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STOPPING THE CLOCK
TO APPROVE BILLS.
Interesting Question as to Le
gality of Late Legislation.
Will Laws Made After the Real Hour
for Adjournment Stand Fire if
Questioned in the Courts ?
Lots of Measures Really
Illegal for Other
Reasons.
The convict lease bill, as ultimately
amended, was passed at the last night ses
sion of the General Assembly at about five
minutes of 2 A. M.
The law specifies distinctly that the leg
islature shall remain in session fifty days
and no more. There are provisions, of
course, for calling an extra meeting, but
aside from that the life, of the body expires
at twelve o’clock exactly on the night of
the fiftieth day.
It is almost invariably the case that the
most important measures of the season
hang fire until the last moment. Gener
ally bills of importance mean antagonism,
and antagonism means delay; so as a rule
the concluding hours of the session are
occupied in deciding the fate of a lot of
legislation of general interest. The time
left before midnight is always too short,
so for years it has been the custom to
push back or stop the clock before mid
night and thus gain two or three hours.
Thus many of the best known laws on
the statute books were passed after the
hour of adjournment.
This year the convict bill was the most
important measure of the session. It
wagged along, loaded with amendments,
until the last day, and when the clock
neared twelve at night it was still under
discussion. As usual some member there
upon stopped the pendulum and talk
flowed on for nearly two hours. At fifteen
minutes of two the presiding officer de
clared that he would announce the General
Assembly adjourned by limit at two
o’clock and, thus spurred, the statesmen
present passed the bill in exactly ten min
utes.
The question now arises: Was the
action legal? It is very plausibly argued
that if the legislature has a right to con
tinue in session two hours over the time
fixed by law it would have an equal right
to continue for two days or two years.
At first blush this argument seems invin
cible, but the best lawyers say no. This
question came up before the United States
Supreme Court some years ago,and it was
decided that the record should be the sole
admissible evidence of the proceedings of
either the House or Senate.
Os course, the record shows that the
legislature adjourned at midnight and
there is no going behind it. The point of
illegality seems to have suggested itself to
a number of people in the city and there
is a widespread impression that if pressed
it would upset the bill. This, as stated,
is a mistake.
Another interesting point touching the
legality of legislative enactments is that
which applies to local bills. The law re
quires that before a local bill of any kind
can become a law it must first be adver
tised, in the locality it affects, at least
thirty days prior to its first reading.
This law is seldom, if ever, complied
with, and every bill which has been
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passed without the necessary advertise
ment can be attacked and repealed. Few
attempts have been made to attack the
legality of bills passed under such circum
stances, but in each case where it has
been done the courts have sustained the
complainants.
Still another requirement of the law
regarding the passage of bills is often
disregarded. A majority of the votes of
both House and Senate is required before
a bill can be passed. In a great many
instances, votes have been taken when
barely a quorum was present, but the
record is always made to show that the
bill received the requisite majority.
It would be interesting to know just
exactly how many of our laws have been
passed under such circumstances. As
long as the record can be altered so as to
read any way that is desired there is no
telling what mav have happened.
Candies and Dolls.
We have both, dolls filled with candy
and candy just so. All kinds of pure
candy. Candy gotten up specially to
please the children, candy for the big
children, in fact candy for everybody, the
purest, freshest, best and cheapest in
town. Garrow’s, 100 Whitehall street.
Given Away Free.
M. Greer & Co., the jewelers, at 93
Peachtree street, will give away free,with
every purchase made of them between
now and January Ist, one bronze St. Jo
seph statuette charm.
Promotion Well Deserved.
“Fred”J. Robinson’s host of friends will
be delighted to hear that he has been pro
moted to the position of Traveling Pas
senger Agent of the Central R. R. of
Ga., for Chicago and the Northwest, with
headquarters at 205 Clark street, Chicago,
Illinois.
Mr. Robinson is one of the most popular
railroad men in Georgia, both among his
fellow workers and the public generally,
and it is rumored that some of his friends
contemplate a pleasant surprise for him
before he departs on the 30th inst.
He is a hard and conscientious worker,
with plenty of ambition which will insure
rapid rise in his chosen profession.
Mr. James Freeman, formerly Central
R. R. ticket agent at Tybee depot, in Sa
vannah, will succeed Mr. Robinson in At
lanta. He is reported as being a clever,
bright and active young man and we wish
him success.
This Name-Plate on a Vehicle Guarantees
_ .First
M AKER
-A TLA MTA .GA
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OllAll * s f res h’ fat, tender, juicy
jt/umi an( j toothsome received daily
and served deliciously, as are also all other
seasonable at Durand’s, in the
depot, where the best cook and waiters in
Atlanta are to be found.
Tyner’s Dyspepsia Remedy corrects in
digestion in five minutes. Try it.
[ PtlflAv’c Studio; new location,
DUllilUJ d Wh itehall Street.
Th pntrp parties will find the Kimball
1 iivCi.il v Q a f e serv j ce an d food the
best in Atlanta.
D. W. Yarbrough, Agt.; sanitary engi
neer and plumber. 24S.Pryor. ’Phone4ss-
The [©King
HOW PROMINENT MEN
TAKE TO INTERVIEWS.
Some of the Accumulated Wis
dom of a Veteran Reporter.
