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BILL FOR REMOVAL OF COURT¬
HOUSE IS DEFEATED.
RESULT WAS A DECIDED SURPRISE.
A Brief Sum marry of the Daily Froueert-
ings and Routine Work In Both
House and Senate.
One of the hottest, most sensation¬
al, and thoroughly interesting fights
ever witnessed in the house of rep re
sentatives was brought about Friday
in the contest between Decatur and
Stone Mountain for the possession of
the DeKalb county courthouse.
Decatur won under circumstances
seemingly The adverse.
fight was brought on by the
Stone Mountain faction who seemed
sure of an easy victory. Test of
strength in the vote to take up the bill
Thursday seemed to indicate that the
required two-thirds majority was in
favor of a removal of the courthouse.
A substitute bill, referring a settle¬
ment of the question back to the peo¬
ple of the county, was offered ami lost.
Then the other bill came up ami a
sensation was caused by the discovery
that the measure could not be put to
a vote because the proper legal proofs
were missing. No other business
could be transacted. Under the call
for the previous question, the only
thing before the house was the vote
ou this bill. For au hour and a half,
an exciting debate went on. AH this
confusion was caused by the simple
fact that a newspaper containing a
copy of the advertisement of the bill
had been lost or misplaced.
The Decatur people were willing to
accept the proofs at hand, and so were
the Stone Mountain people. But,
nevertheless, the debate went on and
the confusion increased. Finally the
missing newspaper was discovered and
the bill was voted on. The result was
85 to 60.
Stone Mountain bad failed to receive
a constitutional majority and Decatur
was secure iu the possession of the
county site.
Immediately after the reading of
the journal in the senate Friday morn¬
ing Senator Stewart, chairman of the
committee on lunatic asylums, made
a report on the bill providing that
female physicians be allowed to enter
the competitive examinations for va¬
cancies ou the state asylum staff. The
report of the committee was favora¬
ble.
Senator Battle moved that the regu-
lar ordor, which was the calling of the
roll for the introduction of new matter,
he dispensed wdth, and that the read¬
ing of house bills favorably reported
on be read the second time. The mo¬
tion prevailed.
At the conclusion of the reading of
bills for the second time the roll was
called for the introduction of new
matter. After this the senate went
into executive session and confirmed
Hon. B. B. Bower, judge city court of
Decatur county; Hon. F. R. Tarver,
judge of the Effingham county court;
E. T. Shurley, solicitor of Warren
county court.
Ou motion of Senator Stewart, of
the 27th, the senate adjourned until
12 o’clock Monday.
Wednesday’* Proceeding*.
The entire day Wednesday in the
house was given up to the university.
Some routine business was transacted
and then the fight of the day on the
university hearing came up.
The university was on trial and
was ably represented by Hon. N.
J. Hammond, president of the
board of trustees. Another feat¬
ure of almost sensational interest,
in that it was not on the program, was
a speech by Dr. "William H. Felton, of
Cartersville, introduced to the general
assembly as “the old man eloquent. ”
The friends of the institution iu the
house won a fight in securing the
hearing for the trustees. The house
had run counter to the wishes of the
senate aud a sensational conflict was
promised. The house resolution pro-
vided for the hearing before a commit¬
tee of the whole. The senate resolu¬
tion called for a joint session. This
precipitated the fight.
When the senate resolution came up
before the house it was sought to
amend it so as to fix the bearing for
Wednesday night. The time mention¬
ed in the resolution ivas 10:30 a. m.
That hour came and went while the
fight was still on in the honse.
Then an amendment to this amend¬
ment, fixing the time for the hearing
at 11 o’clock was offered. This was
put and carried amid applause.
There was then a bare margin of 6
minutes and the trustees awaited tlie
result on the outside. Both houses
then convened in joint session and the
trustees, headed by Governor Atkin¬
son, were ushered into the hall. They
were greeted with applause, and after
an introduction by President Berner,
of the senate, Colonel Hammond be¬
gan his speech.
