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T«*t....... fe J- x Mouthi........ ii Ti to* Monlfea....... 8 Official Organ Ben Hill County. EMMETT R.. SKA.'W, Candidate for Congress, will address the voters of Ben Hill County on Corner Main and Pine Streets on Friday, December 22, 2 P. M. Judge Whipple’s Resignation ■> i Cordele, Ga.., Dec. 15, 191L To the People the Cordele Judicial Circuit: In accordance with my pub -1 lished statement some days ago, I have tendered to the Governor my resignation as .{Judge of the Superior Court of the Cordele Circuit. In retiring from tthis position, I desire to express to you in this public way my deep and lasting appreciation of the confidence you have shown in me during my service. Through experience I have come to regard the judgship of your Superior Court as among your most important offices. It deals at first hand with the lives, liberty and property of the peo¬ ple; in various ways it comes in daily contaef with the social, moral, business and political life of every community; and it is probably true that in no other office in our government is vested such vast discretion as respects practically all -matters coming within its jurisdiction. It has been with this concep¬ tion of the offiee lihat I have en¬ deavored to merit your confidence by a faithful and conscientious discharge of its duties. Sometime since, however, a renewal of our former partner¬ ship was offered 'to me by Col. The Meeting <Of The Georgia. Breeders Association The third annual meeting of the Georgia Breeders’ Association will be held i t Atbems onJanuary 18th. This Association was formed to bring together men who are inter¬ ested in the improvement of corn and cotton. Georgia is planting -something over four million aores each of corn and cotton. The average yield for this state for -oo-rn from 1896 to 1905 was 10.5 bushels. The yield for cotton for the same period for Georgia was 3.71 lbs. Neither of those y ields indicate paying crops. One of -the means of making these crops more profit¬ able is the production of better seed suitable to Georgia conditions. Besides a numberof special speak¬ ers on cotton improvement, the coi n breeders of the state have been asked to give a short paper, giving the origin and history of | the variety they are breeding and their methods of improvement. At the last meeting a number of the members of the Association agreed to report at this meeting the progress they had made dar¬ ing the year along the particular working. lines which they were "The report of the corn breeders aod of the members will make an extremely valuable feature of the meeting for this year The Georgia Dairy and Live Stock Association will meet at Athen- on January 16th, and 17th just preceding the meeting of the Georgia Breeders’ Association. For further particulars write to John R. Fain, Athens, Ga., Secre¬ tary Georgia Breeders’ Associa¬ tion, SEMI-WEEKLY The Fitzgerald Leader FITZGERALD, BEN HILL COUNTY GEORGIA, DECEMBER 19, 1911. McKenzie*of this city. Nat¬ urally, of course, this presented an important question for decis¬ ion, involving as it did the return to private life. A final consideration of the matter has been delayed until now by reason of the very many kind and urgent requests from friends throughout the circuit to continue in service during the present term. I did not feel justified in putting aside these experienced wishes of friends without the fullest considera¬ tion. The time has come, however, for decision, and after a careful review of all matters involved, my resignation has seemed the proper course. The experience gained by a discharge of the duties of this office has increased my interest in, and sympathy with, the every day affairs of human life; and though leaving public ©ffice for the life <of a private citizen, I shall not-cease, in the providence of God. to give my help and in¬ fluence in favor of the forces that make for human happiness and against those that make for sorrow. Respectfully submitted, U. V. WHEfiELE. gyy S n Peacock . , s r»i PhanBacy The s&oek and fixtures of Peacock’s Pharmacy were [pur¬ chased this morning at bankrupt sale by Dr. J. L. Frazer, whose intention is to re-open the busi¬ ness right away, and do a general drug business. Notice Every member of Logan Circle ladies of the -Grand Army, is earnestly requested to be present at the next meeting, Dec., 23rd., as important business is to be transacted. By order of the Pres. S. L. Brown, Sec. Lyceum Attraction . -- At The Motie Wedrves- day Night, 8 O’clock Roy H. Gee, of the Nation¬ al Lyceum Association, will ap¬ pear tomorrow night at the Motio, under the auspices of the Young Men’s Christian Club. Everyone should take aovantage of this un¬ usual advantage of hearing an en¬ tertainer of national reputation. The price of admission is 50ct. for adults, and 25ct. for children. Go and take the whole family. You’ll