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Ofticfa! Offan Ben Hill County,
* § " *• tr I i i y* BsaaBTssaiCa v' 3 $ II A U iva ft v i v. OF THE CITY OF FITZGERALD AND BEN HILL COUNTY
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Cotton
8F I 5 ^ Al Prey ant the F
from Banking his Savings,
Mrs. Bowen Dead
The home of Mr. Robert. V.
Bow aw a-n> visited by the- Grim
Reaper Sunday morning, and
spirit, of lira. Bowen was wafted
into eternity. Deceased bad lived
the nil tied life of three score
year* and ten, and was submissive
to the will oi Him who had been
her comforter and constant com¬
Leaui , .
panion ior m.niv years.
rsbt-vd of i“> -sting when life
been one of ceaseless devotion
the. MMster, and the spirit is ready
to go Hoitie—suciv was the
awwofvus tiowen, merely an
exchange of moi-tsility for imtaor-
tab 5
Mrs. Bow.ni had been iii for a
nur;' : '.‘ f of days, and the faithful
ano devoted husband and loving
children hac watched hopefully
for sonic i dies don of recovery,
but ii,« strain was greater than the
f;ai> o>/dy v/!.s> able to survive, und
the sou It took iu departure, to
return to the God who hr.d given
it.
Deceased, before her marriage
to Robert V Bowen, more than a
half-century ago. w»« Miss Louise
Re;.?. „hd was oom and reared it<
Re.onyiiie, Gn. She whj; the, fair¬
est of one of Georgia's most aris¬
tocratic families, and was known
fa- and wide for her sweet dispo¬
sition ami Christian character. Af¬
ter marriage she and Mr. Bowen
~d on the Bowen estate, in VVil-
h X County until several years ago.
s ^-icn they removed to this city,
where they could be nearer their
children, who had grown to man-
hood and womanhood, and have
ever taken prominent parts in the
development of Fitzgerald.
Besides the grief-stricken bus-
band, Mrs. Bowen is survive.*! by
four children, Mrs. IX B. Ware,
Mrs. J. D. Mushburn, Mrs. Lula
ShepuerJ aud Mr. William li.
jBmvcn, cl! of this city, and
ai giMudcbiidren. Sin? is idsosur-
vived by one sister, Mrs. R. A.
Wilcox, of this city, aud three
brothers, cx-Rep escctative B, 8.
Reid. of RocheHc, Messrs Sr.cn
Reid, of Rochelle, mid George
Reid, of Abbeville.
The funeral «eivice was conduct*
ed at the homo on south Maiu
street Monday afternoon, Rev.
Guyton Fisher and Rev. Thos, M,
Callaway officiating, and the, body
was carried through the country
this morning to Bethlehem burying
grounds, near L’daviile, where in-
tenuent >ook place. Tbo casket
w»« laden with many beaulifui
floral offerings, tne contributions
of loving friends and relatives.
'] he «ie"iitil of this estimable lady
SOVI 1-WEEKLY
% S * ' — £ ~T H i TZGERAL
■V rh < . HOI %
si
.-•M
m ■A ®
FITZGERALD, BEN HILL COUNTY GEORGIA, JANUARY 16, 1912.
has caused many hear is to be s-n<
in this and udjoining counties, and
the sympathy of this entire sec
tion goes out to the family in
their bereavement.
County Union Meet¬
ing Next Saturday
On account of the inclement
weathur last Saturday, the Covmty
^j n , ca . cee t:i 2 g was not. held, but
()een postponed until next
lSaturdtl y 5 J Hil . gOtli. A full bi-
K ] ailce is urg cd.
________
VV0MleiD . ClUD , ...... WIH
S
Meet Tomorrow
The Woman's Ciub will hold
their regular meeting tomorrow
afternoon at the home of Mrs. A.
E. Russell on south Lee street.
The topic for the meeting will be
a continuation of the study of the
Women of (Jaesar’s day. M r -.
Lon Dickey will have chsrge of
the meeting and will be assisted
Mrs. George Iiicker, Mrs. A.
E. Russell and Mrs. Almonte
Jones.
R, L. Duckworth Elect¬
ed Street Com.
