Newspaper Page Text
Georgia Briefs
Items of State Interest Culled
From Random Sources.
To Furnish List of Stockholders.
In general order No. 9, issued a few
days ago by the state railroad commis
sion, every corporation within the juris
diction of the commission is required
to furnish it with a list of stockhold
ers, giving name and address of each
stocftholder and amount of stock held
by each.
* * *
To Camp at Screven.
A letter from Assistant Secretary
of War Oliver at Washington, stating
that he will order a portion of the
national guard of Georgia into camp
at Fort Screven, on Tybee Island, from
May 16 to 25, has been received and
turned over to Adjutant General Scott,
who will notify the commands which
will go into camp at the time desig
nated.
* * •
To Open Up Tobacco Plantations.
Great preparations are being made to
open up tobacco plantations near Bow
er station, on the Georgia, Florida and
Alabama railroad, 12 miles below Bain
bridge. Hon. B. B. Bower, Jr., and
J. D. Bower, his brother, will have ten
acres of shaded tobacco each, which
will yield SI,OOO per acre. In addi
tion to these there are many others
cultivating the weed in that vicinity.
* * •
Bank in Abbeville Closed.
After a conference in Atlanta be
tween State Bank Examiner Park, At
torney General Hart and Governor
Smith, at which President Hal Law
son was present, the Citizens’ bank of
Abbeville was placed in the hands of
the state bank examiner.
President Lawson made a frank state
ment of the bank’s affairs. He said
it had assets of $70,000 and liabilities
of about half that amount. A large
amount of outstanding paper with the
farmers and merchants, upon which the
bank could not realize now, forced it to
close its doors. The bank has a capi
tal stock of $35,000, and is the oldest
bank in Abbeville.
♦ * *
Georgia State Bonds Retired.
State Treasurer R. E. Park, through
the New York correspondent of the
state treasury, has retired SIOO,OOO in
Georgia bonds, and paid out interest to
the sum of $156,000 on the $7,131,000
of Georgia bonds now being held
throughout the country.
It will probably be the latter part of
the month before the “clipped coupons”
—which denote the payment of the in
terest —are received. This is the an
nual expense of the state, and a spe
cial appropriation to cover it is made
each year by the general assembly.
The state is in splendid financial con
dition right now, and is amply able to
meet this debt.
• * *
Woman Gets Stay of Sentence.
A stay of sentence has been granted
by Governor Smith to Mrs. Sallie Free
ney, the young woman now in the Bibb
county jail at Macon, convicted of the
murder of W. P. Harrell, a bill collec
tor, and sentenced to life imprison
ment.
The stay of sentence holds until Feb
ruary 4th, in order that the woman’s at
torneys may take the case to the pris
on commission and the governor.
The crime for which Mrs. Freeney
was sentenced to life imprisonment
was committed at her home in East
man, Dodge county. Harrell, the bill
collector, made improper proposals to
Mrs. Freeney, following which she se
cured a revolver and shot him to death.
* * *
Liquor Problem for Sheriff.
A complicated legal question regard
ing the new prohibition law has arisen
In Brooks county.
A saloon man in that county, on the
first of December, mortgaged his stock
of liquors and bar fixtures. He did not
pay off the mortgage', and there was a
foreclosure.
The sheriff was instructed to sell
the liquors and fixtures to satisfy the
claim. The sheriff was troubled and
he has written Attorney General Hart
for an opinion. Judge Hart has sub
mitted an unofficial opinion that the
sheriff cannot sell the intoxicants be
cause the new act specifically forbids
an officer of the state to sell, make or
give away intoxicants.
* * *
“Agricultural College on Wheels.’'
Dr. A. M. Soule, dean of the SIOO,OOO
agricultural college at Athens, and
Chancellor D. C. Barorw of the Uni
versity of Georgia, have secured from
the railroad commissioners of Georgia,
permission for the “agricultural college
on wheels’’ to begin its tour of the
state. The exact date for its depart-
ure from Athens has not as yet been
decided upon, but will probably be be
tween the 10th and 15th of February.
Dr. Soule has mapped out the itinerary
and it will traverse every railroad In
the state of Georgia with the exception
of the Western and Atlantic, and will
consume a period of thirty-five days.
During this time rural towns with an
aggregate population of 350,000 people
will have been visited.
The special trjiin, which is to be fur
nished free by the railroads, is to be
composed of one baggage car for ex
perimental purposes and two day coach
es for lecture rooms. Five instructors
will accompany the train.
Dr. Soule will advocate cattle raising
in Georgia. He is a strong believer in
the feeding qualities of cotton seed
meal and will urge its use. He will
also tell of soil tests to be made by
the use of this same meal as a fer
tilizer.
* * *
School Fund Apportioned.