enjoy it._ Mr. Ed. Oxford, formerly of this city but now of Atlanta, was in the city Sunday and Monday. Safe Blowers Robbed Fitzgerald Post-Office Cracksaen Escape With $1500 Unsigned Currency and $400 Worth Diamonds One -of the boldest robberies that ibas occurred in this city in several years was effected Monday morning at SiSO o’clock when the post office was entered bv yeggmen and one of the safes blown open and rifled of (its contents. The indications are that some powerful explosive was used in opening the safe, as the door was blown about seven feet up against the wall, striking it with such a force that two windows on that side of the building were shattered. The noise of the explosion was heard by several nearby parties, and day policeman Baggett, who lives across the street, upon going to his window states that the lights in the office were all on, and that all the aoors w-ere open. He rush¬ ed to the scene as quickly as possi¬ ble, as did the night policeman, who was on another block, but the cracksmen had made good their escape, taking with them as such of the contents of the safe as couid be snatched up and placed in a mail pouch. Three men were seen retreading from the building, one going out west Pine street and the other two going north in the alley between Lee and Main streets. As near as can be estimated, burglars obtained registered pack- ages, $1,500 unsigned currency, belonging to the First National Bank, and $400 worth of diamonds belonging to E. P.. Wightman. In their hurry to makegood their escape, the thieves overlooked paesage containing a uiamond worth $225, also a small money- The large safe at the Post Coeur d’Alene Conncil Plans To Establish Municipal Saloon Spokane, Wash., Dec. 18.— Ministers of nearly every denom- ination have assured Mayor Wood and the council of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, thirty-four miles east of here, of their support in a plan to establish a municipal saloon in that city instead of issuing in¬ dividual licenses. Many residents of the city also are in favor of giving the innovation a full trial. Alderman Barrett has issued a statement to the people of Coeur d’Alene, saying in part: “Some of our citizens object to the municipal saloon on the ground that it would put the sa¬ loon in politics. ’ In my opinion exactly the reverse is true, as it will be readily conceded by those who have by experience and ob¬ servation noted the political ac¬ tivity of the liquor interests on all natters which they consider would even remately affect their interests. Office, in which the cash is kept, and which is said to have contain¬ ed .$3,000 at the time, was unmo¬ lested. The mail pouch, into which the robbers dumped their booty, bas been recovered, along with the draweis of the safe, as seve ral un- valuable registered letters, which the thieves examined and left be¬ hind a barn at the far end of West Pine street. The only evidence left by the perpetrators of the daring act is an enormous axe, with which the hinges and handle of the safe were pounded and broken before the explosive was applied. No arrests have yet been made, but suspicion falls very heavily upon two fellows, who came nere the first of last week, and procur¬ ed work at S. L. Barfield’s tlack- smith shop. One claimed to have come from Michigan and the other from north Georgia. The one from Michigan gave his name as Grover, but the other’s name has not been ascertained. Mr. Barfield states that the two men were boarding at his house, and that they disappeared Sunday morning, without taking their baggage with them, and had uot been heard from since. Local officers have been working on this clue, and Sheriff Norris went up to Cordele yesterday in search of them, but was unable to learn any- thing, The Post Office inspector in At- lanta has been notified, and every effort will be made to briDg the guilty parties to justice. Nominally, the public officials are supposed to regulate the liquor traffic, but in reality are are U that the ’ city^woulcf 'lose money, because of grafting poli- ticians and dishonest employees, There is no doubt that some loss evT r t 1 r °oc?»r th pri?a?e des, a s i t s in business, but a systematic check and balance system could be in- stituted and surety bonds re- quired of all who handle money. The working out of the system is purely i i a matter of detail. There is nothing in the con¬ stitution of statutes of Idaho that forbids a city engaging in a mer¬ cantile business; yet there is no law specifically authorizing a city so to should engage, so in all probabili¬ Coeur d'Alene ty, the city of go ahead with the pro¬ posed municipal saloon, whether it would be permitted to proceed is a matter for the courts of the state to decide." Is All Up With Taft; Tide is With LaFollette Boston, Mass., December 17.