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THE LEADER PUBLISHING COMPANY
BABL I BRASWELL, ... ooty noiiin s v i Sigunes bontance tvns ....City Editer
ONE DOILLAR AND FIFTY CENTS PER YEAR
Eirod ot the Postoffiodat Fitsgerald. as Second-Class Mail Matter, under Actof
: Congress of March 18,1879.
'—“#M(V)Afficial Organ of Ben Hill County and City of Fitzgerald
. Rates for Display Advertising ‘urnished on Application. | :
fiLocal Readers 5. cents the line for each insertion. No ad t;ik_en for
fess than 25 cents.
i Y,
4 Qur Slogan. - [k
Georgia’ For Oscar W. Underwood L
,; ; For President, ‘/m
&8 1 i B :
i “"' {The City Coungil,pmed_?the Central Avenue Paving :;d‘_inance
E ;ils meeting Monday night. Twelve additional blocksYwill be,
wpdernized and the 'White Way extended from the A. B% A
asgenger station fo the Court House. .
: o e e 1.3 e :
No city in Georgia will give the viitor quit¢ so good an im
sion as the Colony City, when allf these improvem g,hgye.
feeh made. Homéseekers'and investofsiwill ‘e attractdds " Good:
& pols and a clean towi are. features that will double cur popula
ri Let’s pull tagether and watch ourselves grow.
Bl gER oi~ £ 1
| ?Thus far Jim Hill, the insurgent (,otton Ginner, hafb not been
i ested, He has persistently rofuse(j to give any more% informa
| 3‘9 to the census department. Tom Watson has - promised’to defend
| n in the courts. "It is probable that ginners generally will refuse to
fivalge their businéss in futufe and thus}icripple the Cotton speculat
rs to some extent, . Without exact information, as gathered through
bhe Ginners’ Reports, buying cotton futdres will be a very unsafe bet,
E hé farmers will be the gainers, if the faw of supply and cgemand is
Fiv;an a fair show . : ¢ A
ee B :
.~ Tariff reform has been' the Democratic Slogan—-on its merits the
Party has based its consideration by the American People. The time
gs ripe to gather the harvest of these many years’ planting., The ex
‘pert and tactful leadership of Mr. Underwood has united the Demo
g’fci'atic Party in Congress as never beforeffand the result has been prac
‘tical legislation along the cardinal principals of Democracy.
| The nominaton of Mr. Underwood ‘will insure the enthusiastic
‘support of all Tariff reformers in the doubtful” States, agsuring his
‘election, if nominated, ' i q tggh "t'
' In another column we are reproducing ‘an editorial write-up
from the Dawson News, of Hon. John R. Mercer. Hav‘i'hgt pre
_viously published the platforms of his opponents, Messrs. Chas.
iCrisp and Emmett Shaw, we deem it proper to also §g‘ive these
Efa&ts to the voters, as all three gentlemen are more or;:fless stran
.gars to our people, being newly added to this district, and the.
vaters are justly entitled to whatever inforr;jation wecan get afiout]
:them There is plenty of time yet to pick your choice. | & |
" | Democrats in’the States that are. solid Republican ifavor Mr,
3‘:Wilson for President; they can vote in the Cdpvention buffcmnot ‘}je;,,,
; ver a single votq”in the Electorial College. ‘;:Démocratic %&m,,&é
f;‘g yuthern Democr;ticv, is splid for Mr. ljnfderyyob‘d‘land will dei??éix;:,l%
E‘gl‘ictorial votes for the nominee of the in‘rty."ig_ Ve B o
N ! Will the South cdntinue to allow New England, Penn%lvmmanfi
,Ei@tixer Republicanigtrohghélds to nomiif]a@e f.‘_'t,ie‘candidate,‘ to whose
%l?chon they cannot cpntx;ibqte a singlef e‘ectorial vote?. ot
| Official Ballot
@gor County Primary
“(Election, f{igifiil ’l?;h.
Following is & xvcomzpleteb:flst of
e candidates running for the
offices to be fiiled at the County
Puimary electionzof April 17th,
“?T ORDINARY;
f D. L. Martin: =
| C. M. Wise
g ’CLERK SUPERIOR COURT
7 W. L. Smith
i D. W. M.*Whitley
: | SHERIFE
W.?H. ¥ountain !