State School Commissioner Jere M.
Pound, who assumed the duties of that
important office on the first of the year,
has made up the apportionment sheet
for 1908, dividing the $2,000,000 appro
priated for the common schools of
Georgia among the 147 county school
system, and the several city school
systems of Georgia.
To arrive at this basis of computation
it was necessary to take a school cen
sus, which shows that there are, today,
703,876 school children in Georgia, and
this appropriation sets aside $2.82 per
capita for each of these.
This is considerable increase over
that of last year, when the per capita
appropriation was only $2.58.
Of this sum, Fulton county and the
city of Atlanta will receive a large pro
portion. There are in Fulton county,
outside of Atlanta, 7,433 school chil
dren, which will give to this system
an appropriation of $20,998, while At
lanta, with her 22,302 school children,
wfil receive $64,432.60.
The county of Richmond, including
the schools in Augusta, will receive
$50,821.75.
Bft>b county, including the Macon
schools, $44,312.95.
Chatham county, including Savannah,
will receive $54,790.
Muscogee county, including Colum
bus, will get $11,876.80.
Next year this appropriation will be
increased by a quarter of a million, and
the school children of Georgia will re
ceive $2,250,000. Commissioner Pound
states that he hopes to send out an
other payment to the teachers early in
the spring.
SENSATIONAL LEGAL OPINION
Expressed in Connection With Status ol
Locker Clubs in Georgia.
In his charge to the Fulton county
grand jury at Atlanta Monday, Judge
John T. Pendleton sprang a sensation
by his remarks as to his construction
of the prohibition law in its relation
to clubs, holding that, though the lock
er tax provision gives clubs the right
to keep liquor in their buildings, it does
not give the members of clubs the
right to give drinks to other than mem
bers.
In other words, the judge holds that
when guests are taken into a club for
the purpose of having drinks served
to them, the club thereby becomes
a public place, and the law provides
that no liquor shall be kept in a public
place. As to whether this construction
of the law will force clubs to with
draw all privileges to guests or else
give up their lockers and the privileges
of keeping liquor in them, Judge Pen
dleton, when seen, declined to state,
declaring this a fine point which it
would remain for the courts to decide.
The opinion rendered by Judge Pen
dleton consequently holds that it is un
lawful for a club member to take a
non-member to the club and give him
a drink, ar.d it may mean that it is un
lawful for liquor to be kept at any
club which is visited by non-members,
even if such non-members are not
served drinks.
HITCHCOCK WANTED BY TAFT
As Manager of His Presidential Campaign
in the Southern States.
Frank H. Hitchcock, first assistant
postmaster general, has been asked by
Secretary Taft to take charge of the
Taft presidential campaign in the south
and to line up southern delegates to
the next national convention for the
secretary of war.
The offer to Mr. Hitchcock does not
contemplate the removal of Arthur I.
Vorys as Taft’s political campaign
manager, but will restrict Mr. Vory3’
territory. The latter will continue the
work in Ohio, but other managers will
be appointed for other sections of the
country.
PEOPLE OF VANCOUVER ALARMED.
Unexplained Arrival of Horde of Japs, and
More Coming, Causes Apprehension.
A dispatch of Saturday received in
Portland, Oregon, from Vancouver, B.
C., says:
The unexplained arrival of 300 Jap
anese at Vancouver Friday and the
influx of 1,500 within the next month
from Honolulu are the features of the
oriental situation in Vancouver. The
300 came from the coast logging camps
and some even from the American
side of the boundary line. Incidentally,
there was the usual crop of rumors that
they came in view of the possible
troubles. Officers of the Asiatic Ex
clusion League are much perturbed
over the event.
It was announced that at least 1,000
Japanese would come from Hawaii dur
ing the next three weeks. One steamer
already chartered will leave Honolulu
with 150 aboard for Vancouver next
week. Charters are now being arrang
ed to carry others. Then, too, all the
accommodations of the steamers of
the Canadian-Australian line have been
secured six months ahead of the Jap
anese of Honolulu. There is room
in the steerage for only fifty by each
steamer.
Of course, technically, the paternal
government cannot do anything to pre
vent the coming of these Japanese to
British Columbia, for the Japanese are
free will agents once they have turned
in their passports at the islands and
there is really nothing to prevent them
inflicting their presence on this out
post of Great Britain, the ally of Ja
pan. So far, no action has been taken
by the police authorities toward the
disarming o£ the Japanese. It Is esti
mated that there are hundreds of ser
viceable firearms in the Japanese sec
tion.
GOVERNOR DECLARES MARTIAL LAW
Street Railway Strike in Munice, Ind.,
Gets Eeyond Local Authorities.
Governor Hanly of Indiana, Satur
day, issued a martial law proclamation,
placing Major General McKee in com
plete control at Muncie.
