Newspaper Page Text
Fitzgerald Leader.
FITZGERALD, GEORGIA.
—PUBLISHED BT—
During the late semi-oenteninal
celebrations at Salt Lake, one feature
of the occasion was about as unique as
the prearranged railway collision which
rocently served to adorn a Texan holi¬
day. The General Garfield, an old
lake passenger-steamer, was loaded
with a quantity of dynamite, and
towed out to a point about a mile from
the pavilion at Garfield Beach. From
the beach the guns of the Utah militia
bombarded her until the dynamite ex¬
ploded and blew her into atoms.
In spite of the fact that the Govern¬
ment is steadily disposing of its public
lands to homestead purchasers there
still remains something over 600,-
000,000 acres. To those who have
given the subject little thought these
figures are perhaps surprising. Up
to the close of the last fiscal year the
public lands of the Government were
distributed among the various States
and Territories as follows: Alabama,
532,339 acres; Arizona, 54,400,211
acres; Arkansas, 3,922,042 acres; Cali¬
fornia, 43,841,044 acres; Colorado,
4,037,204 acres; Florida, 1,797,662
acres; Idaho, 45,962,855 acres; Kan¬
sas, 1,046,589 acres; Louisiana, 845,-
020 acres; Michigan, 522,431 acres;
Minnesota, 6,240,049 acres; Missis¬
sippi, 441,220 acres; Missouri, 497,-
764 acres; Montana, 71,432,917 acres;
Nebraska, 10,669,353 acres; Nevada,
61,578,586 acres; New Mexico, 56,-
987.047 acres; North Dakota, 21,385,-
293 acres; Oklahoma, 8,105,238 acres;
Oregon, 35,892,318 acres; South
Dakota, 13,250,718 acres; Utah, 44,-
207,270 acres; Washington, 17,958,-
536 acres; Wisconsin, 454,107 acres;
Wyoming, 49,341,588 acres, and
Alaska, 369,529,600 acres." Of
course some of the public lands em¬
braced in the foregoing distribution
are altogether too wild and rugged
ever to be converted into homesteads,
but such tracts often find purchasers
in railway corporations seeking to
open highways of travel through the
sparsely settled and unfrequented re.
gions of the West. At the close of the
last fiscal year contracts with railways
covering 10,000,000 acres of land were
pending.
= r r : _________ c
The report of First Assistant Post¬
master-General Heath on the recent
free rural mail delivery experiments
that were made in accordance with an
act of Congress has been published.
In order to make the trials of free de¬
livery cover all the conditions of the
mail service they were made in twenty-
nine States and on forty-four different
routes. There is little doubt that a
free rural delivery will be a success in
the densely settled regions of the
East. But it was essential to find out
what would be its cost in the sparsely
settled communities of the South and
West, where there are few railroads
and where the transportation of the
mails is comparatively expensive.
This bus been done. Experimental
free rural deliveries were established
iu the mountainous regions of Arkan¬
sas, in the back settlements of Illinois,
along the rough banks of the Missouri,
in the unsurveyed districts of South¬
west Kentucky, in the rolling uplands
of Michigan and in the colored settle¬
ments of Virginia. Such diversified
tests ought certainly to include all the
problems of rural mail delivery, and
naturally, therefore, they ought to
throw light on tho question whether
any general system of rural free de¬
livery is practicable. According to
Mr. Heath, they indicate that the time
has come when a free delivery for the
country may safely be tried, Com-
menting on the results of the experi¬
ments, he says: “According to the
varying conditions of the country
traversed, the rural carriers perform
. their services on horseback or riding
in buck-boards, buggies, two-wheeled
carts or on bicycles. In some States
they have to cross farms and pull
down bars and ride over fields to de¬
liver and collect their mails. In no
instance has auy serious complaint
been made of this invasion of private
rights. On the contrary, the co-opera¬
tion of the communities served has in
every instance been cheerfully and
effectively given. The farmers, at
their own cost, have put up boxes a(
the crossroads and at all othor con¬
venient places for the reception of the
mails. The general results obtained
have been so satisfactory as to suggest
the feasibility of making rural delivery
a permanent feature of postal adminis¬
tration in the United States, not im¬
mediately or in all districts at once,
but in some gradual and graduated
form.”
Subscribe for this paper and keep
posted on affairs in general.