& J. W. Norris
= G. W. Rogers:
- TREASURER
G. A. Jolley
E | F. M. Smith
:| TAX RECELVER
J. B. ¥. Dixon .|
@ Early Gibbs
%1 TAX CORLECTOR
»3‘ F. M. Grabam
.| SURVEXOR
‘ i Oscar Baron
CORONER.
; ‘Wm. McCormick
s W H F Lee
G 0 R B NRIR w 3 |
'COMMISSIONER RGADS AND
| i i CRBVENUES : Prumoo
| 1§ .5 Minshew iy
| b f Web White
. JUDGE, SUPERIOR//COURT%
|5 gE, Griffinf™ "\ 0
‘ E:Wall *
s@Ll<l§T93 CITY { GOURY,
| R R WOH Hornd™Nmh
: Alex McDonald,
- LOST—GoId Fraternitv Pin, 17
'Opals around edge. Reflt?u and
get reward. £ 1o
| Dr. G. W, ¥cLejn §
sth Floor Garbutt-Doféxan.. ; g.
Election Offlcet;g%
| Eiks Lodge
. The following have gbeen e[éfitq‘d‘
as officers for the Elk§’ Todgpe for
‘the ensuing year: | A
| D, P. Adams, Eiaxted Rulerg.
'J. B. Wall, Est. Loyal Kbnight;
IT. J. Dickey, Esteémed Loyal
| Knight; L. L. Griner, Esteemed
| Lecturing Knight: &A, Day,
Sectretary: I. A. Carcwell, Tyler;
D. W. Paulk, Trustee, 4
Progresa a Matter of ldeals.
The progress of man has been
measured by the progress of his
ddeals. eoroemmccsevnacs s
THE FITZGERALD LEADER, TUESDAY APRIL 9, 1912
The Man For The Third
106 Man ror Ine inir
] 1 i
~ District To Send To Gon
{
~ gress, Hon, John R. Mercer
ress On 0 laa
z y IUL,
! 8
; It is a good thing for any country when its farmers take a hand
im toe affairs of state. It is a fortunate thing for the Third Congres
sional district that its most successful and progressive farmer offers
‘himself to the people for an office in which he can fairly and adequate
ly represent them.
'The greater part, by far, of the voting constituency of the Third
district is composed of farmers. South Georgia is ‘the richest sec
tion of the state, and its possibilities have never vet been half exploit
ed. Itlsa distsict whose greatest wealth is not in the far-famed
l;fieeundity and the opulent bounty af Mother Earth, but in the splen
i did and progressive spirit of the mgn_’;pvlbo.manipulat.e these.resources.
‘Thé farmer today is doing more fo« develop the greatness of the
.‘Sg}}h than any ofther man, He hés s{haken the - proverbial hayseed
Egfi‘;?of his hair. ‘He has been watehing the trend of affairs. He has
been plowing and;,pfbgressing. \ZVQHQ he has been tending his crops
Jth zealous caré'lie has been studying the cvolution of the public
jt‘?:de toward Hidealling and has been making up his mind to ‘a few
thigs on his own account. e 2 - oo
‘v‘“buch a man is" Hon. J. R. Mercer, who is new offering himself to
Fe'figi?sent the ’l,‘lfif‘}'ii’(listrict in Coggress. =" Mr, Mercer is a type of
thefpeally progressive farmer, Bormn and bred'on™ his »father’s farm
Webster county ,getting a common school education at-old Cambridge
academy in Gooseberry district, doing everyshihg on{ the farm from
cotton chopping o gencral managjng. He knows the life from be
ginning to end. , He knows its stfu;irgles as ‘well as its victories, His
has been the life:of the hushand, “fed bv the bounty of the earth and
sweetened by thé airs of heaven.” :
When 25 yaars of age Mr, .\&er‘cer married Miss Ella Perry-of
Dawson. Soon afterward he ente}ed' Business for himself as a ware
houseman, which business he.soldé in 1894, Since then he has been
the owner and manager of Georgia’s most bountiful farm, “The Ella
dale Estate,” which is one of the traly examples'of farming in which
modern ideas are applied to the world-old truths.of agriculture.