General McKee has 12 companies of
infantry, one battery and details from
the signal and hospital corps of the
Indiana National Guard with him at
Munclo.
The decision of Governor Hanly to
Issue this martial law proclamation
wag based not upon any new develop
ments In the street railway strike sit
uation, but upon his judgment that un
der the circumstances the best way to
handle the trouble and provide for all
possible emergencies would be by plac
ing General McKee in charge at Mun
cie.
When the Indiana Union Traction
company, which owns the city and in
terurban lines, refused to renew its
contract on January 1, with the Amal
gamated Association of Street and
Electric Railway employees, the 96
men employed on local cars struck. Of
men employed on local cars struck.
Other union men out of work in sym
pathy began taking part in the agita
tion and resulting disturbances until
the situation got beyond the power of
the Muncie authorities and Governor
Hanly took action.
Street cars were run Sunday from
early morning until dusk over all lines.
With the exception of the throwing of
a few stones on the outskirts of the
city, the cars were unmolested, not
withstanding they were manned by im
ported strikebreakers and had neither
deputy sheriffs nor troops aboard.
CASHIER WALKER IS PENITENT.
Is Anxious to Aid Bank in Recovering Se
curities Which He Stole.
In the hope that it may lighten his
punishment, William H. Walker, who
wag arested in Ensenada, Mexico, for
robbing the savings bank of New Brit
ain, Conn., is willing to aid in any
way in Ms power to recover the stolen
securities. This information is con
tained in telegrams received by the
bank.
ROBBER WAS TRAILED BY DOGS.
Merchant Locked Up in His Store By
Negro Who Robbed Him
After one of the most spectaculai
chases ever known in the state of Ala
bama, Carol McDougall, a negro, was
caught in the swamps of Escambia
county. The pursuit illustrated, too,
the great value of good dogs, a pack
aiding In his capture.
The negro held up and robbed a
storekeeper of $2, holding a pistol on
the keeper and locking the door from
the outside. Those inside did not get
out until he was some distance away.
SOLONS RECONVENE.
The Holiday Recess Over, Congress Again
Begins Grind-Several Important
Measures Show Up.
Congress reconvened Monday after
the holiday recess, but both houses ad
journed until Tuesday, after brief ses
sions, out of respect to the memory
of the late Senator Mallory of Florida.
The senate was in session only four
minutes, and the house for half au
hour.
In a message to the house, President
Roosevelt urged that in preparing for
the work of taking toe next census
the four thousand or more additional
employees needed be appointed Imme
diately after competitive examination
under the rules of civil service com
mission, and Btrongly denounced the
“patronage system” of making the ap
pointments, saying that the civil serv
ice commission was fully capable of
securing most efficient forces.
Representative John Sharp Williams
of Mississippi introduced a bill in the
house Monday repealing the law direct
ing that three-fifths of the 15 per the
reserve of national banka may consist
of balances due a bank available for
the redemption of its circulating notes
from banks approved by the comptrol
ler of the currency; and repealing all
laws permitting national banks to keep
three-fifths of their reserves in na
tional banks in reserve cities; and all
laws permitting national banks In re
serve cities to keep 50 per cent of the
reserves in central reserve cities.
If this bill becomes a law, not less
than one-half of national bank reserves
now required to be kept in lawful mon
ey in central reserve cities hereafter
must be held iu gold or gold certifi
cates.
The bill is to become effective July
1, 1908.
A bill reducing the regular army,
after the first of December, 1908, to
35,000 men, 10,000 of whom shall con
stitute an artillery force for coast de
fense, was also introduced by Mr. Wil
liams. The standing army as now
posed embraces 40,000 odd officers and
men.
Mr. Williams also offered a bill re
pealing all the laws by which national
bank examiners are compensated by
fees, and placing them on a regular
salary of $3,000 per annum.
Two bills introduced by Mr. Sims of
Tennessee, are designed to prevent
star route mail carriers from knowing
ly carrying packages of intoxicating li
quor to or for any one on the route.
If a star route carrier does so his ac
tion shall be deemed unlawful, and the
offender shall be dealt with according
to such rules and regulations as the
postmaster general shall prescribe.
Among the other bills introduced in
the house during its half-hour session
were the following:
By Mr. Gregg of Texas, providing for
the selection of a site for a navy yard
and dry dock at Galveston.
By Mr. Clark of Florida, providing
for a congressional investigation of
charges of peonage in the southern
states, and an investigation of prose
cutions thereof by the department of
justice.
By Mr. Wallace of Arkansas, repeal
ing the duty on wood pulp and print
ing paper.
By Mr. Clark of Florida, prohibiting
the transportation in the mails, or the
depositing in any mail receptacle, of
any newspaper, magazine or other pub
lication containing the alleged facts of
any divorce suit, murder case or other
proceeding “of an indecent or immoral
character or which would tend to cor
rupt the young.”
