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MAYOR 0. N. YOUNG
DRAWS THE RECORD
*‘l Know That to Be True Which I
State to Be True, Leaving Con
clusions to Be Formed By You.”
To the Members of the Grand Jury, July Term, 1914, Bartow Superior
Court:
I learned after adjournment of our body last Friday that we had
been discharged as grand jurors, anew jury drawn and we are no long
er connected with the court. Knowing that you, and each of you, have
given to the performance of the duties imposed upon us faithfulness
of service and a consecrated desire to honestly and intelligently dis
pose of the matters laid before us, I take this occasion to tender re
newed assurances of my personal esteem and confidence in your up
rightness and patriotism.
After reflection, our duties of a public nature being over and con
sideration of my individual rights being proper, I have decided also to
address you upon a matter of personal privilege. I shall be as brief as
the necessities of the matter demand but it will necessarily require
some space and I ask you to give this writing careful consideration
and analysis.
After I was honored by you with the place of foreman and
we filed into our place in the court room to receive the charge and
instructions of the court, you became witnesses to a most extra
ordinary tirade of abuse and criticism of me as a man and official.
Every art was employed and everything was said to cause you to re
gret your choice and to humiliate me in the eyes of my associates in
the performance of public duties and before my countrymen who may
have been present in the court room. I sat defenseless without the
power or privilege to resent or deny one single allegation. I was in the
presence of one who had been chosen to declare the law-, to represent
the equality and majesty of the law and to hold the scales of justice
fairly between man and man. I have made no reference to it except to
say one time that you shall have from me a statement of the facts
about the matters referred to and that the facts would be my side of
the question. You have heard one side and I now ask you to listen to
the other.
MY SALARY.
I was elected mayor of Cartersville just after the new commission
government charter was adopted in 1911. This charter had been pre
viously adopted by the people of Cartersville by a large majority of
its voters. Judge Fite favored the charter and made no criticisms of
its provisions at that time. By the charter the mayor was allowed a
salary of $1,500 a year. I have sought to earn It and have given every
day of my time, sickness alon6 and one vacation excepted, to the per
formance of the duties of the bffice. It is not for me to claim how suc
cessful I have been in the office. That is a matter for the people of
Cartersville to decide, and not for me to proclaim, but it has given me
pleasure and satisfaction to be assured by the votes of my people that
I have their confidence, as evidenced by the fact that they have recent
ly elected me to continue to administer the office of mayor, as well as
personal assurances given me by the most responsible citizens of Car
tersville that they hold me in personal esteem.
Judge Fite has been chosen at a salary of $3,000 a year to perform
the duties of judge of the superior court only. 1 have not, and do not
now, call in question any judicial act or duty performed by him. I
leave these things to be reviewed by the court of appeals and supreme
court of Georgia. I merely say that he has imposed upon him by law a
multitude of duties, sufficient in importance and dignity to keep him
busy every day of the year. If I am wrong in this and he can perform
all his duties as judge and yet find himself with so much time left on
his hands that he can devote days, weeks and months in attempts to
run Cartersville, litigate land lines and become an authority on the
administration of schools, he has an easier job than I have and gets
more money for it. I do not find time to go into the judge business
while he seems to have plenty of time to engage in the mayor business.
I do not know whether Judge Fite opposed me the first time or
not, but I suppose he did. I do not remember the fact because I held
no enmity toward any who voted against me, my great desire being to
make as good an official as I could and to serve all alike. I was re
elected for another term of two years last December. Judge Fite ac
tively opposed me and this I remember for reasons which will become
apparent during the course of this address to you. I want to say, how
ever, that in all my official matters I have sought to treat him as any
other citizen of Cartersville but I did not give him rank as being en
titled to any more consideration than the humblest. I have no apolo
gies to make for taking this view r of the matter. I feel that each and
every citizen of Cartersville is entitled to just as much consideration
as any other citizen, notwithstanding he may or may not hold an im
portant office.
So far as I know’ my administration was acceptable to hint up un
til June 1913.
