place of the next meeting will be selected by the exec tive committee. The committee on legislation for the summer school at Athens was contin ued in office. Pl is composed of .T. C. Woodward. G. F. Oliphant and W. M. Slaton. The educators heartily endorsed the local school taxation amendment pro posed for the constitution of Georgia. * * Want Negro Trops Disbanded. Inspector General William G. Obear, Georgia state trcapi, in his report, just filed wi'h Adjutant G enera! Harris, rec nnmends the mustering out of all the negro troops in the state. He deals at lengwi with the : abject and thinks that the question should be determin ed once and for all. Th? mustering out of the negro troops has been recom mended from time to time for the past several years, and the Georgia Officers’ Association in Savannah some time ago made a similar reccnieirdation. The negro troops drill fairly well, but they do not come up to the ether standards of efficiency. Besides it has cost the slate about $20,000 to equip these troops and it costs about $1,200 a year to maintain them. A bill passed by the legislature would he necessary to muster ihe troops, as the state law now says that there shall be a battalion oj col ored troops. These troops. Colonel Obear says, are absolutely useless to the state as the governor is unable to order them out anywhere when the services of troops are needed. -i- ^ County High Schools. Perhaps the most suggestive recom mendation of Governor Terrell in his message to the General Assembly was that providing for county high schools. Our educational system has never been completed. We have a common course ef seven years and a univer sity system, but between the two there is a gap of at least three Thousands of boys complete the school course and seeing ahead are satisfied and begin life poorly prepared for its duties. have heard of the college and its uable trainings, but find several, of preparation needed and no in the county that can help them. 1 the common school the boy learns his toots, the arts of reading, spoiling, of j accounting and of language. In the high school he gets breadth of view, technical training, cultural knowledge, j On their completing the elementary course as prescribed by the state board the pupils will enter the county j high school driving in daily or on Mon day and returning home on Friday. Co- j ! operative hoarding facilities will be provided so that board should not ex- i oeed $7 a month and much of This i can be provided from the products of j the home. English, history, agriculture, j Physical geography, physics will be i S iven their proper place in the eur riculum while the classics and math- I ematics will retain their just relation to the whole. I To establish these high school we I must have united community effort, The state should appoint a high school commission composed of the chancei ler of the university, the state school ! commissioner and one representative : citizen in e-ach eongre-sional district, | to have general supervision and to i gr , w j^ the local authorities in high ; c^hool matters. The state should set ! ! aside , • $‘2ol> » 0 - A e tor each , county . to , , be given to tnat Lign school matters. The state . i should , set aside ., $-m0 for each county to . , be . nrat ..... high schol, . . gnen „ to select- , ed , . by the ,, commission, . . which will best meet the ,. requirements .__, m curriculum, . . equipment, . , management and . . provision tor boarding students . , , trom the . conn i>J. . .... the selected high school would become , ______ an accredited ... . school-of , , the uni i-rsity, subject „ . , . to inspection. The plan would assure a high school in each county, it would prevent loss of time in the rural schools and con centrate the work so that it could be done successfully. The appropria tion would be sufficient inducement for acceptance by any progrf ive com munity when the prestige and added hoarding students are taken into con si deration. Ir would develop self help on the part of the communities and knit the parts of our educational sys tem together, carrying out the orig inal plans of our fathers T'iie plan has ” the .endorsement of the county sehool commissioners, of the teachers’ association, of Dr. True of the agrieul tural department at Washington and is in successful operation in several of the states. J. S. STEWART, PARKER MOST AVAILABLE MAN. --- So Decide Vermont Democrats in State Convention at Burlington. 1-he democrats . of . .. \ermont . at . their ., state convention ... Burlington „ on in Wednesdav aeclined to instruct the delegates to the national i. , convention .*. A , to for , the ,. nomination . of „ Judge T .