The City Council last night
created the Office of Street Com
mispioner, elective the first of
next, month, and paying a salary
c wo, 1 * ’^‘ was a inor.tij.^ *' ,eCi " Mr. by R. the ^L. council Duck-
;
as stree f «>mm,sxio»er and will as
so sume &“ as f R goes <uties mto ° effect. t ie 0 ,iCe as
1>il ‘ ^ uc,cwort h unquestiou-
at ^ v ul '° mul! i,jr ti,c ,or ,IS ‘ s
' ve,i Kn<> ' v ”’ there i! * not f more
1» . h«
»»» in
t '] e clt D M1 g,v e t,:e
°* l! "* J° * ‘-‘use; , atteutmu, . . lie
ant
stree exce ^ ‘ en 0 cou fcl0 C < 1 !^ vvl “ '■-pt m
~ ~
KwlSV And USTICU
*»*■ a±. j *-jf ^ Tk/\of.-o * NvdL v
---
Kelly aud Derieu, the vaude-
vide company wlso are billed for
the first three days of this week
at. the Lyric theatre, were warm-
ly applauded at their first appear-
ance last right. 7’he house, was
crowded to its full capacity, and
rich coruedy dispensed by the little
cotupauy created much laughter,
The vaudeville numbers consisted
<»f song*, dances, and- good
some jokes.
The Supreme Court Decision
In The Fitzgerald Tax Case
Burkhart et. al. vs. City Of FitzesaJd
Bf The Coart, Per Atkinson, J.
1. An assignment of error in a bill of exceptions to a judgment
refusing »n ad interim injunction, based upon the admission of evidence
must set out the evidence admitted, at least in substance.
i 2. An assignment of error upon the admission of a given portion
of the affidavit uf a witness is not well taken where it appears that
! the excerpt was objected to as a whole, and some part of it, not all,
WHS a imissable, Fncker v. Americus \lfg. & Improvement Co., 124
G.. 165 (8).
■ 3. i he act of the General Assembly, approved August 22, 1907
i (Acts 1907 p. 609), as amended by the act approved August 17th, 1908
•• (Ads 1908. p. 666.) chartering the City of Fitzgerald and establishing
j the territory embraced within the corporate limit as an independent
| school district, and authorizing the municipal ollicers to establish hi el
1 maintain a public school system in such city, not unconstiuititeal
. is
j on the ground that tiio act, of 1905 (Acts 1905 P. 425), as amendeu by
j iha act or 1906 (Acts 19U6, P. 6i), commonly known a- Uie McMichne.
sch ° o1 law > provision by general law for the laying out of bouo-
ties into school districts, and the !• vy ing of sc..•>«•! taxes in such dr
tricls after an election therefor, while The act of 1907, as amended by
act of 1908, above referred to, was a local act providing fora
school system in a municipality.
Farmer v. Mayor & Council of Thomson, 133 G«. 94 (1).
(a) The act of 1905, amended by the act of 1900, referred I>'
above was not intended to -‘prevent the leg-statu re iumi incorpo:st¬
ing new towns or cities, or conferring upon them powers touching
municipal schools not in conflict with the coi stitutiou.” 10. P. 98.
4. The constitution, art. 8, sec. A Par. I, as emended by the
proposal of 1903 ( Acts 1903, P. 23), which empowers the General A
sembly to give authority to municipal corporations, upon recommcn
dation of the corporate authority, to reestablish and maintain publi
schools by local taxation, to become, operative only after the law snai*
have been submitted to a vote of ths qualified voters, aud appro ed
u two-thirds vote of the persons quahthd to vote at such Hectic ii. : s
>.ot selfexecuting. A general power contained in 'me cuanv-r of the
City of Fitzget Ju (Acts i9o7. P. 609). amended by the act 1908 (Acta
19u8, p. 666.) ,o establish and maintain a public school system by >ex-
ntion and without any provision in the charter for a submiss on oi ti>-
question to n vote of the qualided voters of the town before it shook-
become eft’ic ive, was not a compliance with the constitution, aud did
not authorize the levy and collection of a special tax for ochccl pur-
poses, although an election was held and two-thirds of the persons
voting-thereat voted for such special inx (Brooks v. Town cf Logan-
viiie, 13i Ga. 358), such e'ectiou having been prior to ih» pu.-sug'- o'
t-he act approved August I3bb, 1210 (Acts 1910, F. 26) autuonziiig a
certain class oi municipalities to hoid an election to deteriniue Uir
question of local taxation foi the support und maintenance of public
schools, to prescribe the qualification uf electors for such emotion, and
for other purposes.