"HOLD FAST TO THE DREAM OF THY YOUTH’’-SCHILLER.
Strive, O, ye fearless ones! Time brings relief from pain,
Work for life's goal, not lie Dawn follows night,
The thing you prize may close at Dire Disappointment’s chain drops link by
hand; ” link; '
Dark clouds may round you roll, Might yields before the right,
And Hope seemed veiled; Truth will prevail;
Still let the dream of youth Hold to the dream of youth—
Bido with your soul. Day-star most bright!
—Addio B. Billington, in Chicago Times-Herald.
The Last Sheaf.
T had been a per¬
A l fect harvest day,
sal’, the bracing, overhead air and sharp the and and sky
P clear
"A WfW iBfA blue Since as early a sapphire.
morn-
I “'rSsT ing s brilliance, h° ne the witli sun and steady had the
'west was still rud-
S dy with its dying
glow, when the
moon rode out in queenly splendor.
But instead of yellow corn or cluster¬
ing sheaves, it shone to-night on long
stretches of bare stubble. A spell of
dry weather had enabled the farmers
to secure their grain with unusual
rapidity, and even on the cold uplands
of Fife there was not a single sheaf of
standing corn. In the stackyard at
Muiredge, John Cairns stood regard¬
ing his handiwork with supreme satis¬
faction. From his youth he had
maintained his reputation of being the
best stacker in the East Neuk, and
though he was now in his sixty-fifth
year, the row of neat stacks before him
was sufficient proof that his hand had
lost none of its cunning.
How John Cairns and his wife man-
aged to scrape a living off Muiredge
was a problem often discussed among
the farmers in the East Neuk, for be¬
sides being a bleak, cold-lying place,
it consisted of little more than fifty
acres. Yet they had struggled on for
well-nigh forty years, since they had
begun life together as man and wife.
Three children had been born to
them, the eldest a daughter, who had
died in her girlhood, and two sons.
The elder of the two had made an
early and imprudent marriage with an
out worker in the neighborhood, and
thus handicapped in the race of life,
had been forced to hire as a plowman,
from which level he never afterward
succeeded in rising. The younger
son remained with his parents till his
twenty-third year, when, filled with a
burning ambition to seek his fortune
abroad, he left his native country and
emigrated to Australia, For a few
years they heard from him at brief in¬
tervals, but in the end all communica¬
tion ceased, and they had not the re¬
motest idea whether lie still lived.
Thus in their old age John and Kir¬
sten Cairns were forced to fight the
battle of life unaided, and how hard
the struggle was at times even the
shrewdest guesser could not have
gauged exactly.
With the assistance of one hired
woman, John had brought in aud
stacked the whole of his grain. To¬
night they had been working late, and
the old man, though worn out with
his long day’s labor, was conscious of
a strangely uplifted feeling for which
he could not account.
He wandered around the yard,
counting the stacks over and over
again, and wondering numbered if it could be be¬
cause they two more than
usual that he felt so much elated.
Then remembering suddenly that
Kirsten would be waiting supper,
he set off toward the steading with the
last sheaf under under his arm, which,
according to a time-worn custom, he
always carried home with him. Its
presence in the house indicated a miid
‘form of harvest festival.
Kirsten was standing outside the
kitchen door watching for him, an un¬
couth yet athletic-looking figure in the
short gown and petticoat of the Scot¬
tish peasant woman. Her face was
eager and careworn. Her shoulders
bent with much toil, and her hands
full of the restless movements of one
who never knows what it is to beunoc-
cupied.
“Is that you, John?” she cried
across the yard.
“Aye, mistress, it’s me,” he ans¬
wered back. “I’ve been langer o’
gettin’ through thau expeckit, but the
horses, pair beasts, begun to fail a
wee, on’ we had to ca’ awa’ canny.”
“Elspet brocht them in mair than
half an boor syne,” she added. “I
gaed ower to the stable to see that they
got a bit extra fodder efter workin’
late; but what hae ye been aboot sin’
syne?”
“Oh, I was jist lookin’ roun’ the yaird
to ma’sure a’thing was richt,” he re¬
turned. “You should see what bonnie
raw o’ stacks we hae, Kirsten; here’s
the last sheaf, an’ a thumpin’ big ane
it is. I dinna min’ o’ ever bringin’
hame ane like it, unless it was that
’ear oor Dave was born. Hae ye min’
o’t, wumman? We bad a graund hairst
that ’ear!”