When the commission government charter was adopted it was
found that the presence of what is known as the nepotism clause
would disqualify more than one hundred of the best citizens of Car
tersville from holding office because of kinship to teachers who had
been teaching in Cartersville for many years, this relationship exist
ing either by blood or marriage. It was deemed advisable to put the
schools in the hands of a board of education to be elected by the
board of commissioners. Two teachers were related to me. I w’ould
have resigned my office rather than have them lose their places. They
have been teachers many years in Cartersville, elected each succeed
ing year by different boards, and I have a right to assume that they
Live given satisfaction. It was seen that any other commissioner
might be effected the same way and that the city w’ould either lose
the services of their good teachers, or commissioners of their choice,
by r>ason of this clause. Therefore, without opposition from any
sour e, Judge Fite not excepted, notice was given and an act passed
by the legislature, supported by the Bartow county representatives,
Capt. J. J. Calhoun and M. L. Johnson, which amended the city charter
so that a board of education was created and the nepotism clause tak
en out.
The board of commissioners elected Messrs. C. M. Milam, Walter
White and John A. Stephens. Their first duty was to elect teachers.
I did not speak to a single member of the board for or against a single
applicant and gave no advice to the board in whatever form, shape or
fashion. I neither advised nor tried to dictate their policy nor did I
know’ or seek to know what they would do. I never knew that Judge
Fite’s daughter was an applicant for a school teacher’s place in June
1913, until he began to criticise me after she was defeated. I am in
formed by the board of education that no one came to them from the
city government in behalf of any one, except one of the commissioners
who pled for Judge Fite’s daughter, being asked to do so by Judge
Fite himself. His daughter, prior to this time, had been a supernumer
ary for a time In the city schools, and sometimes taught in the place
of a sick teacher, and at such times drew fifty dollars a month salary,
and during that time there was no complaint of me or concerning the
city schools.
I now quote to you a portion of a publication, signed by more than
twenty-five well known citizens of Cartersville, one year ago.
From the Atlanta Constitution:
FITE’S FIRST OBJECTION.
On June 2, 1913, all old teachers applying for re-election were
chosen by the board leaving thereby only one vacancy to be filled, the
same being created for the new term by the addition of one grade, this
grade being deemed neccessary between the grammar department and
THE BARTOW TRIBU NE, JULY 30, 1914.
the High school, due to the high curriculum established and the fact
that so few pupils were able through hard study to make the promo
tion from the sixth grade of the grammar school to the first grade of
the High school. For this position there were two applicants from Car
tersville, one the daughter of W. W. Daves; the daughter of Judge Fite,
and several out-of-towm applicants. The school board saw fit to elect
the daughter of W. W. Daves, who had taught school one term at Em
erson and one term at Atco, near Cartersville, where she had made
good. She received the unanimous vote of the board, all three mem
bers voting for her. Judge Fite’s daughter had never taught school any
where, except as a supernumerary in the Cartersville school, during
which time she received her voucher as extra teacher, drew her mon
ey, and there was no complaint as to the management of the school
system.
The following day Judge Fite made known to a large number of
people his displeasure and dissatisfaction with the result of the elec
tion of teachers, and proceeded to criticise severely the members of
the board of education, and particularly its chairman, Mr. Milam. In
conversation he freely charged that the board, through Mr. Milam and
Mayor Young, dictated the selection of teachers, and charged that
the defeat of his daughter was the result of prejudice against him ex
isting in the mind of Mayor Young through Mr. Milam.
WANTED TO AMEND SCHOOL ACT.
He informed a number of his friends that he intended to amend
the School Board Act, so as to cause it to include a nepotism clause,
and thereby force out as teachers two relatives of Mr. Young, the
mayor, and Mr. Milam’s step-mother, all of whom had taught in public
schools of Cartersville for a number of years prior to the change of the
form of government and the change in the manner of handling the
schools, Mr. Milam’s step-mother being one among the first teachers
employed in the school system of Cartersville; and all being univer
sally esteemed as excellent teachers. He did, thereupon, insert a no
tice that week, being the first week in June, 1913, as provided by law
concerning the Intention to enact local legislation, that a bill would
be introduced prohibiting the selection of any teachers of kin to either
the board of commissioners or the board of education, within the third
degree either by consanguinity or affinity.