He Gives a Racy Resume of the Per
sonal Idiosyncrasies of Some of Our
Leading Citizens—Who is Easy
to Approach and Who Isn’t—
Men Who Talk but Are
Careful Not to Say
Anything.
The newspaper reporter of a city soon
learns to “size up” all individuals of any
prominence with reference to what might
be called their “interviewability.” How
they may be reached, their personal idio
syncrasies, their susceptibility to flattery
and their various affiliations and connec
tions all constitute information of the
highest value, and give the man of expe
rience enormous advantage over the nov
ice in a newspaper shop.
For instance, a reporter gets orders to
interview Col. Blank on the dispensary
bill. If he is posted he knows that the
only time to catch the colonel at leisure is
at 4:15 P. M., sharp, also that he loathes
tobacco smoke, also that he is a rampant
prohibitionist, and last, but not least, that
he has political aspirations in a certain
definite direction. Result: The reporter
gets the interview. If he doesn’t know
these things its ten to one he gets the
marble heart.
It may interest the readers of the
LOOKING Glass to know how the av
erage local reporter has taken the meas
ure of some of our Atlanta notables.
Judge Nat Hammond is the bete noire of
the press gang of this city, and they all
dread an assignment to interview him.
He never talks to a reporter and his way
of looking over his glasses and saying,
“Well, sir, what do y’ want?” is enough
to chill the cheek of the most impudent
youngster that ever went after a story.
Captain Jim English is easy to talk to
but mighty hard to get anything out
of. He invites the reporter to come in
side, in a kind, fatherly fashion, points to
a seat beside his desk, patiently lays down
anything he may be doing, and then, put
ting his hands on his knees, wheels slow
ly around in his chair and faces the visi
tor, as much as to say: “Here 1 am, my
dear boy, blaze away.” If the reporter is
new in the “perfesh,” he promptly con
gratulates himself on striking an easy
thing. There is where he gets fooled.
The captain will talk, blandly, suavely,
and copiously, but he won’t say anything.
The old-timers have all learned not to try
to pump him. He’s too smooth.
Glenn & Rountree, the lawyers, are
both good men to interview, and as they
are in all the big cases their office is a
valuable news source. Col. Glenn can
be depended upon for a breezy talk at any
time on any subject, and his partner, Mr.
Rountree, is liked by the boys on account
of his courtesy and the clear and business
like way in which he states facts.
Mayor Charley Collier stays at the
city hall office all the time nowadays. He
will generally see a reporter, but his pa
tience is somewhat short and the man
who gets a talk out of him will do well
to be brief and to the point. On matters
of importance he can rarely be persuaded
to make a verbal statement, but prefers
to write what he has to say.
Forest Adair, chairman of the >ard of
commissioners, has learned to foxy,
and when he consents to be intt 'ewed
on anything he insist on writing! lown
and gets a promise that it goes just as he
writes it. Otherwise, nit. He has the
reputation in the craft of having a better
appreciation of what constitutes “a good
story” than any other public man in At
lanta.
Os the two Inmans, Sam and Hugh, 1
would much rather tackle Hugh, although
his brother is a thousand times pleas
anter. Hugh is as genial as a polar bear,
but he trZZZ get mad now and then and
give up a first-rate talk. Sam is very
nice to talk to, but he never says any
thing of sensational interest.
The Hon. “Bill” Venable will usually
see a reporter, but he expects him to be
brief. He is a very busy, nervous man
and a bore soon gets him rattled. He is
one of the few public men in Atlanta who
will talk right out on topics of the day,
and if one can catch him while the
iron is hot, he is always good for a story.
The reporter who has tackled Captain
English would place Park Woodward in
the same category. He is extremely cau
tious, and always invites you to have a
drink or a cigar, but he won’t talk—that
is, he talks, but not on the subject you
are asking him about. You leave with
the impression that he has told you a good
deal, but when the interview is turned
into copy it doesn’t “pan out.”
Andy Stewart is the friend of every
newspaper man in Atlanta. They all
like him, and he is an excellent news
source. There is one subject, however,
on which he will not talk, and that is
politics. He is everybody’s friend and
everyone is his friend, and he would not
antagonize anyone under any considera
tion. All in all, Andy Stewart is a friend
the reporters could ill afford to lose.
Julius Brown is not hard to approach,
and, if the subject is one he is interested
in, will give out a red-hot interview.
As a general thing, doctors take to the
woods as soon as a news-gatherer comes
within hailing distance. They are dread
fully afraid of being misquoted, and nearly
always insist on writing the interview
themselves.
Dr. Harry Huzza is an exception to the
general rule, and doesn’t mind saying
what he thinks, regardless of the ethics
of the profession. He is one of the few
approachable physicians in Atlanta, and
always talks straight out from the shoul
der.
IM £<>“£4, IVMX.
Pearls I Pearls I I
There is nothing more appropriate to
buy for yourself and your friends
than nice pearls. M. Greer & Co.
are the recognized leaders in this
line, and have the largest stock in
the South at 93 Peachtree, where they
will be pleased to have you inspect it, and
their extensive assortment of diamonds,
watches, clocks, silver and gold novelties,
cut glass and bric-a-brac.
A Cyclopedia
For a present. What could be more val
uable or appropriate? The Columbian
leads them all. Special inducements
made until January Ist, ’9B. The Colum
bian Book Co., 81 and 83 Whitehall St.
Bowden Waterc ""’ Brlgh, ’ s