“Ay, I hae min’ o’t,” she answered,
turning away abruptly. “Come awa’
in to yer supper then; it’s been waitin’
this boor an’ mair.”
A sparkling log fire filled the kitchen
with a ruddy glow, aud when the light
fell on Kirsten’s face, it was seen to
wear a strangely troubled expression.
The table was spread with the evening
meal, a plate of home-baked bannocks,
a bit of cheese, aud a bottle of ale.
While John hung the sheaf on a nail
above the fireplace, Kirsten filled out
a cup of milk for herself from a jug
which stood on the dresser. Then
they sat down together, and ate their
supper by the light of the log fire.
“I’m tkinkin’ we’ll hae something
ower for oorsels this ’ear efter we pay
the laird,” began John, when he had
quaffed off a glass of ale.
‘ ‘Ye’ve thocht that mony a time afore,
guid man, yet we’re aye in the auld
bit,” Kirsten made answer, soberly.
“Ye’re no losin’hert, are ye, Kirs-
ten? Ye’re weel eneuch, I hope?
Ya’ve been workin’ ower hard this
whilie back, I doot,” [he returned in
one breath, and in the uncertain light
of the fire soauned her face, eagerly.
“Dinna pit versel’ aboot, John,
there’s naething wrang wi’ me, only a
body canna help their thoohts, an’it’s
gien me a sair hert this day to see hard¬ ye
tearin’ on as ye’ve been doin’ wi’
ly a meenit to draw breath. I wadna
min’ sae muckle gin it was to bring
ony guid to yersel’, but a’ the siller
we’ve slaved for this last forty years
has gone to the laird, only to help him
to eairry oot his ill ends. It’s no easy
believin’ whiles that the Lord is mind-
fu’ o’ His ain, for the maist o’ His
mercies seem to gang whaur they’re
neither worked for nor deserved. ”
“Hoots! wuniman, ye manna speak
like that,” said John, still regarding
his wife anxiously. She was a silent,
reserved woman, who did not often
give expression to her own thoughts,
and this sudden outburst troubled him
not a little. ’‘We’ve been bare eneuch
whiles, I’ll grant, we’ve never wantit
for meat an* claes, an’ a roof aboon
oor heids. ”
“Ye’re aye wearin’ the blacks yet
that ye got when we were first marritt,
John, an’ the last new goon j bad was
when Leeby dee’d, twenty-five ’ear
yne. We hinna even had the comfort
in oor bairns that ither folk hae. Had
Leeby been spared, things micht hae
been different—a dochter’s aye a
dochter to the end o’ her days. Jock
was a saft chap frae the first, an’ I
never expeokit muckle o’ him; he had
his ain adae wi’ that wife o’ his an’
their seeven bairns, but oh, John! I
can never get ower oor Dave. My
hale hope was centred in him, an’ I
made sure he wad bring honor an’
credit to oor name. I’d raither believe
him deid than think he’d forgotten his
faither an’ mither! It’s the terrible
uncertainty o’t a’ that mak’s it mair
than I can thole, an’ though it’s mair
than five ’ear noo sin’ we heard ony-
thing o’ him, my first thocht every
mornin’ when I rise is, will there ony
word o’ oor Dave the day?”
“I often hae tliochts mysel’, Kir¬
sten,” said John, drawing his chair
closer to hers, “an’ I’ve aye the notion
that we’ll hear something o’ the lad¬
die afore we’ve dune wi’ this life.
They were happy days when the bairns
were a’ aboot us, guid wife! Whiles
when I’m workin’ oot on the fields my
lane, I fin’ mysel’ awa’ back i’ the
past again, an’ a’ the troubles an’
chauges we’ve haen slip clean oot o’
siclit. Dae ye min’ the day, Kirsten,
that we were mairrit doon i’ the Elie,
an’ I brocht ye hame to Muiredge in a
cairriage? Ye were as braw that day
as ony leddy i’ the land.”
“Aye, John, I min’ it weel,” she an¬
swered, and her eyes met his in a
wistful gaze. “It was the only drive
I ever had wi’ ye, but we’ve walkit
mony a mile tkegitlier sin’ syne.”