By Mr. Ferpis of Oklahoma, enabling
the distribution annually of treasury
surpluses among the states for the Im
provement of public highways and post
roads. Providing an eight-hour day on
all government w&rks. To prevent
gambling in cotton and grain futures.
NO REAL WEDLOCK, SAYS COUNTESS
Sensational Allegations ot Disappointed
Wife Against Earl of Yarmouth.
A New York dispatch says: The
countess of Yarmouth, who was Miss
Alice Thaw of Pittsburg, 6ister of Har
ry Kendall Thaw, has entered suit in
the divorce division for the nullifica
tion of her marriage with the earl of
Yarmouth. Her allegations are of such
a character that the suit will be heard
in camera.
Her assertion is that there never has
been a real marriage. A jury of ma
trons will be specially empaneled to
determine the truth or falsity of this.
In addition eminent gyneological ex
perts will be called in support of the
countess' suit.
SECOND TRIAL
OFHARRYTHAW
Slayer of Stanford White Again
Arraigned in New York Court.
MORBID CROWD ON HAND
Host of Sensation-Seekers Congregate in
and About Courtroom to Catch Glimpse
of Principals in Malodorous Case.
The second trial of Harry K. Thaw
was begun Monday in New York be
fore Justice Victor Dowling in the state
supreme court and at the very outset
of the proceedings a plea of insanity
at the time of the killing of Stanford
White was entered in behalf of the
defendant.
Last year the case was fought out
on a straight plea of not guilty, but
temporary Insanity finally was relied
upon.
Mrs. Evelyn Thaw was pursued by
crowds as curious as ever, and had to
be escorted In and out of the court
house by a detail of policemen.
The usual curious crowds were gath
ered about the criminal courts building
In the hope of catching a glimpse of
Harry Thaw as he crossed the bride
of sighs on the first day of his sec
ond trial. In the corridors of the court
house there was also a throng of sev
eral hundred persons who had come
to witness the opening scenes of this
new rehearsal of an old story. A squad
of 60 policemen kept the passage way*
clear.
The arrangements were far better
thaa at the first trial, when the crush
to get Into the court room amounted
practically to a riot.
The word that women were to be
barred had been given and there were
none but female newspaper writers on
hand. Last year at the beginning
of the trial, women predominated in
the court room and It was their insist
ence which caused much of the disor
der of the opening day.
Before the Thaw case was reached
Justice Dowling was called upon to
charge the January grand Jury and to
attend to the other formalities of tho
new term. The judge arrived at tho
court building, shortly after 10 o’clock,
and the day’s session was formally
opened a few minutes later.
Three separate court sessions were
held during the day, and at the clob*
nine tentative jurors had been selected
out of fifty-seven talesmen examined
by District Attorney Jerome for the
prosecution and Martin W. Littleton
for the defense. All of the men iu
the Jury box are subject to peremptory
challenges, of which each side has 30.
In view of the difficulty experienced
last year In discharging five juror®
after they had taken the oath of serv
ice, it was agreed this time not to
administer any oaths until both sides
flinally are satisfied with the full
panel.
Chronology of Malodorous Case.
1900, December —Evelyn Nesbit and
mother go to New York. Evelyn be
comes artist’s model.
1901, March —Photograph in Broad
way magazine leads to engagement
with “Floradora” company.
June —Goes with “Geisha” company.
July—lntroduced to Stanford Whit®.
August—Decoyed into White’s Mad
ison Square tower den and drugged.
December —Evelyn met Harry Thaw
while with the “Wild Rose” company.
With various companies early in fol
lowing year.
1902 — Evelyn sent to Mrs. De Mille’s
school, Pomport, N. J., by White. 11l
there from appendicitis.
1903 — Went to Europe with Harry
Thaw, passing as his wife in tour of
the continent. Returned alone in Oo
tober. Mrs. Nesbit, mother of Evelyn,
quarreled with Thaw in London and
was left there, Evelyn refusing to re
turn with her.
1904 — Evelyn and Thaw made second
trip to Europe. Thaw wanted to mar
ry her; she refused. Pressed for rear
son for refusal, she told Thaw of her
experience with White.
1905 — Thaw and Evelyn married la
Pittsburg, April 5, and later went to
New York. There White annoyed Eve
lyn with his attentions.
1906 — Thaw shot and killed Whit*
on roof Madison Square garden, Juno
25, 1906, claiming White had spoke*
insultingly of Evelyn the preceding
night in the Cafe Martin.
1907 Thaw’s trial for murder in
first degree began January 23, the jury
finally disagreeing on April 12. Thaw
remanded to jail without ball.