The first thing done by the senate
Wednesday morning was to send the
house the resolution for a joint session
at 10:30 o’clock to hear the university
trustees. Pending the receipt of in¬
formation touching the address of the
house on the subject, the senate trans¬
acted routine business.
It was nearly 11 o’clock when a
message from the house announced
that the resolution had been adopted
with an amendment fixing the time at
11 o’clock. This was immediately
concurred in and the house was noti-
Mdiese two bills were passed by the
senate: Mr. Felder’s bill to expedite
habeas corpus cases; Mr. Hawes’ bill
prohibiting arresting o(licers from ad-
vising or procuring so tlements in
criminal cases and fixing a penalty for
so doing.
Thursday’* Koutlne.
Along with the first business in the
house Thursday the West resolution
to limit discussion on the convict hill
from 11 to 1 o’clock each day came up
and after some discussion was passed.
The house then took a nibble at tlio
convict hill. A few more amendments
to the first section were presented, all
of which were discussed without re-
suits, a u d then the eomuiiL^u o1 til
whole reported piegivss.
The DeKalb c u an house fight ra i
amuck of the convict bill and in tb
came to a standstill. An iflo ; v,a;
made to secure the consideration ...
the former measure at the expense OX
the latter, and an interesting fight re¬
sulted. The convict hill gained t ie
right of way, however, and was under
discussion during the remainder of
the day.
Mr. Gray’s prohibition bill came business up
iu the senate as the first
Thursday morning, and after a brief
statement by the author, it went to a
vote. The bill prohibits the sale of
liquors in smaller quantities than one
pint, and prohibits the drinking of
liquor on the premises where it is sold.
The favorable committee report was
agreed to by a vote of ID to 16.
The question then came up on the
passage of the bill and Senator Turner
rose to favor it. It fell far short of
what he desired, but was in the right
direction, Senator Gray called for
the ayes and nays and the vote was 20
to 17. The bill lacked only three
votes of a constitutional majority.
The football bill came up and passed
by a vote of 31 to 4.
Senator Turner’s bill prohibiting
the shooting at turkeys and other
fowls for a prize, with chances stated
on hitting the bird, came on an adverse
report, which caused some discussion.
The adverse report was disagreed to
by a vote of 21 to 14 and the bill stands
for a third reading.
Mr. Felder’s bill to except the N. C.
and St. L. railway from the Jaw pro¬
hibiting the running of freight trains
on Sunday was fought by Senator
Turner. When the bill came up Sen¬
ator Kilpatrick explained that it ap¬
plied to railroads running through the
state less than three miles, and said
there were only six citizens who could
be disturbed by the noise of the trains.
•Saturday In tlie House.
Au effort was made in the house
Saturday to reconsider the action of
Friday in defeating the bill to remove
the courthouse of DeKalb county from
Decatur to Stone Mountain. The re¬
sult was a second defeat for the Stone
Mountain faction. There was just
a quorum present and the motion to
reconsider received only 36 of the 88
votes east. This ends the controversy
for five years at least, as no election
can be called before that time.
From now until the close the house
will hold two sessions daily. The
morning session will be from 9 until 1
o’clock, aud in the afternoon from 3 to
5 o’clock. The house will now go to
work in earnest to settle the many im¬
portant matters now under considera¬
tion.
Saturday’s session was a busy one.
A great deal of routine business was
transacted and a number of important
measures were introduced. Mr. Cal-
vin of Richmond offered a bill for
state banks of issue with which he
hopes to make a test of the 10 per
cent, tax on the state banks.
Mr. Bartlett, of Paulding, proposes
two constitutional amendments, one
of which would place members of the
legislature on a salary of $250 per
annum instead of the per diem. The
other seeks to strike tlie 50 days and
leave tlie legislature to bold unlimited
sessions.
Hal Lewis Honored.
Hon. Hal T. Lewis, of Greensboro,
has been appointed by Gov. Atkinson
supreme court judge to succeed Judge
Spencer R. Atkinson, who resigned to
accept a place on the Georgia state
railroad commission.