“An’ ye’ve never rued the day ye
cam’ to Muiredge, liac ye’, Kirsten?”
“No, John, lean honestly say I’ve
never rued. Ye’ve been a guid man
to me, an’ though I’ve a grudge again
the place for giein’ us sae little back
for a’ oor toil, it wad be like ruggin’
the moss frae a [stane to tak’ me awa’
frae’t noo. Wheesht! what na noise is
that ootside? It was maist awfu’ like
a mackine drivin’ up to the boose.
There it is again, an’ it’s turnin’ to
gang awa’ noo. I’ve heard tell o’ sic
soun’s cornin’ to fonk as warnin’s.”
“Dinna speak o’t, woman,” inter¬
posed John, hurriedly; then they sat
in silence for a moment, regarding
each other with anxious, troubled
looks. Suddenly the handle of the
outer door was turned with a sharp
click, and before they had time to
think, a tall fellow strode into the kit¬
chen.
“Mother! Father! Thank God,
you’re aye here yet,” he exclaimed,
and his voice rang joyfully through the
still house.
“John! John! it’s Dave, oor Dave!”
cried Kirsten, and springing to her
feet, she stretched out her arms to her
long lost son. John had risen also,
even before she spoke, and grasping'
the hand of his son, wrung it silently,
his heart too full of gratitude to find
speech. Kirsten’s face was radiant,
yet the tears were coursing down her
withered cheeks.
“Oh, laddie, whaur hae ye been?
Our herts hae been sail' for a sicht o’
ye,” she asked, scanning him from
head to foot. “Ye’re weel put on, sae
ye canna hae been ill aff—the laird
kimsel’ couldna look ony mair the gen¬
tleman.”
“I’ve made my fortune at last,
mother, though it has been at terri¬
ble cost,” he answered. “Again and
again I have been at death’s door with
hunger and sickness combined, but
thank God, for your sakes, have won
the victory over all. It has been as I
supposed, the different letters I wrote
have never reached you. Being far
away in an uncivilized place, I had to
trust them to the care of others, who
either forgot to post them or lost them
altogether. Whenever I struck gold
my first thought was to sell out and
come home to the old country. So I
have come—a rich man—you will not
neorl to grind on any longer in this
poor place, for I shall keep you in
every comfort to the end of your days. ”
“Davie, lad, this is a great day, a
great day!” cried the old man, wring¬
ing his hand again. “I was sure
something was gaun to happen, I'd sio
a queer uplifted feelin’; an’ ye rnither
too seemed wrooht up an’ oot o’
her ordinal’. The oorn’s a’ safe i*
the yaird, lad, an’ ye’ve come back
jist in time to keep the Maiden (the
feast celebrating the ingathering of
the corn) wi’ us. See, yonder’s the
last sheaf, an’ as I was tollin’ yer
mither, we hinna haen the like o’t sin’
the ’ear ye wer born, Ye brocht luck
wi’ ye when ye come first, an’it’s come
back wi’ ye rgain, though it dinna
seem a wee wliilie syne that at Muir-
edge, o’ a’ places, there wad be mair
rejoicin’ the nicht than ony ither gate
i’ the East Neuk.”
“Aye, laddie, ye’ve made a new
wnrnman o’ yer mither,’’ broke in
Kirsten, who still hung about him, un¬
able to withdraw her eyes from his
face for a single moment. “I’ve been
at mony a Maiden i’ my young days,
but I never felt mair like dancin’ than
I dae this nicht.”
‘ 'You make too much of me, mother,”
replied her son, laying his hand fond¬
ly on her bowed shoulders. “Yet you
are not any more glad to see me back
than I am to be home. It will not be
my doings if ever I leave you again.
Come, let us draw in close to the fire,
and we’ll talk ovor all that has past,
and see what plans we can make for
the future.”
“Aye, there’s muckle to talk ower,
laddie, but somehoo it seems as if the
sicht o’ ye was eneuch for me the
nicht,” answered Kirsten, taking her
old chair by the ingle neuk. “I hinna
felt sae proud sin’ the day yer faithei
asked me to be his wife.”
“We’ve had a weary yokin’, Kirsten,
or we got by wi’ the sawin’ an’ the
hairst,” added John, “but the last
sheaf’s brocht us the luck we’ve
wearied for sae lang.”
