Newspaper Page Text
i'HE ATLANTA GEORGIA y AND NEWS.
THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN
(AND NEWS)
JOHN TEMPLE GRAVES, Editor.
F. L. SEELY, President.
Published Every Afternoon.
(Except Sunday)
By THE GEORGIAN COMPANY.
At i5 Wot Alabama 8t.. Atlanta. On.
Subscription Bates:
One War
Sir Mouths f{?
One Month s
«y Carrier, Per Week -*•
Telephones eonneetln* nil depsrt-
ei’i te. Lone distance terminals.
resenistlres for
XSEt Office Tribune Bnlldln*
Nfir York Office Potter Uulldlaz
If you hare erjr trouble setting THE
GEORGIAN AND NEWS, telephone
the dmilntlon department
It promptly remerlled. T<
Bell main; Atlanta 4401.
It Is desirable that ell eommualea-
tlons Intended for publication In TIlH
GEORGIAN AND NEWS Ire limited to
200 words la length. It Is Imperative
ihat they be .lined, as an srldsncs of
rood lalth. Rejected mnnnncrlpts will
not be retained unless atmmps art ssnt
fur lbs purpose.
THE GEORGIAN AND NEWS prints
no unri. au or objectionable sdrertls-
Ug. Neither does It print whisky or
any liquor ads.
OUR PLATFORM: THE GEORGIAN
AND NEWS stands for Atlanta's own-
log Its own gas aud electric light
plants, as It now owns Its water
works. Other cities do this and get
s ns low as W cents, with . profit
-mK1 ,, TH& GEORGIAN A&D NEWS
hetlerea that if street railways can bs
operated successfully by European
el ties, an they ore. there Is no good
rcanon why they eon not be, so oper-
sted here. But we do not betlere this
ran be done now. and It may be some
yenrs before we ere ready for so big
an undertaking. Still
s
Rippling On Other Shores.
Tho legislature of Ohio Is, accus
tomed to hold & summer reunion at
somo point in the state. It Is not a
regular session, but a social reunion
in which state affairs arc Informally
discussed.
This year the reunion was held at
Cedar Point, a famous resort on the
Lake Erie shore.
The legislature of Ohio consists of
86 members, all of whom were pres
ent at this reunion. At Its first In
formal session, with the recent Geor
gia election as a text, after earnest
discussion, It developed that 72 out of
86 members of the legislature wore
In favor of state prohibition as an
ultimatum and of rigid county option
as a preliminary measure. Under the
present absurd conditions any pre
cinct of a county or any street In
city can organize and secure a liquor
license If all the rest of the county
and every other street In town bo
rigidly opposed to the liquor traffic.
In other words, If the entire city of
Cincinnati were overwhelmingly In
favor of prohibition, and on a single
smaller street the majority of those
Who lived or did business there would
organize, they might, It they chose,
flood the street with liquor saloons In
splto of the will of all the othor citi
zens In town. If a single small pre.
clnct In Clermont county should or
ganize for the purpose they might
vote the unlimited use of liquor In
that precinct If every other man,
woman or child In the county were
vigorously opposed to the liquor
traffic. k
So that Ohio at last has been In
spired by Georgia's example to a vig
orous reform of Its exceedingly loose
liquor laws, the counties will be
permitted as a preliminary to rote
liquor'entirely out of their limits,
either rural or municipal, and It Is
prophesied by strong mon who know,
that Ohio will ultimately follow Geor
gia In a state prohibition law.
We commend the management of
tho Atlanta Ball Park for Its consid
eration and wisdom In allowing Its
patrons In the bleachers to pass under
the shelter of the reserved seat sec
tion during the rain of Thursday aft
ernoon. The number of afternoons
during the ball season when such oc
casion arises Is not largo, and the
loyalty and liberality of the Atlanta
fan public deserve and will respond
to such considerate treatment.
The howl that went up from Rep
resentative Nowell on the floor of the
House Friday sounded like a discord
ant medley from the "sixteen varie
ties.” There must have been a lot of
hurt behind It, and The Georgian Is
deeply concerned -that It hit them too
hard.
POINTED PARAGRAPH^.
. (From The Chleezo Newt}
Msay u real complexion travels under
faint colors.
Is tbs man who
Ojp way to a fold the lira Is to keep ont
oT tfce frying pan.
Erery Tillage his Its oldest Inhabitant, bnt
ba la oarer a woman.
Unfortunately tor the surveyor, ba la not
monarrb of ell be surveys.
Tomorrow fa the atone over which many
a business man baa stumbled.
A W.ft' -e?■» f * Unr *
THE BELL TELEPHONE COMPANY VERSUS THE CITY OF
ATLANTA.
The Ice must be broken somo time, so It may as well be done now.
The Bell Telephone Company, one of the greatest monopolies tho
world knows, or ever will know, whose corporate head Is located In
New England, whose money head Is tho well-known T. Jefferson Cool-
edge, la now kneeling at the court of Atlanta fo? a moat gracious favor.
The company's franchise expires next year. A new one Is needed.
A new franchise Is required to do business In the Capital City. Where
fore the company kneels for the nonce. Through the ordinance com
mittee of council it has agreed to submit to a tax of one-half of one per
cent of Its income for the first ten years and of one per cent for the
remainder of a thirty-three years' franchise. Certain perquisites to the
city such as twenty-live freo 'phones, a Uirct, cross arms, etc.. In the
streets are also to be conceded by the company.