5. Without authority of law to hold such election the municipal
authorities of the City of Fitzgerald caused an election to be held ior
the purpose of determining whether >t special school tax should he
levied for the support of the public schools. The requisite number ol
votes was oast in favor of the tax An ouiinance levying tlic lax
adopted by council in June, 1910. Four resident t xpayers, consist-
ing of the Fitzgerald Trust Company, j. a corporation, M. E. Pearson,
u woman, and II. A. Burkhart aud 15. Senior, filed suit Mu-ch IHh
1911, after expense had been incurred in organizing and conducting
the school almost to the end of the term, for the purpose of enjoinm*
among other taxes, the collection of the sciwoi tax so levied. Held,
(a) As there was no authority of law to hold the election, it was
void and of no effect.
(b) As there-was no valid election, the levy of the school tax was
void.
^ lnj UO ctiori will iie at the instance of any taxpayer who has
no t, estopped himself to enjoin the sale of ills property for collection
of such aa autborized tax .
Such aa estopped will not arize against a person who !r s
done nothing to encourage the levy of the tax or the incurrence of the
expcns0> Sellers v . C ox, 127 Ua. 246.
(e) As to one of the plaintiffs. J. B. Scanor, who was an alderman
and voted for the ordinance levying the tax, the evidence was of mk-'h
c j iaracter as to authorize the judge to find that he was estopped from
resisting collection of the lax: but as to the other three the evidence
was different, and of such character as that the judge should have
grantcd , , cmpomry iojuuctioo.
(t) The case is controlled by the principle of Sellers v. Cox, 127
Q a>> and for reasons therein pointed out is distinguishable from
£ rw in v. Gregory, 86 Gu. 605, and Dobbs v. Hardin (decided it
6. The mere fact that certain lands within the city limits of
gerald, - wned bj certain other perseus, had been taxed, not ad
upnu a valuation which was the difference between their value for
agricultural purpose* and their value as town lots, furnished no reason
why the plaintiffs should not?pay a tax on their property greater than
the percentage of the values placed upon such agricultural kinds
tsixation. Even if ; t did, there was evidence tending to show
ail agricultural lands within the incorporate limits were valued and
taxed as other property therein. Georgia Midland & Gulf R. Co, v.
State, 89 Ga. 597(2).
7, Section 53 of the charter o* the City of Fitzgerald provides:
* Be it further enacted by the nulborhy aforesaid, that the first half or
all city taxes called Jfor the city tax digest shall be payable during
aud the ^ecocd half payable during November of each year.
Any tares payathe according to this section mat paid as above, ttated
-'haiS be ineraased ten per cent, as p^mJf-v for i:on-p«yn*ent. witi-i-n
Hie *!?ne presenueu.” Therefore t)-.. <o uas authority cf lav: tc coi-!
CONGRESS TO ACT
Post Master General
Kecommends Peoples’
Party Platform
Demand
Washington, D. C. Jan., 14.~
Acquisiti on of the telegraph lines
of the United States by the govern¬
ment and their operation as a pan
of the postal service will be recom¬
mended to congress in a short time
by Postmaster General Hitchcock.
For a year or more Mr. Hitch¬
cock has had this recommendation
under consideration, Alter a
thorough study of the operation
G i i lie government-controlled
,<>vi tnment lines and postal tele
graph systems of foreign countries,
no has decided to urge the matter
upon congn t>a.
* Annuld this recommendation
be adopted,” said Mr. Hitchcock
tonight in a statement of his in
tention, “I am convinced it woulo
result in important economies, and
Hi very materially lower telegraph
reics tnau now are exacted, iu
approximately fifty countries of
t ic acrid — ••(.tubiv in G rest
^ _ rila5: France,
b Germany, A us-
> ^pain, Russia tnJ Ja-
k 40 gove nmenv-controiled tele-
,H ^ tls ’ “'- ,w “*'* 111 successful and
Ototiiabie upendiou. In many ol
the countries they are. operated ir*
ff,,,!r, ection with the postai service.
* iWS ‘ airgraphs serve an
«* -vc popumtion oi9oU,UUU,606 aud
iu CVer V instance they have
* uUna to * 3e 01 immense practical
benefit to the peop-e, in both
piomjrtiluue auu c^st oi ine oer-
v ce.