“Dinna say luck, John, put in Kirs¬
ten, with a quiet smile. “It’s the
Lord’s daein’, blessed be His name.”
—British Weekly.
The First Cotton Mill.
Several different towns in the United
States claim the unique distinction ol
having erected the first American cot¬
ton mill, but from the best information
that caa be obtained it seems that the
credit properly belongs to the town of
Beverly, Mass.
The circumstances leading up to
this discovery may be of interest to
our readers. Some two or three years
ago .Mayor Rantoul of Salem, Mass.,
was invited to Pawtucket, R. I., to at¬
tend the centennial exercises held at
that place in commemoration of the
opening of the famous Slater mill. In
sending out invitations to this centen¬
nial event the owners of the mill
claimed it to be the first establishment
of its kind over erected in tho United
States. For some reason Mayor Ran¬
toul was unable to be present at the
exercises, but being deeply interested
in historical researches, he decided at
his leisure to investigate the claims of
the Pawtucket mill owners. This in¬
vestigation led to the discovery that
the old cotton mill at Beverly, Mass.,
which was burned down in 1838, had
been in operation for several years
prior to, the establishment of the mill
at Pawtucket, and that no less a wit¬
ness than General Washington himself
could be cited in confirmation of the
fact. It seems that General Wash¬
ington, while on a tour of tho New
England states in 1789, made a visit
to the old Beverly cotton mill, and was
so impressed with the novelty of the
spectacle that he devoted several pages
of his diary to its description. This
old diary is still to be found among
General Washington’s papers.
As the researches of Mayor Rantoul
seemed to settle the matter beyond all
controversy, tho residents of Beverly,
Mass., have recently caused a hand¬
some tablet to be erected on the site
of the old mill, commemorating the es¬
tablishment of the first enterprise of
its kind ever inaugurated in the United
States.—Atlanta Constitution.
Bicycles Not Safe From Uglitiling'.
Electriciaus, as well as bicyclers,
are much interested in tho development
of the death of Cotter Scott, a Chicago
wheelman, who was struck by light¬
ning recently while hurrying home
during a storm. Tho fatality was
witnessed by several men who had
sought shelter nearby. It seems that
the lightning struck Mr. Scott ou the
crown of his head, tearing his cap,
shirt and coat to fragments and severe¬
ly burning his chest and abdomen. It
has been generally supposed that the
rubber tires of a wheel would tender
immunity to tho rider awheel from an
electric discharge, but as the tires are
usually covered with a film of moisture
and mud a conducting path is thus
afforded which renders the otherwise
non-conducting tires comparatively
good conductors, and the accident
shows that they are not be relied upon
as adequate protection against the
mighty electromotive force represent¬
ed in a lightning flash.
Bicycle Itoailside Marriajjos.
Mr. Stephen S. Pagenliardt and Miss
Mary Lamont McKinnon left Lonacon-
ing on their wheels, presumably for
Wcsternport, Allegany county. About
the same time Rev. C. Forrest Moore,
Messrs. Lee Pagenliardt and James
Woodward left Westernport on their
bicycles. The two parties met and
dismounted, and Mr. Stephen Pagen-
hardt and Miss McKinnon were mar¬
ried by the roadside.—Baltimore Sun.
Door For Furnaces,
An automatic door for furnaces and
locomotive boilers has a standard set
on the end of a rod which runs
through the floor and operates a level
to raise the door and swing it back
whenever the standard is stepped on.
I PEOPLE WILE SELECT
THE JUDGES AND SOLICITORS IN
GEORGIA BY POPULAR BALLOT.
HOUSE PASSES THE HOPKINS BILL.
Berner State Banks Measure Passed In
Senate—The Convict Bill
Is Safe.
The house at Friday’s session passed
the Hopkins bill providing for the
election of judges and solicitors by
the people. It was an overwhelming
victory. Only 15 of the 158 members
present voted against it. The populist
members voted solidly for the bill.
The debate which preceded the vote
was lengthy and spirited. A number
of sharp passages occurred and several
very fine arguments.were heard.
The bill passed by the'house is the
senate bill amended by the house com¬
mittee so as to provide for election on
the state ticket instead of by circuits.
The measure was sent immediately
to the senate for concurrence in this
amendment.
The original school book bill was
also passed by a vote of 103 to 37.