The appointment of Colonel Lewis
was a surprise all round, but it seems
that Governor Atkinson has long con¬
templated the appointment of Mr.
Lewis in the event that Judge Samps
Harris declined to accept the appoint¬
ment. Tuesday Judge Harris inform¬
ed the governor that he could not ac¬
cept the proffered seat upon the su¬
preme bench, and the governor at once
determined to appoint Mr. Lewis.
Colonel Lewis was not informed of
his appointment until late Tuesday af¬
ternoon. He at once decided to ac¬
cept the place.
Populists UnneatFfl.
After a long and determined fight in
the committee of priviliges and elec¬
tions, Messrs. R. P. Wren aud P. A.
Salter, populists, of Jefferson county,
have been defeated in the election con¬
test from that county and their demo¬
cratic opponents, Polbill and Staple-
ton, will be seated in the Georgia leg¬
islature.
The end came Saturday. The com¬
mittee on privileges aud elections met
directly after the house convened and
remained in session until the members
of the committee were dragged back
to the chamber of the house to com¬
plete a quorum. But during the two
hours they were in session it seems
that the democrats won without much
trouble.
Advertise with ns if yon wish to
keep the people posted as to the
amount, the character, the quality
and prices of goods you have for sale.
An ad will bring ’em every time.
SubRcribe for this paper and keep j
posted ou affairs in general.
•
WILLIAM’S SOLDIERS TAKE A
FORT FROM THE CELESTIALS.
PIGTAILS FEARED GERMAN CRUISER
The Sultan of Turkey Will Make Amend#
to Austria IPor Insults Offered
the Latter’s Agents-
Advices received from Shanghai,
China, state that the commander of
the German cruiser Division, landed
troops at Kiao-Chau on the evening of
Noveinber 15th. The three forts were
held by 1,500 Chinese and their guns
commanded the fleet. Admiral von
Deiderich placed .... his four . .
cruisers im-
mediately opposite, ready to fire, and
sent an ultimatum ordering the evacu-
tion of the forts within three hours.
Six hundred German troops aud six
guns were then landed and began to
march forward. The Chinese liesi-
tated a few moments anil then the
whole body bolted belter skelter across
the hills behind the forts. The Ger-
mane quietly entered the fortifications,
hauled down the Chinese flag and
hoisted the German standard, which
the warships saluted iinntediately. The
Chinese general, who had his family
w'ith him, did not flee, but claimed
German protection. The forts are
now held by the Germans, who, it is
believed at Shangliia, intend to re-
main permanently.
In official Ch^iese circles Germany
is considered to have committed au act
of war, but it is regarded as improbable
that China, on account of her weak¬
ness will take action upon it as such,
American and British warships have
been ordered to Kiao Chau to watch
developments. The greatest
is felt as to the result of Germany’s ae-
tion, because the region is immensely
rich in minerals, and the harbor is the
best along the coast.
It is now asserted that the murder
of the two German marines near Yen-
of bandits, as originally understood,
but was deliberately planned by Li
Hung Hing, governor of the province,
prior to bis departure for See-Chuoan
of which he has been appointed vice-
1<>y '
The Beilin correspondent of the
Daily Chronicle says:
sidwZe el '» l ttetoion U to S toe lourse^f
affairs in China and on Wednesday
discussed the position of the mission-
aides with Catholic' Bishop Anzere, vicar of the
German missions in China.
Saltan Will Apologize to Austria.
w Ssrs;
from Baron de Calice, the Austrian
ambassador at Constantinople, saying
that the sultan has declared his will-
ingness to give Austria full satisfac-
tion for the Messina incidents and in
regard to the disputes in connection
with tne Oriental railroad, growing
out of the transportation of Turkish
troops duing the recent war between
Turkey aud Greece.
Had not the Turkish government
yielded to the demands of the govern¬
ment of Austria for redress on account
of the indignities offered to an Aus¬
trian merchant of Mersina, Herr Braz-
zafelli, the Austrian ambassador at
Constantinople, Baron de Caliee, would
have left the Turkish capital and au
Austrian warship would have bom¬
barded the port of Mersina, Asia
Minor.