ATTACKS MADE BY FITE.
Within the next few days following, Judge Fite vigorously assailed
in conversation the board of commissioners and the board of educa
tion. He said also that he had discovered, after a careful reading of
the law r , that the nepotism clause was not taken out of the original
commission government charter by the School Board Act; and that he
had sought and obtained the opinion of many good lawyers to this ef
fect. He stated that mandamus proceedings could be and would be
brought against the teachers who were kin to any one of the board of
commissioners. He called up H. L. Sewell, superintendent of schools,
and told him to inform the board of education that, unless G. W. Young
resigned as mayor, or Miss Heyward and Miss Rogan withdrew as
teachers, a mandamus proceeding would be served upon them.
He thereupon withdrew and abandoned his notice expressing an
Intention to incorporate a nepotism clause in an amendment to the
School Board Act; and the mandamus proceeding was never brought.
In about two weeks later, however, he inserted in the local paper an
other notice to amend the School Board Act, so as to provide for the
election of the board of education by the people, and to increase the
membership of said board from three to five. By the terms of this act,
as drawn, the terms of office of the present Board of Education, which
now extend to 1, 2 and 3 years, are made to terminate absolutely Jan
uary 1, 1914.
COLE ASKED TO INTRODUCE BILLS.
For the legislature, Judge Fite favored the election of W. A. Dodd
and opposed the election of E. D. Cole, both of whom were elected to
the lower house. After he gave his notice he asked Mr. Dodd to come
to his office, which he did, and then and there Judge Fite read a num
ber of bills which he wanted introduced, which he claimed were recom
mended by the Bar Association, and then begun to read the bill in re
gard to his proposed change of the board of education of Cartersville.
Mr. Dodd soon asked him to stop and not to ask him to introduce the
same, as he had only lived in Cartersville a short time and would pre
fer not to do it. Judge Fite later approached Mr. Dodd again, and ask
ed him to introduce the bill and to urge its passage and he again de
clined. Thereupon Judge Fite informed Mr. Dodd that he would call a
mass meeting and have him instructed to favor the bill and to vote
for its passage. He did not personally solicit Mr. Cole, but through
friends Mr. Cole was asked to favor the bill, immediately after Judge
Fite had given notice of his intention to present the bill, to the legis
lature.
Judge Fite did not favor the election to the senate of Mr. J. W. L.
Brown, who wtas notwithstanding elected. Mr. Brown Was not personal
ly solicited by Judge Fite to favor the bill, but likewise, he was ap
proached by friends immediately after notice was given that the pro
posed amendment to the school board act would be presented to the
legislature for passage.
The senator and both representatives having made known their
position with respect to the proposed measure to Judge Fite directly,
or through friends who informed him, he called a mass meeting to bo
held at the court house Monday evening, July 13, the July term of the
superior court of Bartow county convening that day. Advertisements
were inserted in both local papers without any signatures thereto, in
which the people of Cartersville were called to meet to consider the
proposed drawing in of the city limits, the proposition to create a
board of education of five members and elect the members thereof by
the people, and to create the office of city recorder, and to consider
other matters of public interests.
CHARGE TO GRAND JURY.
On the morning of said date Judge Fite charged the grand jury at
length and made the subjects of his special attention the matter of
schools, particularly praising the work of the county schools and criti
cising the management of the city’s affairs. After completing his
charge to the grand jury, he informed all present in the court room
(who were largely country people) that a mass meeting would be held
at the court house that night, to which they were all invited. In the
afternoon, upon ar pouncing adjournment of court for the day, he again
announced the fa.t that there w’ould be a mass meeting in that room
that night at 8 o’clock and all were cordially invited to attend.