This measure provides that county
boards of education shall buy books
directly from the publishers and shall
furnish them to the pupils at whole¬
sale price less the cost of handling.
The measure is aimed at the book trust,
which, it has been charged, has done
business through the teachers to their
profit and the greater expense of the
pupils. into line
The populist members fell
and voted to a man for the measure.
They had made a fight on the amend¬
ment to elect by state ticket instead of
by districts, but when that amend¬
ment was adopted they clung to the
bill as a step in the right direction.
The result was an overwhelming vic¬
tory for the measure. Only fifteen
members voted against it—143 to 15,
The Berner bill to test the law im¬
posing a ten per cent tax on state bank
of issue was passed by the senate Fri¬
day morning by a vote of 32 to 8.
Senator Atkinson concluded his argu¬
ment which was cut off Thursday at
the hour of adjournment. He had the
attention of the senate and was loudly
applauded. Mr. Berner closed the
debate. He said its purpose was to
give some relief from that financial
servitude which is written in mort¬
gaged homes and in the judgments of
the courts.
The house convict bill was then read
and referred to the penitentiary com¬
mittee.
The convict bill passed the house at
Thursday’s session and was sent at
once to the senate for concurrence.
After weeks of wrangling and debate
this measure, once killed and subse¬
quently revivified, received the sub¬
stantial majority of 93 to 70. The vote
was announced amid tumultuous ap¬
plause from the majority.
The bill was adopted by the house
at Wednesday night’s session, having
been considered by sections.
The bill as it passed the house is,
with two important amendments, the
same as the measure drafted by the
special committee of eleven. These
amendments are in the character of
the labor in which convicts can be en¬
gaged and in the reduction of the ap¬
propriation from $100,000 to $50,000.
The hill embodies the following im¬
portant provisions:
A farm for the women, juvenile and
infirm convicts.
The lease of all able-bodied con¬
victs to be employed in any in¬
dustry consistent with their physi¬
cal abilities, except in foundries, cot¬
ton factories and machine shops.
State supervision of misdemeanor
convicts.
The whole system to be under the
control of a prison commission which
shall constitute a board of pardons.
An appropriation of $50,000 to carry
into effect these provisions.
In the senate, Thursday, a motion
was made to reconsider the action of
the senate on the bill for a new regis¬
tration law. It is Senator Wooten’s
bill, but Senator Redwine led the de¬
bate, favoring it as an improvement on
the present registration law, which he
considered cumbersome. It is an im-
portant measure, virtually placing in
the hands of the ordinary all the power
and responsibility now vested in the
resistrars. The bill passed by a vote
of 29 to 9, receiving votes from both
democrats and popnlists.
The senate then took up the bill to
give the state and the accused the
same number of peremptory strikes iii
criminal trials, and Senator Battle
stated that it was one of a series of
bills introduced in the legislature at
the request of the State Bar associa¬
tion. The bill was passed by a vote
of 23 to 15.
Mr. Berner’s bill authorizing state
banks to issue obligations payable in
merchandise silver bullion to 50 per
cent, of their capital stock and requir¬
ing the governor and attorney general
to defend such issues in the courts came
up on its passage. A lengthy discus¬
sion followed and before a vote was
reached the senate adjourned.
In announcing adjournment a mis¬
take was made, as the motion was
for 10 o’olock Friday morning and thus
cut out the Thursday night session.
This left only five days to pass the
convict bill. President Berner will
seek to repair the loss by a joint reso¬
lution declaring Sunday dies non and
fixing the date of adjournment on
Thursday.
Before the adjournment of the day’s
session a communication was read
from Rev. E. Pay son Walton, general
agent of the Ontological society, who
is at present residing in Atlanta. The
doctor’s communication was in the na¬
ture of an introduction to a new
school of philosophy to the legisla¬
ture. He claims the Bible as its
author—it disclaims all partyisms as
its religious bearings—that it expands
the sphere of religious fellowship to
universal or racial dimensions. The
new system, he says, has been elab¬
orated by the late Henry James, of
Massachusetts, and the Ontological
society has undertaken the republica¬
tion of his works. Dr. Walton claims
that among the most distinguished
disciples of this school were Govern¬
ors Alexander H. Stephens and Her-
schel V. Johnson, of Georgia, and ho
wishes to inform the legislature and
the publio generally that he is pre¬
pared to discuss the question should
anyone wish further information con¬
cerning the Georgia branch, which is
soon to be organized in Atlanta under
his direction.