__ vote Parker for president, but just adjournment a motion was adopted giving expression to the opinion that Judge Parker was the most candidate. The delegates were instructed to act as a unit on all questions, but were not bound outright to vote for the ,. .. New ... \ork man. VACATED SEAT LEADS TO MURDER. Fatal Affray Between Two Young Men Oc curs at a Picnic Gathering. At a picnic at Adrian, Ga., Friday, Ed Spivey, of Adrian, and Charles Hil ton, of Vidalia, became involved in t> fracas in which Spivey shot and in stantly killed Hilton. Spivey claims he shot in self-defense. His clothes were cut and a knife was found in the dead man's hands. The trouble was brought about by Hilton occupying a seat which Spivey had vacated for a short time to get some water. WISCONSIN GOV1RNOR IMPLACABLE. Declares His Faction Will Bolt the Action at Chicago Convention. Governor LaFolleite, of Wisconsin, says; “We are going before a higher court and I do not care what the credentials committee reported in Chicago. The situation is not understood there and the delegates did not want to learn. «> Our campaign is ready to go on and wo are ready to meet any move ment the ‘stalwarts’ may make. Our dependence is on the people.” HELEN KELLAR LOSING HEALTH. Gifted Deaf, Dumb and Blind Girl Student Breaks Down from Study. Miss Helen Kellar, the gifted deaf and dumb and blind student of Rad c.liffe college, Boston, has broken down and is reported to be on the verge of nervous prostration. It is believed she will get a degree with the class of 1904 in spite of her inability to fill all the requirements. Costly Blaze in Cleveland, Ohio. Fire at Cleveland Saturday, suppos ed to have been of incendiary origin, caused losses aggregating $300,000 in the lumber district lying along the riv er front. Several acres covered with big lumber pi’es were swept clean by flames. TERRELL’S MESSAGE To Georgia Legislative Assemblage. Summary oi Host Important Recommendations. Governor Terrell’s annual message to the general assembly of Georgia contains many timely suggestions, as the folowing extracts will show: “I call your attention to and invite your consideration of the growing sen t intent in our state in favor of placing around our primary elections every safeguard necessary to make them ab solutely fair in every particular. These elections are now practically the equivalent of general elections in Georgia, and no voter should he al lowed to vote therein unless consti tutionally and iir pursuance of law eligible to do so, and every vote de posited should be sacredly guarded, and with scrupulous honesty counted. “The scarcity of labor during the. growing and harvesting season has become a serious problem to the farm ers of Georgia, and similar conditions throughout the southern states have checked , , . the , production , ,. of cotton - „ Beyond j question it . . to is wise en ocurage the immigration . ... to our state “ of . thrifty American . . people. , This . has . * been the ... policy of „ western states, , , and . . growth , . wealth,productive ... , pow meir m er, ’ and , all ,, that , makes a common wealth , great, , has excited , the , wonder and , admiration , , . of ,. the . world. Imnn gration may be best through a state commission, and 1 recommend that one be established, * * * The railways of the west are working hard to induce our popula tion to leave us. Texas alone has 75, 000 Georgians. If we do not set. coun ter influences to work, the drain will increase, and the labor problem will 4 become far more serious than it is at present, “The inflexible rule of the consti tut ion which forbids the creation of any new county, has brought, about in some sections unexpected and unin tentional hardships. The matter is one calling for an appropriate amend ment bo the constitution providing for the creation of new counties up to a fixed limit, or by such other legislation as will meet a condition of serious and permanent hardship to many good citi zens who are entitled to relief. “In my message of November 8, 1902, your attention earnestly called to the propriety of exempting college „ ^endowments , . from taxation, ... where the fund is not , so invested . , , as to , come mto . , actual , . competition .... with ... the mis;ness and , commercial . , . interests . . f . other ,, citizens. ... 1 0 “I . _ wish . , x to urge again upon your ta vorable conmueration the question of agricultural schools, as presented m my message of November 8, 1902. I feel sure that, a thorough investiga ' tion of Ihc audition will convince you that such schools will supply, in a very large degree, the gap which now exists between our common .schools and the state university .. the School of Technology, and other colleges ! throughout the state. “With pardonable pride I think the state may look upon the continued im provement in her convict system. An I examination of the systems of other j states, where conditions are similar | to those in Georgia, will show that we : are far in the lead, “The act passed at your last'session disposing of the convicts for a period j of five years, commencing April 1. \ 1904, has been carried into effect, and j seems to be operating very satisfae ; tonly m those counties which met the , requirements ot the act for the work ing of such convicts. There is a pro * vision, ... however, in . section .. 