— That the developments of recent months have made impossible the renomination of I resident Taft, and that the country is turning rapidly to LaFollette as the next republican presidential nominee were among the declarations made by Gifford Pinchot, ferrner chief of the United States forest service before a gathering of progressive republicans here. “Unless the republican party shall meet the demand of the times by throwing itself square into the progressive movements it’s time of usefulness is past,” said the speak- er. MODERN TREATMENT DEMANDED “Modern conditions demand modern treatment. The republi¬ can party needs to be cleansed of its open sores. The progressive movement, like every other great movement, must nave a leader. I realize that this meeting is not called in the interest of any candi¬ dates, but I should be^concealing my own convictions if I failed to express myself on this point. Since the developments of recent months have made impossible the renomi¬ nation of Mr. Taft, the country has been turning rapidly and right¬ ly to that pioneer among progres¬ sive, a constructive statesman, full of courage and common sense, The ‘‘Wilkes Idea in Rural Life The farmers of Wilkes county are giving the famous “community of interest” theory a brand-new twist. They propose to utilize the drawing power of things held in common to draw together the agricul¬ turists of the county in a society for mutual betterment, the scope of tiie movement logically including the women of the county. The campaign is launched under the name of the Agricultural and Industrial Club, though its range will be much wider. The avowed purposes of the organization are to promote intensive farming and a sentiment for cattle-raising, though it is provided that at regular in¬ tervals there shall be social gatherings, at which neighbors shall learn to know each otner better and to discuss and solve by the might of allied brains the problems in wnich all are equally interested. It will be remembered that one of the recommendations of Roose- velt’s much-discussed country life commission was to the effect that a more widely-diffused social spirit was necessary to the upbuilding of the rgral districts. It was pointed out that the‘farmer, by reason of his traditional environment of isolation, ran more peril from stagna¬ tion than his city brother. The one way to combat this danger, it was indicated, was by injecting a new force which should, by appeal ¬ ing to the human instinct for gregariousness, build up a rural view¬ point approximating the centralized viewpoint of the cities. It is exactly this hypothesis that the farmers of Wilkes have in- voked to give motive power to their new organization. They are working to the end that there will be constructed in the country a cohesive influence equal to that prevailing in the city, canning over P r °hlems, combating common wrongs, devising remedies in which each member of the community will be equal beneficiary. The “Wilkes idea” is in vogue in England, Ireland, France and wh ?” “ P™ed extremely effectual to meeting the un- d,!Sirable conditions prevalent in America. There is every reason wny * ts s P r,J!,d thioughout this country should be encouraged. If it is, inanv of the rural problems against which students of economics and ar** directing their energies will approach solution. The farmers of Wilkes deserve credit for vitalizing a doctrine bears such inspiring earmarks of promising results.—Atlanta Weiycross Tigers Get 12 months Each Waycross, Dec. 16.— Judge today gave two convicted tigers”eaeha twelvemonth’ sentence. They are Wilbur Clark and “Son” Cowart. Official Hill 4 , f& VOL. XVI. Robert M LaFollettee, of Wiscon- gin . See to it that your delegates to tne republican national conven- tion are pledged to progressive principles. First, last and all the time? his is a for pr j nf jp Jes< » GOVERNOR BASS’ VIEWS. Governor Robert P. Bass, of New Hampshire, said: “As I see it, the object of the new progressive movement in poli¬ tics is actually and wisely to put in force the fundamental principles underlying our form of govern¬ ment, to give each voter an equal voice in the choice of elective officers, or conversely, to prevent the small and influential group of men from controlling the body po¬ litic for their own selfish purposes: or, a; ain to keep the special inter¬ ests and great corporations from naming and controlling men in public office. Or, on the other hand, to prevent the demagogue from exploiting the people and the government for the advancement of his own personal ambitions. “It is full of promise in that it springs from the insistent demand of the electorate at large, rather than from the independent leader¬ ship of individual men. It is an international movement, as evi- denced by recent events all over the world.” Houston Post: kittle Joe Brown’s overwhelming triumph in Georgia indicates that the Cracker Democrats repented with a vengeance at the first opportuni- ty.