The convict bill was resurrected in
the house Wednesday morning. The
motion to reconsider was made imme¬
diately after the opening of the ses¬
sion. It was the first matter sched¬
uled, but, by reason of the fact that
the rules were displaced by the veto
discussion, the bill was not taken up
until 11 o’clock. In the two remain¬
ing hours the house made good prog¬
ress.
Reform won a victory which was de¬
nied it in the first fight by securing
state supervision of misdemeanor con¬
victs. The debate on this provision
of the measure was lengthy. The
vote in favor of the state supervision
was 74 to 66.
The measure was taken up by sec¬
tions. Seven were passed on and
adopted. The eighth was under dis¬
cussion at the time of adjournment
on a motion to strike out the entire
section.
The question of passing the anti¬
football bill over the governor’s veto
came up and an hour or more was
spent in the discussion of this matter.
Speaker Jenkins held that it would re¬
quire 117 votes, which is two-thirds of
the entire membership of the house,,
to override the veto, and on an appeal
from this decision he was almost
unanimously sustained. His decision
makes history, and establishes a pre¬
cedent which is likely to govern many
future legislatures. The vote to pass
the bill over the governor’s veto was
107, and the opposition mustered but
45.
The senate Wednesday killed the
bill of Senator Wooten, from the Fif¬
teenth, changing the registration laws.
The bill provided that the tax collec¬
tors in the different counties of the
state prepare lists of all voters who
have paid their taxes. The tax collec¬
tors to furnish one of these lists to the
county ordinary and the clerk of the
court. They in turn to furnish one to
each justice of the peace in every mili¬
tia district.
The resolution of Senator Battle
giving the governor power to convey
the right to the Atlanta, Knoxville and
Northern railroad to use certain prop¬
erty of the state at Marietta was passed.
The cigarette hill, making the sale
unlawful, was killed.
A bill by Senator Carter giving
sheriffs, deputy sheriffs, police officers
and bailiffs the right to carry arms
concealed, was taken up and lost by a
vote of 21 to 14.
Saturday’s Proceedings.
The house convict bill was read the
second time in the senate Saturday
morning, and Chairman Phil Cook, of
the penitentiary committee, called a
meeting for 2:30 in the afternoon.
The' senate spent the morning in
rending and passing local bills, but
there was one general bill which
caused discussion. It was Mr. Ber¬
ner’s bill limiting the fees of receivers
to a scale ranging from tw6 to eight
per cent, according to the amount of
money brought into court. and
It was supported by Mr. Berner
Mr. Gray aud opposed by Mr. Go-
lightly. The favorable committee re- '
port was adopted, but the bill was-
tabled temporarily because of thin at¬
tendance.
At Saturday night’s session of the
senate there was great difficulty in se¬
curing a quorum. From half past
7 o’clock to nearly 11 the doors of the
chamber were locked and barred and
nobody was permitted to leave it. On
the inside . were eighteen members,
and on the outside were doorkeepers
with clubs. Other doorkeepers sim¬
ilarly armed were out scouring the
town for some of the thirty-six ab¬
sentees, and in the gallery was a
hunch of house members enjoying the
scene. A number of the absentees
were finally coralled, and the senate
got down to work. Up to midnight
they read house bills and passed a
large number of local measures. hold
The general assmhly will over
one day after tho expiration of the
present session. The senate resolu¬
tion provided for two extra days by
declaring Sunday and Monday dies
non, but this resolution was tabled by
the house Friday night. It was called
up again Saturday morning and
amended so as to declare Sunday a
non-legislative day, thus extending
the session.
It was generally acknowledged that
there was not time enough ahead of
the legislature for the transaction of
all the business before it. The ex¬
tension even of one day would benefit
the convict bill, the existence of which
was otherwise threatened. Seven-
bills were passed. Among them a bi
by Senator Turner, to allow the use ox
registration lists in legular elections
to be used in intermediate elections'
Another measure passed was a bill b
Mr. Bennett, of Jackson, to authorizj
suits against the state for acts of tbt
Northeastern railway. This places ti
Northeastern in the category with
Western and Atlantic railway.
\