Deeming it no more unfair to invite people from the country to a
place of amusement that evening than to have them present at a
meeting, wherein was to be discussed purely municipal affairs, the
friends of the city administration arranged free tickets to a moving
picture show, good only for the hour of the mass meeting. When court
adjourned that afternoon enterprising merchants w’ere at the door of
the court house presenting free to each man as he filed out a ticket
to the show’. When the hour for the mass meeting arrived there were
none present, except Cartersville people, who were tax-payers and
voters, and at which w’ere present many of the leading business and
professional men of the town.
At the instance of the city commissioners notice had been given
that the city limits of Cartersville would be so drawn in on the south
side as to cut out certain railroad frontage and farming lands, with
the idea that freedom in this way from municipal taxation would en
courage the location of industries in that quarter. The proposition
met with strong opposition on the part of the people; and the commis
sioners, ascertaining this to be so, abandoned the proposition and made
known to the public such facts through both papers. However, the
whole town was agog with the question.
At this time Judge Fite published notice of his mass meeting, and
when the printers informed him that the proposal to draw in the city’s
limits had been abandoned, he, nevertheless, insisted on their being
included as one of the matters for consideration at the meeting. The
result was that his call for a mass meeting and the notice by the city
of the abandonment of the project to cut out certain sections of Car
tersville appeared side by side in the same issue of one, if not both,
of the local papers. It thus developed that Judge Fite knew when he
issued his call that the city had already responded to public senti
ment with reference to this matter, though he persisted la using it
as a leader for the call of the mass meeting, and the first of the item
to be considered.
MASS MEETING ASSEMBLES.
The mass meeting was organized by the election of a chairma’
and secretary. The officers taking their seats, the chairman promptly
called for some one to state the object of the meeting, after which
there was considerable delay, followed by a motion to limit the speech
es to five minutes, which motion was put and carried, Judge Fite op
posing. The chairman again called for some one to state the object
of the meeting, and again there was considerable delay. Whereupon a
motion to adjourn was made, there being no business presented for
consideration before the 'body.
Judge Fite then arose, acknowledged that he had called the meet
ing, and thereupon the maker of the motion to adjourn withdrew it,
stating that he wanted merely to produce action. Judge Fite then of
fered a resolution opposing the change of the city limits, which reso
lution was read from a batch of papers containing several sheets. C.
M. Milam stated that the city authorities had publicly withdrawn the
proposal to change the limits, and had advertised the fact in the local
papers, and that the idea had been absolutely abandoned. Judge Fite
stated that although it w’as true the city authorities had withdrawn
the proposed bill, still there was nothing to prevent them from bring
ing it up again.
To which Mr. Milam responded that the action of the meeting
would not prevent them from bringing it up again were they so in
clined, but that the city authorities had in good faith withdrawn it;
that respect for them and their action necessitated taking L heir word
for it, and that a resolution asking them to do what they had already
done would be of no effect. A motion was then made to table Judge
Fite’s motion, and upon its being put before the house the motion to
table was adopted.
FEELING MANIFESTED.
Judge Fite then moved that his resolution be taken from the tabl e
and voted on immediately, to w’hich Mr. Milam raised the point of
order that it would require a two-thirds vote to do that, no intervening
business having been transacted. At this point was manifested the only
feeling displayed at the meeting. Judge Fite stated that he could see
that the meeting had been by the gang that always stops
everything when they can do it in this town. ‘‘l move the meeting be
adjourned.”
Judge Wikle arose, and, addressing the chair, said Judge Fite
ought to know, if he knows anything, “I have always been his friend
and supporter, and I have not been at a meeting in this town in five
years. The statement of Judge Fite is unjust, unj.rue, unrighteous and
a great injustice to the citizens present. Therefore, I now second the
motion to adjourn.” The motion was then put and carried without op
position.
FITE CALLS SECOND MEETING.
After adjournment Judge Fite manifested his disapproval of what
had been done, and announced that he would call another meeting for
the following Monday evening. The meeting was attended by perhaps
100 citizens, a large majority of which showed that it was not in sym
pathy with the effort to amend the charter anyway, notwithstanding
only one subject embraced in the call was considered. The evident
purpose of those who participated in the call was to discredit the
work of the city administration, and the result was interpreted by the
friends of the city commissioners and members of the board of educa
tion as an indorsement of their course in public affairs.