SEAMEN INDICTED FOR MURDER.
Anderson, the Cook, and Other* Charged
With Killing Captain Whitman.
The federal grand jury in the case
of the crew of the Olive Pecker con¬
vened at Norfolk, Ya., Wednesday and
returned the following'true bills:
John Anderson, for murder of Cap¬
tain John W. Whitman. Same for tho
murder of Mate William Wallace
Saunders (two indictments.) Same for
the destruction of the vessel.
William Horsburgh, John Lind and
Manuel Barrial, accessories after the
murder of Mate Saunders. Same ac¬
cessories after the murder of Captain
Whitman.
John Anderson, William Hors¬
burgh, John Lind and Juan de Dois
Barrial for destruction of vessel.
WAS DREYFUS BLACKMAILED?
The Accused Man Said To Be Victim of •
Conspiracy.
Advices from Paris state that the
allegation that Alfred Dreyfus, the
former captain of French artillery,
was falsely accused and convicted by
a courtmartial of selling French mili¬
tary plans to the agents of a foreign
discussed government continues to be widely
throughout France.
It is claimed that the documents
Dreyfus was charged with selling to
Germany were never really sold to the
agent of that country, but were pre¬
pared in imitation of Dreyfus’s hand¬
writing to blackmail him, his wife be¬
ing a wealthy woman and he himself
being in good circumstances.
FEVER AT FORT BARRANCAS.
Latent?** of tho So»*on Allay* All Fear*
of a Spread.
A Washington special says: Yellow
fever has appeared at Fort Barrancas,
near Pensacola, Fla., but not in a de¬
gree sufficient to alarm the war de¬
partment officials, who feel that owing
to the lateness of the season there is
little danger of a spread of the disease.
A dispatch has beeu received by Adju¬
tant General Beck from that post
stating that one soldier had died from
the fever, but giving no details.
PLUNGED INTO A CREEK.
Train Wracked and Burned-Only One
Doatli, But Many Injured,
Train 2 on the Kansas City, Fort
Scott and Memphis, which left Bir-
min&bam, Ala., Wednesday evening
for Kansas City, was derailed west of
Walliford, Ark., at 8 o’clock Thurs¬
day morning. The combination coach,
JUSJK. ™‘ X,
into Spring river. The chair car and
sleeper were both consumed.
One passenger was fatally injured,
dying shortly afterward, and about
thirty others more or less seriously
hurt. It is believed none of the lat-
ter will die,
No. 2 is a fast through train from
the south. Between Williford and
Hardy the Memphis tracks parallel
Spring river, a little stream run-
ning out of Mammoth Springs,
When near Williford the engineer
felt the train leap forward and found
that it had parted between the two
day coaches The last tUree car8
humped over the ties, the chair car
and sleeper turning over on their
sides and the combination car finally
going into the river,
The engineer backed up the front
part of the train and the work of res¬
cue was immediately begun. The ter-
ror of the passengers who had gone
down into the stream with the combi-
nation car was heightened by cries of
alarm from the chair car and sleeper,
both of which soon took fire. The
intense darkness added to the confu-
sion and it was some time before an
organized effort at rescue was put into
effect by the train crew and those ol
the passengers who had been able to
extricate themselves without aid. The
passengers in the burning cars were
luckily rescued before the fire had
reached its height, and but few in
those cars were injured,
The wreck is the first one of a seri-
ous nature in the history of the Mem-
phis road, aud according to the state-
ment of General Fassenger Agent J.
E. Lock wood, Mr. Hoover is the first
passenger ever killed while riding on
a train on that road,
REPORT OF SECRETARY BLISS.
Document Shows Work of Interior De¬
partment For Pagt Year.