A suggestion of Mr. Mercer’s progressive spirit ‘is the fact that
he!was the first man in Georgia to offer to pay. cash prizes for the
largest yield of corn per acre. The first year’s prize was won on a
yield of forty-odd bushels: the last year’s of more than one hundred
and sixty, Mr. Mercer’s own farm showed a yield of 116} bushels of
oats to the acre last year, and he is planning to make it 200 this year.
He is at present constructing a modern roller ‘process wheat mill in
order to encourage his neighbors and frierds to plant more wheat,
Now, the thing that counts in this old world is. achievement. When
you can do a thing well yourself it is good. But when you get other
men, by your encouragement, example and co-operation, to do bigger
and better things than they have ever done before you are multiplying
your usefulness‘to an infinite degree. Surely, Mr. Mercer has done
‘well if measured by this standard! : :
So busy has be been with practical things and the‘:develgpment of
the material resources of his section Mr, Mercer has not cared greatly
for political office. True, he was twice mayor of Dawson. The first
time he was elected over a strong and popular opponent; the second
time without opposition. : : ’ ‘
~ In 1906 be was elected to the legislature by his county. His|
record in the house is a most worthy and interesting one. The fam
ous John Randolph of Roanoke ¢n one occasion, when he was electedl
to the Constitutional Convention, was asked what he meant to do.
£’m going to vote ‘no’ on every question,” he replied. Some one'
asked Mr, Mercer to state his ppsition .on what he "proposed as his
_p{'{pgram for the legislature, He replied:*‘l’'m going to vote torepeal%
every bad and pppressive law I dan’lay hands op—and there’s many a
oßn¢ of that sort,” As a matter'@f fact, Mr. Mercer’s hard common
sense and his keen intuition madg him a_éuccesé;fui chamgion of what
‘“F" measures e favored. Heiwas strong.forthe repeal pf existing
l@ys that were ‘seless and burdehsome to. the people. His own ex
perience as a farmer gave him a ¢clear insight into the needs of his
iggstituency and he was active in every possible way-to-see that-they
got a square deal. Every bill h¢ introduced, with one notable excep
tion, was to repeal an unnecessaiéy law. == This one was a bill to relieve
Terrell county of an oppressive dispensary license tax. =
% In this master he had strong opposition from Joe Hill Hal. Mr.
Mercer defended the right of tli state’to collect a tax. He‘compli
,ented Hon. Joé Hill Hall, who had just made a .vigorous ‘speech
;%zesbablish this very point, Mg Mercer also complimented the state
f«‘“@fi"g?on having se valuable a *‘wateh dog’? for her treasary as Mr, Hall.
He admitted that in principle the law was right, but”argied that it
@?uld be an ofpgression and im@si@ionéém tljé good R‘g‘opleg{;of Terrell
g}mty to make them pay a thowsand dollars tax on. a busiess that
gonld be and would be closed out in a few weeks as a *‘remnant sale.”
Lfie carried his'bill through by § large and enthusiastic majority.
~ The representative that the people need is one who will fight to
the bitter endté secure the kind of legislation that will benefit them,
To do this he must thoroughly ‘understand their needs, He must be
familiar with tHe wishes and the requircments of his section and con
stituents. It ft'ot, therefore, %sq,lut_ggl_zkzlpgjgal that if this constitu
ency is ovenvheh%ingly of the :grifihltural classes and of those busi
uess men whose business is bonfgd_j?up in the success of these agricul
tural ciasses—is it not logical tg say that the best man to represent it
is one of its own kind—one of these very same agriculturists¥ When
this “‘one of themselves” happe®s to be a “plain. farmer” with.a suc
cessful record behind him, with?e}iperiencé in -legislative: produce,
with an open mind, with a thorétgh knowledge of the needs of his
section, and with a clear grasp of the situation in general, why should
the people hesitate to put him in the office for which-he seeks their
¥ There seems to bein some quarterss solt of aristocratic skepticism
as to the propriety of sending a plain farmer.to Congress. ‘To any
yho may be blinded by such woel ‘over their eyes we ‘commend this
;figought: The rugged honesty of the plain farmer and his sincerity of
purpose go a long way to offset his:‘;'lack of superficial culture and his
ig-called t‘country ways.” What the people want and “need in Con
gress is something more than a man who can shine by reflected light.