4 4 My view is that
own every
_.>opun,! tor the trariiiiiit’sion of
bl uer govormi.a:il toniroi
''ib oe urgeQ with equal force
tar the transmission or cummuni-
- a - !or by telegraph. Because of
t-ue more extensive oi^hhizution
maintained by the postal service,
a bd tue freedom from taxation
an '-‘. bthv-r charges to which pn-
cuiporauuns are subject,
® r * e government undoubtedly
«i.oid greater iau..uei at,
lower rates man are afforded by J
companies now conducting the;
'-'-legraph business. Hexttotuej
introduction of a general parcels
P° st * lor whlch Uu ro .» a strong, j
popular uemand, uie estabiisa- •
ment of a goverment telegraph;
system otters, in my judgment, !
the best opportunity for the prof- i !
itaom extension oi tiio nation’s
postal service.” f i
lett a penalty fer failure to pay lawful taxes.
(a) It was suggested m counsel’s brief that this portion of the
charter is void, because it only refers to such property as is mention¬
ed ir, the tax digest; and as property of railroads is not mentioned in
su' ii digest, the statute does not operate uniformly. This is in effect
* cri:.:n-.tn upon the constitutionality of the act, but no such question
was raised in the pleadings or rulings on the evidence.
8. Executions issued lor taxes due a municipal corporation do
not bear interest where the municipal corporation, under charter
authority, imposes a penalty fur failure to pay the taxes, a munioinali-
ty tappot collect both a penalty fer failure to pay taxes and interest on
tax executions. Civii Code, 1144. The charter of the City of Fitz-
gcrai.J, as indicated by the excerpt quoted in the preeeeding note, eon-
tained a provision for the collection of a penalty, and hence no inter-
c* i!d be collected.
(r.) All the executions sought to be enjoined were issued for a
bulk sum covering faxes levied for the purpose of raising revenue for
payment of the ordwviiy current expenses of the city, for educational
for the year 1910, and for a sinking fund for the. payment
bonds rod interest thceon, an«J for penalty for the non-payment of
bonds and interest, thereon, and for penalty for the non-payment pf
sue! tax s, and for interest from the date the executions were issued,
Wh'lfi some, o! tla Steiiis going to make up such bulk weie legal and
co'h-r-iible, timv are, m. comfiounded with the illegal t! at this court
«vi!l riot uiuleruike t»< Meparato the legal from the illegal, and there-
»ore the several exeeiit.,».i.s a-a a wliole ayainat. the plaintiffs, othev
Se.-.n--..-, si.; 1 Id b A '.>,-ijo»ned. The execution against h:.u uhoulj
be enjoined only ns to interest.
dir gmeutoir each bill of exception! reversed in part and affirm-
ad’ in part. All t! a Ju uccs concur, except lifil J., u.ot presiding.
Official Organ cf ten
SJ.50
: T?ih
VOL. XVII. NO. 3
Another Beer License
Granted Last Nfcht
Arnrng the matters claiming the
attamtau of the City Oju» ;1 I st
wrs the application of R. E.
King for a retail near beer license,
to operate t> si loon at 313 E. Pine
street. The license was granted.
The occupation tax ordinance
was also given its first reading,
Leader is Chosen
City Official Organ
The citv council at their meet¬
ing last nt 'lit, which was the sec¬
ond of the year, voted unanimous¬
ly in fav./r of the Fit. gcraid Lead¬
er as the City Official Organ for
the year 1912. According to the
reading of the Charter, the Coun¬
cil is to give * lie City Printing to
the paper making the iowtst bid,
but in this instance both
made the same bid, am! upon a
vote to decide the nun ter the
Leader was chosen.
A. T. O Class Elect
Officers
The A. T. O Class of the Gen-
tral Christian Church Sunday
School at their regular meeting
last Sunday muring elected the
following officers for the vear 1912:
I>r. Fred Keefer, president; Hu-
Roush, vice president; Han-
Bryan, secretary; Dr.Turner,
treasurer.
The class has a bright future be-
f it and ail the boys are more
determined than ever to make a
success of it. Eipecially since
the election of new officers, a.l of
which are charter members of the
A. T. C. Class.
All the young men of the city
are invited to come out ou Sunday
mornings at 8.30 and join the class,
Knights of Pythias
Please Take Notice
The Special Meeting for Insta!-
(ation of Officers and b.r.quetfor
Thursday evening llie 25 5 h inst.
T. F. Hemminger, C. C.
R. L. King, K. of R. & S.
.........
Mr. Chaile.-; II Voodlawn, Briffiitman left
t(ijs morn j n? ^ f or Ala.
|n resfM)nse a te ) Ptr ram announ-
c - t j 1A & f j,; s mut j lCr
Turpentine dross starts a fire
right quick. Phono your order
to Booker and Britt, phone 386-
97-tf.