Secretary of the Interior Bliss, in
blS anu " al re P or made P? bIlc rhur *‘
day £ aggregat-
*156,532,419 appropriation by
the hscal ^ ear endln «
Discussing pensions he says 200,-
000 pension claims are awaiting adju¬
dication and it is estimated that 40 or
50 P er theBe wiU befhlad ? ad ‘
“ f l-non ’ If ar « LTm' ad J ud };
* rom S 5 ’ 0 ™’ 000 *0 *7,000,000. When
ho J®T er > th f se claimB are ad ^ dleated
aud the first payments made thereon,
the amount of the pension roll will de-
Tb ® Indian population of the
TT United states exclusive of the New
-?*** ^ n( ^ lans an< * civilized
trl bes, approximates . 177,178, located
on 177 reservations, which contain
approximately 33,404,837 acres. Of
these, 4,545 have accepted allotments
of land which aggregate 644,14 • acres,
Secretary Bliss says while the opening
of the Wichita reservation in Okla¬
homa to white settlement would great¬
ly promote the development of that
country, yet, in view of the unsettled
condition of the questions affecting
their rights, until there is further leg¬
islation he does not see how it can be
done without causing great injury and
distress.
To guard against this recommendation
>s made that the Dawes commission be
authorized to investigate questions as
to their rights and claims and report
recommendations from speedy and just
*e dement.
DISASTROUS PRAIRIE FIRES.
Three Thousand Sheep Burned in Texas
Counties.
A terrific prairie fire has passed
through Lubbock, Hale and Crosby
counties, Texas, doing great damage
to the ranges.
It originated east of Crosby county,
burned eastward through Crosby be¬
fore a severe west wind.
The flames made a fire ten miles
wide, which traveled at great speed.
At least 400 square miles of territory
were burned, Cattle suffered and
many were burned to death. Three
thousand sheep were burned in one
flock and many farmers lost all their
winter feed.
ALL QUARANTINE ENDED.
Citizen* of Alabama Free to go and Come
Once More.
Beginning last Sunday at noon all
quarantine restrictions in Alabama, so
far as state authorities are concerned,
were removed and people are free to
go and come.
One or twe counties south of Mont¬
gomery continue their quarantine, but
it amounts to little.
Commencing Monday all trains out
of Montgomery to Mobile and New
Orleans were put on their old sched¬
ules. AU others resumed some days
ago.
TO ENJOIN TAX COLLECTORS.
Tennessee Railroad* Will Fight Constitu¬
tionality of Assessment.
Chairman Thompson, of the Ten¬
nessee state railroad commission,
states that the attorneys of railroads in
the state will at once file a bill attack¬
ing the constitutionality of the state
assessment of railroads recently made.
Under this assessment the valuation
of railroads in the state was increased
$30,000,000, thus increasing state and
county taxes about $500,000.
The railroads will also attempt to
enjoin the collection of this tax.
BIGGEST FIRE OF THE CENTURY
IN WORLD’S LARGEST CITY.
LOSS IS TWENTY-FIVE MILLIONS •
Many Historic Loalitie* Wiped Out or
Bartley I>araaged—The Fire Raged
For Four Hours.
The largest and most serious fire in
a century raged in London Friday.
The fire broke out in a large block
of buildings lying eastward of Alders-
gate street and between that thorough¬
fare and Red Cross street just after 1
o’clock in the afternoon.
The flames were fanned by a strong
wind and were fed by highly inflam¬
mable stocks of Christmas fancy goods
and flimsy dress materials of all de¬
scriptions that filled every floor of the
six-story buildings in the old street.
Consequently the conflagration gained
headway with surprising rapidity and
was soon far beyond the possibility engines of
being checked by the few
which were early on the spot. For
four and a half hours the flames had
their own way and it was only after
more than a hundred engines had
worked an hour that the chief of the
fire brigade sent out the signal that
the fire was under control.
At 11 o'clock at night the fire was
still the scene of great excitement.
Fifty engines were playing upon the
ruins, wagons were hurrying up coal
and tons of water were pouring into
the fiery debris.