They need a man who will unselfishly serve ‘themi to the” end that
their district may be built up and become the greatest in Georgia. It
is no discredit to a man to be the wearer of descended honors. Elisha
got Elijah’s mantle and was proud of it, But let us remember what
!old Plutarch said: ‘‘lt is, indeed, a desirasle thing to-ba well descend
ed, but the glory belongs to our ancestors,” Mr. Mercer stsnds o
his own record and on his own strengtn. He is not counting for votes
on the record of any other man. He stands for himself before the
people of his district, and if they honor him with their suffrage he will
serve them well. He will see that they get representation that counts
big in their favor
The editor of The News has an acquaintance with Mr. Mercer of
more than twenty-five years and during that time has known him only
as a big-hearted, progressive man and who has spent his life helping
his less fortunate fellow-beings over the rough places and in develop
ing and advancing along material lines his community and section,
Aud through all of his busy life he has not neglected the higher and
better things. He has been loyal to the church and contributed liberal
ly to its support.
Don’t let this good old Third district, with its smiling farms, its
prosperous towns, its thousands of wide-awake, progressive people go
before the world as one that sets its great farming class in the back
ground, Let them not forget that the true son of the soil is the true
lover and friend of his home and country. Let them remember that
the great state of Georgia is pre-eminently an agricultural state whose
wealth can be best i‘ncreasfed, whose resources can be oest conserved
and whose vital interests can be best upheld by men who_love Ler for
her own sake and who, in the halls of state, will stand byher and her
people through all the storms of adverse argument and hostile . effort,
What we need is men. Where e get them 1s in the country. - Oliver
Goldsmith was Tight,.; ;
. TII tares thejland ‘to hastening ills a prey;.
7 « 2 Where avealth acctmulates and men decay;i :
g B & Princes] gmd%lofrds may flourish or may faj[de—sg— %
». . A breath'can maKe them, as breath has made.
£ : But hold'a peasantry; their country’s pride, - :
»7° = When ¢née destroyed, can never be supplied. - "
P “Let the Third distridt attest heve faith by rallying - to the support
of+Farmer Mercer,—~Dawson Newsy»: kg :
News Boiled Pown and
Dished Up from Ash
ton Graded dchool
Mr. L. E. Kilpatrick is enter
taining his mother aud sister from
N. C. this week, .;
A woman wants protection, but
tavors free speech. -
Mr. L. Robitgsch- made 2 busi
ness trip at Ambrose Monday.
Miss Florence Kilpatrick spent
Thursday night with Miss Nellie
Wilbanks. w 4
No, Henry, it isn’t difficult for
a woman to keep a secret—going.
That Cornecticut farmer who
gives morphine to his hens to
make them set will doubtless dis
tribute suffagrette literature
among them when he w"shes to
reverse the procedare.
Miss Selma Thornton of Wray
was the recent guest of Miss Flora
Whittield. ]
New York is trying to be big
ger and foggier than London.
‘Miss Robbie Kilpatrick spent
Wednesday night with Miss Bea
thice Rébitdses: ..~ 1 - 2 &
~ A hotel of 1,000 rooms is to be
built in Regent st:, - London, and
tipping is to be forbidden in it, -
Mr. Jue Lyna frorré town was
a recent visitor at this place. :
It Is-still about as ea?;v to find-a
man who will sell his birthright
for a mess of-potatoes as it was in
the time of Esaw.
Miss lallie Jones from the city
was the guest of heriaunt Mrs,
W. H. Robitzsch Friday and at
tended the commencement at the
Ashton school in the. evering. .