For some reason Judge Fite saw fit to change his plan of holding
a second mass meeting, which he had announced for the following
Monday night, but instead, announced through the papers and through
hand bills, that he would speak in the court house Monday morning
at 9 to 10 o’clock, before court convened.
Promptly at 9 o’clock he began his speech, taking up the entire
time before the hour for convening of court and encroaching upon the
court’s time from 20 to 30 minutes, thereby giving no one an opportun
ity to make reply.
MAKES BITTER ARRAIGNMENT.
He bitterly arraigned the board of education, the mayor of Car
tersville, the correspondents of The Atlanta Constitution and Chatta
nooga Times and the publisher of The Bartow Tribune —because he
published a report of the mass meeting which harmonizes in all re
spects with the stenographic copy of the proceedings of that meeting.
The latter he denominated a falsifier because the report of the meet
ing concluded with the statement that the “purpose of those w’ho par
ticipated in the call was to discredit the work of the city administra
tion,” notwithstanding his speech was directed to this end, and be
cause, furthermore, The Tribune had stated that “the friends of the
city commissioners and members of the board of education interpret
ed the result of the meeting to have been an indorsement of their
course in public affairs,” unmindful of the fact that he admitted that
he was unable to control the mass meeting; that upon adjournment
he complained that the friends of the administration and those not in
sympathy with him applauded and cheered the leaders who antago
nized him, complaining also that they had passed a five-minute limita
tion upon speeches and tabled all motions made by him or positions
taken by him except his motion to adjourn.
ANGER PLAINLY SEEN.
During the course of his speech he took occasion to pay tribute to
the ability and capacity of the teachers whom he had threatened by
invoking the application of the act prohibiting nepotism through man
damus proceedings. It was plainly evident that he labored under great
excitement and gave frequent expression of plainest anger and dissat
isfaction with everything and everybody who disagreed with him or
whom he suspicioned as not now being in accord with his purposes
and views concerning what should be done.
He drew on his vocabulary for such words as “contemptible,”
“puppy,” “false,” “lie” and all words synonomous therewith. Every
thing mentioned by him brought forth the fiercest criticism and there
was nothing to praise. From three to five minutes he devoted to the
matter of the drawing in of the city limits, whereas forty-five minutes
was spent in discussing the local schools and the existing manage
ment thereof.
He spent much time concerning an item of S2O paid out for the
survey of the line when it was designed to cut out certain territory
for manufacturing purposes; about the item of premiums paid by the
city on the bonds of its officers executed by authorized surety com
panies, and concerning the expenditure of something over S2OO under
the item; of “incidentals” appearing in a condensed quarterly report
of the city, wherein it is shown that upwards of ten thousand dollars
had been received and over sixteen thousand dollars disbursed.
He recklessly declared that there were only three classes who
could get places as teachers in the schools of Cartersville. They were
as follows: First, relatives of either the mayor and commissioners or
any member of the school board; second, those who have not gradu
ated in the public schools here or anywhere else and have not gone
off to college; third, one who is not a resident of the town and don t
own any property in the town. He then said what is left is given to
the girls of the’town, provided they had not gone through school here
or gone off o college and graduated there, for if they have, they have
no chance. He said all those who did not come in under these head*
“have as much chance to secure a position ‘as a tallow-legged dog has
to catch an asbestos cat in hades.’ ”
THE ELOQUENCE OF ANTONY.
He said that he was possessed with the impassioned eloquence of
Marc Antony when he thought over and considered the conditions of
Cartersville and what had been done to it by the school board recent
ly, “Oh! judgment, thou art fled to brutish beasts and men have l°sr
their reason.” He said that the fight had only begun; that he wou i
be found forever hereafter battling for the rights of the people, as he
had always done in the past. That one thing was sure, the mayor a’
commissioners would have to put back in the treasury the money th<>:
was paid out by w’ay of premiums on their bonds.
During the course of his speech he applied many opprobrious
terms toward all whom he saw fit to criticise and once resorted to
(Continued on page five.)