The rescue of factory operatives by
the firemen, the hurrying of hosts of
clerks who were trying to save books
and valuable papers from the fire and
the rushing here and there of many
employees, who were attempting to
carry to places of safety costly mer¬
chandise or other valuables, added to
the confusion. Then, again, the heat
was so iuteuse that several firemen
were obliged to direct their operations
under showers of water.
But in spite of the exertions of the
firemen, the fire crept ou steadily
until Nicholl square, which is siturted
at the far end of Hansell street, was
reached.
Amount of the Losses.
It is officially reported that 150 ware¬
houses have been gutted. A later es¬
timate of the damage done places the
amount at nearly £5,000,000 sterling
($25,€00,000). wires
Nearly 300 telephone were
cut, thus interrupting communication
with many of the big provincial
towns. The fire will cause an enor¬
mous advance in the price of ostrich
feathers which rose 30 per cent. Two
feather firms alone have lost £15,000
sterling ($75,000).
The Burned District.
A later cable dispatch received Sat¬
urday morning says: A very large
force of firemen and about twenty en¬
gines have been working at a high
pressure all night. The district rav¬
aged by the fire is bounded by A-lders-
gate street, Red Cross, Maiden Head
court and Bradford avenue and in¬
cludes the intermediate streets of
Tewin, Hamsell, Well and Edmund
and Jewin Crescent and part of Aus¬
tralian avenue, Pauls alley, Cripple
Gate church yard, Wood street square,
Monkwell street, Nicholl square and
Fore street.
DECIDED AGAINST COUPER.
J Ildar. Pardee and Newman Had No Ju-
lisdiction In tlie Case.
Major J. M. Couper, former assist¬
ant postmaster at Atlanta,lost his fight
in the United States court for his place.
The fight was won by Major Smyth,
not because the civil service laws did
not protect Major Couper, but because
Judges Pardee and Newman decided
that a court of equity has no right to
interfere in matters of the kind, and
state that such questions and disputes
must be decided by the civil service
commission at Washington.
This means, of course, that the in¬
junction for which Major Couper was
lighting will not be granted aud he
will have to step out until the Wash¬
ington headquarters pass upon hi*
case. He still has a chance to win,
for if the civil service commission de¬
cides that he is protected he will be
reinstated and take up his old duties
again.
TRAIN ROBBERS TO FEN.
One One, Up for Fifty Yenrit and Another
for Forty-Five.
In the district court at Austin,Tex.,
Friday L. W. Fisher and Felix Walff
pleaded guilty to robbing the Inter¬
national and Great Northern train at
McNeill, on the afternoon of October
12th, aud were sentenced to fifty and
forty-five years, respectively, in the
state penitentiary.
They were expecting very light, sen-
fences if they plead guilty, which act¬
uated them to do so. There were four
charges against them. The other two
train robbers are still untried.
PENSACOLA SAFE FROM FEVER.
A Kou*®-t4>-House Inspection WJth
Satisfactory Result*.
According to a dispatch no other
cases of fever have developed in Pen¬
sacola, Fla., among those who were in
contact with Goldberg and they will
soon be released from detention. An
inspection of every house in the city
was completed Saturday night, only
123 cases of sickness of any kind being
found in the entire city. Many of the
cases are old and infirm persons and
not n case of suspicions sickness was
THROUGH GEORGIA.
Great preparations are under way
for the Cotton Growers’ convention
which will be held in Atlanta Decem¬
ber 14th, and the convention promises
to be a grand success.
Aceordiug a Washington dispatch,
the report of the court of inquiry in
the case of Captain Oberlin M. Carter
has been referrd by the secretary of
war to Judge Advocate General Lie-
ber. It is understood that the purpose is
to frame specifications for a trial by
courtmartial.
The official head of a Sliakor colony
ia Ohio, is in Savannah for the pur¬
pose of taking steps to organize a col¬
ony in Georgia. He has been inspect¬
ing some land in the vicinity and says
the colony will purchase 15,000 acres
to s’art with. The colony expects to
raise crops and blooded stock.
...