4, . of - the , i act , to , winch .... I destre . to , call „ your spo cal attention and suggest the proprie tv of an amendment thereto. •__ The governor calls ,, special . , atten- ,. tion to the necessity of r equalization ..... of | ; tax returns . and . quotes . , irom . his . men of _ , last this ... subject. , . . ■ sage ° year on TROPHY GOES TO THE OREGON. \ Famous „ Battleship ,. Bears Oil the Honors in Gunnery Contest. It was officially determined by the navy department Wednesday that the ; battle ship Oregon was entitled to I the tr °P h y for excellence in gunnery in the last annual target practice for which the ships of the navy have been in competition and the award was or dered made accordingly. COUNTERFEITER RECEIVES SENTENCE. Given Thirty-Year Term But Wil! Serve Only Half of the Time. At St. Louis, Saturday, Marcus C. Craban, of Providence, R. I., pleaded guilty before Judge Elmer B. Adams in the United States district court, printing and uttering counterfeit bills, and was sentenced to fifteen years hard labor in the government prison at Atlanta, Ga., and to the of a $2,500 fine. The sentence imposed on Cralian was that he should serve fifteen on each charge, but he will be allowed to serv‘e two periods concurrently, making the total fifteen years. OVER THOUSAND DEAD] Thorough Investigation and hjj Reveals Fully the Extent 0 Steamer Slocum Disister. A Now York special lays that wards of 1,000 persons perisheQ I the burning of the excursion stead General Slocum is now- practically J tain. According to an exhaust made Saturday by Police It!) c °mmissi er Sehmitburger on the n umber dead, missing, injured and U ni D j in the disaster, it Up 7 appears tkr I bodies have been recovered and th 93 persons absolutely known to hj been aboard the vessel 1 ar e still counted for, bringing 1 , the total of t disaster up to 1,031. Those injured number 179 and the throng of fully 1,500 who embark on the excursion of St. Mark churr _ but 23G escaped without injury. * The report is the result of a ismii inquiry by a corps of 100 patrolai under the direction of the inspect uabie In the information course of the inquiry much v! was secured fr survivors vestigation which by the will district be used in the jj attorney disasteJ fix the responsibility of the A thorough examination afternoon] of the M of the Slocum Saturday I Coroners O’Gorman and Berry and n spector Albertson the resulted in the d| eovery in locker in which the fi started of a number of barrels wha had contained kerosene and lubricatia oil. WORK OF MISSISSIPPI MOB. Little Girl Assists in the Lynching of M Assailant. • Starling Durham, a negro, wantedq the charge of criminally assaultii the 14 year-old daughter of John Wi son, a white man, near Bcllefontais Miss., two weeks ago, and attempt to criminally sault three young-ladii named Dunn near Europe, all durii the course of the same day. was ban ed in the public square at Eupcr Miss., Sunday by a mob. The noose was paced about thepri oner's neck by the little Wilson gi | j who positively identified him as ii assailant. The negro was then plao | ; the back of large horse, upon a and the slgna‘froin the leader of the» 11 ,m “ !l Irom under him. Over 3,Q00 ’ persons, white and blac witnessed . the , . Hanging. Alter ben as sured . that the negro was dead, , , tl . i down the . turned i mob cut , , body , anu over to , relatives , . for „ , buna . , . _ . . . * ... ,, „ . , . , , , . { ,u " 10 ne "“ s 1 vv<1 I>m ts. p w,,.- < anmu to dw Saturday mgut ^ by the sheriff of IB a!n . f nf ot 6 l0! ’ " ‘ '* ' < c k '‘ n ‘ ,in f nit e ° s .° tn ntg, °; ,u! '/ r '! r i T ' spirited , him away ana earned him I the jail . at Walthall, six . miles dis,aa .. , where he was again met by a mob 6 determined men, who said their intei tion was to burn him. The officers in charge of the negr ■ ! succeeeded in prevailing upon the no to give up this intention, but only a! ter promising to deliver the negro t the mob Sunday morning for exec. l tion. There was a strong sentiment fd burning, but this was overcome as! the lynching took the form of a hang i j mg. I Dunham stoutly maint ame d his inm ' eenoe tQ Mu , , ap aM deni6d th3i . a had eyfer ‘ n th ^ ' W1ls0n ‘ _ 5rl He admitted . having . visited . Dunn place, , but , . denied , . , bad , , motive, .... H m i any > ,„o a (|mi M assemble about the point of execution. Tvnnhaii Duncan telling .. ,, them to . about . . a Q _, w h mi : tl ° never go , mans house when women were a j «ome , aione. , j I rhe three ,, _ Dunn sisters, . , the . eulesn t ,.. N I whom is less than 18, witnessed tb I lynching from the distance. i A special from Jackson. Miss., says Govern0r yardaman was not notifie ; <»f the capture of Starling Dunhai and his return to Eupora unti i Sul day afternoon. He immediately wire . the s , herift . of Wilson county if : were needed to protect the The lynching, however, had occu red before the governor was appraH that Dunham , h , ad been brought to Mississippi. I PLAN OF ATTACK BY JAPS. Russians Learn That Kai Chou Will B c 41 sailed from Two Sides. reports ree eivod a : According to Dial the Russian headquarters at Yang, the Japanese intend to al 3 either Kai Chou or Ta Che Kiao fro twq sides. 1( J Their armies continue to ' 1 south and west. The leading , ment of General Oku's army has o - , S pied Senuchen and Japanese j have appeared in the vi. ,ni skirmisniffi, is i | tMiou. Constant Cos ! progress between rhe.n ar -“ the vf | sacks who are obbei\iU B ment® of the enemy.