All the world’s ‘B. stage and a}l
the men and wox_;pgn{’ar,e me}-el'y
Kickeps. 2 = &4 1
Our. school closed Eriday night
An nteresting program :was
carried out,” which all the people
seemed to enjoy very much. A
laige growd Wwas present,
- Misses Edith Bishoé -and- Clara
Wilbanks spent Tue:sdav with
Florence: Robitzsch: ; =
* When a man lias tccasion to ap
pear before a police: magistrate he
is aptito forget "his own name, 3
- Mr: and Mrs, .M., Moore visited
their grandfanher at Wray Thurs
ey = T o f W =
" There are-still plen:ty of gi-ee%
pastures for-all the - Mrd’s;sheep;,
The sing :‘at""-"-.D;')rn_iinéys mill
Sunday was well attended,
The Kansas judge who wants tp
abolish love, at first s?ght should
advertise his serom.™ | ~
A New York man tied his wife
to a telephone pole the other
day and she didn’t like it because
it isn’t the style.
= s Tioonne “Deloraine,
Church Directory - |
Every pastor ia Fitzgeraid is urged |
tosend in his notice of church ser-:
vices for this column. & s 3
" . CATHOLIC CHURCH :
Sunday School 9:30. . -
Mass 2nd and 4th Snnday in each;
month at 10 o’clocks '
A. BH. Schonhardt, Priest.
: i
U. B. CHURCH :
Directory of Services. ¢
Sunday School, 2:30 a. m. : v
Preaching 10:48 <. m,and 7:30 p. m
Y.P.C.E.U.,Gpm.% :
Mid week services. Wed. 7:30 p. m. .
Official board meeting the first Thurss
day evening of each month at 8:30.
J. L. Leichliter, Pastor.
FIRST M. E. CHURCH. ,
Lee and Magnolia Sts. :
E.J. Hammond, Pastor. Residence;
118 W. Magnolia Street, Phoue 406.
Sabbath :Serviées. i
Sabbath School— 9:30 a. m. i
Morning worship—lo:4s, i
Epworth League—6:4s p. m, 3
Fvening worship—7:4s. <
Prayer service Wedhesday evening
at 7:45. The general public, especially
strangers, always w‘elcpme._ )
CENTRAL CHRISTIAN CHURCH
Lee and Jessamine Ste.
Louis C. Hamuiond,: Pastor, -
Bible School, Howard W. Brown
superintendent, ;meets every Lord’s
Day at 9:30 -a. m; = Morning worship,
with Lord’s -Supper, Littla sermon for:
Children, and Sermen, {11:00. Y.P.S.C
‘E. 830, Evening worship at7:3o.
Midweek service. with address by
the pastor, Weduesday evening at 7:30.
Everybody weleome at all meetings
Only once a straoger here. i
CENTRAL METHODIST CHURCE
Cor. Lée St. and ifi?entral Ave.
Sunday School 9:45 a.m.C.'A. Wheeler
Superintendent, Preaching by pastor
e g e
4:00p. m. Seniorf;‘.:Epwiorth League 6.45
p. m. Preachiog by!pastor 7:30p.m,
Prayer meeting-Wednesday night at
7: 00. : A, -
All are cordially invited to these
services and strangers are espetially
welcome & 1 e 3
Guyton Fisher, Pastor. " .
FIRST BARTIST CHURCH.
‘W. Magnolia, betweeh Main and ‘Lée
Streets. »y & g 0
Sunday schook 9.30 a.dn. L. Kefihn({—'
Preaching services every Sunday at
11 a. w. and 5:00 p. m.
Royal AmbassadorsiSunday evening
7:00. b ;
Trayer meeting~ Welnesday wnight
B:¥.P. U, Friday night, 8:00. 3 :
‘All are cordially invited to aftend
all these services, ™ | x 4
b Thos. M. Callaway, .
Eskimo Wife a Hard Worker.
Eskimo - widowers ' often remarry
within a week after the demise of the
wife. Thé helpmate; of the sayage
does most of the work, and he is al
most helpless without! her. She makes
and breaks camp, cooks, cuts up her
husband’s kill and carries it to camp.
She dresses the skins of deer and
seals. She makes the footgear and
clothes, paddles the canoe and carries
every burden. Without her no domes
tic arrangement can go forward.