The next move in regard to the new
courthouse for DeKalb county will be
the advertisement of the ordinary, ask¬
ing for bids. Both sides feel that the
question has been definitely adjusted
by the legislature and no further effort
will be made to open the old wounda
that are now rapidly healing between
the two communities. The attorneys
for Htone Mountain say that the fight,
is ended and there is no other reoourse.
It is reported that the Southern’s
evening train from Atlanta, which ar¬
rives in Columbus at 9:10, will soon
begin to run on through to Albany,
over the Georgia and Alabama track,
returning to Columbus early the next
morning. At Albany connection could
be made with the Plant system, and
thus another through route from the
east to Florida via Columbus would be
established. As yet the minor lias
not been officially verified.
* * *
Dr. Henry \V. Sawtelle, the govern¬
ment physician, who has been in com¬
mand of the marine hospital service
in Atlanta since the yellow fever epi¬
demic, has returned to Washington
and the office has been closed. During
the operation of the station in Atlanta
4,000 pieces were handled ond only
two claims for lost baggage, amount¬
ing to $21, has been allowed by the
government, a fact which alone shows
the excellent work given by the
officials.
It is stated authoritatively that
there is smallpox in Griffin. Vaccina¬
tion is the order of the hour, and the
city council has created a board of
health having instructions to take
measures for stomping outtbe disease.
A pesthouse has been built and all
cases that developed were removed to
it for treatment at once. The enspi •
cious cases ore all in a negro settle¬
ment in the southern portion of the
city, and if the authorities can prevent
its spreading any further it will soon
be entirely stamped out. All of -the
white cases have either recovered or
will be entirely so in a few days.
* * *
The receivers of the Eagle and Phe-
nix mills at Columbus are taking ad ¬
vantage of the present low price of
cotton to buy a supply for the mills
to last until next fall. Recently the
receivers borrowed money with which
to buy 4,000 bales and petitioned the
court for permission to make arrange¬
ment to get 7.000 bales more. A day
or two ago an order signed by Judges
Newman and Pardee was received con¬
firming the action of the receivers and
authorizing the borrowing of money
with which to buy cotton. The mills
now consume between 1,300and 1,400
bales of cotton per month.
* # *
James M. Couper lost his light for
the assistant postmastership of At¬
lanta. Judges Pardee and Newman,
of the United States court, refused to
grant an injunction restraining Post¬
master Smyth from ousting Couper.
Ed Blodgett, the administration ap¬
pointee, who has been on the anxious
bench for some days, received his offi¬
cial berth at last and is <-©y,ity en¬
sconced in the office of assistant post¬
master. Couper’s attorney is new con¬
templating carrying the case to the
supreme court of the United States.
He, as well as Major Couper, are reti¬
cent about the matter, but they have
hopes of a favorable decision from a
higher court.
* * *
The North Georgia annual confer¬
ence meets in Athens this week. It
has been sixteen yews since this body
assembled in the Classic City In 1881
the conference met there and was pre¬
sided over by the then senior bishop,
Rev. H. N. McTyeire. There were in
attendance then many of the old-time
Methodist preachers, such as D*.
Boring, James E. Evans, H. H. Parks,
W. H. Potter and perhaps a score of
others, whose names had been promi
neut by identification with the Meth¬
odist church for many jears. “These
all died in the faith, ” and left a rich
legacy to their sons and successors in
the gospel. The North Georgia is
perhaps the largest aud most crowded
of the conferences comprising the
Methodist Episcopal churches south.
* * *
Atlanta’s building record has been
broken this year. Already all former
records have been swept aside,and the
ten and two-thirds months of the year
have been a remarkable period for im¬
provement. The one and three-quar¬
ter million mark has been passed this
year. And there is yet nearly forty
days in w hich to increase tlx amount
further beyond all limits of the history
of the city. The city building in¬
spector announced that for thepresent
year there has already been or is being
invested in new buildings .u improv¬
ing old ones the enormous sum of
$1,750,920. This is more than $300,-
000 in excess of the total amount in¬
vested in buildings in Atlanta during
the year 1896.