We are informed that they do not lay claim to a perpetual franchise,
as tome would do—that’s real modest of them. That they show their
loyalty to Georgia by applying for a Georgia charter, and do not seek to
operate under a Delaware or New Jersey charter—that’s right loyal of
them.
And because of all this, we are almost persuaded that they would
like to have us ask for more money.
Let's see if they should have the franchise as council .has passed
upon It, but upon which the aldermanlc board has wisely postponed
action, and let's consider If they should pay more money.
Without being too rudimentary, we will endeavor to explain the con
ditions a little to those who do not fully understand the meaning and
condition of the tax. The telephone company Is to pay Atlanta for the
privilege of Ita very existence in our city. It operates twelve thousand
telephones over wires that reach out like huge spider webs to as many
homes and stores, nearly all of them within the city. These wires are
strung on public property, laid In the city's streets, and no money Is
paid by the company for the purchase of such, property. The L. & N.
Railroad runs Its tracks to Cincinnati. It must first go through the
country and survey a line-then its agent goes through and pays real
money for every foot of the hundreds of mlleB of territory traversed.
He reaches Atlanta. A piece of property Is needed. The owner has
seen the engineer driving his little stakes with blue figures on them.
He jumps behind a shade tree and watches and laughs with glee.
While the "C. E.” drives, the price of tho whole ten acres goes up,
although the railroad only needs about one aero to accommodate Ita
tracks. The man behind the tree steps out and looks his ground over,
sees the boles the "C. E." has punctured In It, and almost Imagines
that If he were to pull up one of the said stakes, he would find gold
dust sticking to Its point, so valuable Is the clay bank. He sits and
waltz. The company’s agent comes along and / negotiates for the prop
erty. "Twenty thousand dollars?'' "Yes, sir.” ‘‘According to the courl
records, you only paid five for It— how's 'that?" "Oh, well, that was
some time ago." “Well; how long?" "Oh, three or four months—take It
or leave It—condemn It,” etc.
Not so with the telephone company. Its poles and wires run right
through our principal streets. Men pay $2,000 a foot for the privilege of
selling clothing on the edges of the streets. The telephone and the street
car companies march triumphantly through the center of those streets,
while we all stand with bared heads, and each year we watch them
pass up the road with $400,000 of Atlanta's money, the elegant profit of
which leaves our shores never to be seen again.
The state of Georgia, through Its General Assembly, has nearly com
pleted the passage of an Income tax of one per cent on the gross Income
of all railroads In the state. These railroads paid millions upon millions
for their rights of way, and then the equipment comes on top of that.
The telephone company buys no rlghts-of-way and equips that which
the city gives It with apparatus that Is Infinitesimal In Its cost as com
pared with the railroads. ,
The merchant In our city pays actual money for every inch of ground
h^ uses. HC pays the same rate of taxes for his physical property that
the telephohe company does. Tho latter'pays only $5,322 In taxes, and
the merchant may not even leave hts pocking cases along the sidewalk,
nor may his customers allow their carriages to stand In front of his store
on Whitehall street, but must drive down a side street. Not so with
the telephone company. It may come along and plant as many poles on
your sidewalk as It likes, and In addition to Occupying, tho streets at
Its will, it practically monopolizes the sky-lino with a* myriad of wires
that should be under the ground.
Their proposition Is a very farce. See what It moans. Their gross
Income Is givon 'in as $425,825. One-halt per cent of this would be ap
proximately $2,000 (or Atlanta. Now Bhut your eyes, (or they propose
that they be credited on thla amount wltb the sum of their present fran
chise tax of $1,000, plus their registration fees, business license and
other amounts that would reduce the amount left to Atlanta out of the
pitiful little incomo tax to about $500 a year If the original and hypo
thetical gross amount of $2,000 materializes.
Wo submit to the good people of Atlanta the following-facts:
First—The Georgia Railway and Electric Company paid 1 per cent
on Its grosz receipts under tho consolidation ordinance for the first throe
years; Is paying 2 per cent for twenty-two years thereafter, and will pay
3 per cent for tho remaining twenty-five years of the franchise. In addi
tion to this, It paid about $50,000 lu cash down? and pays a large paving
tax each year. For lustance, In a street like Whitehall, the cost of cloven
feet of tho paving comes out of the street railway company, and It paya
state, county and city taxes on million*, where tho Bell company pays
on thousands. *
Second—The Bell ■ company pays In a city like Richmond, not as
large as Atlanta, hence not ss remunerative, 8 pc? cent Income tax; In
Norfolk 2 per cent, and in Augusta 1 per cent.
Is Atlanta to be decoyed Into accepting a mere sop under the guise
P f a one-half per cent tax? Are we not entitled to as much as Rich-
lond? Do we not pay as promptly, and ye not our ’phones taken out
to other Southern political parties whose loyalty to Southern principles
was never questioned, no matter how seriously one may have differed
wltb them regarding certain planks in their platforms.
Tho day has passed when the great Democratic party, state and na
tional, can bo manipulated by a few men who-aspire to translate Demo
cratic faith according to their own Individual ambitions. In this time of
greater educational advantage and of almost universal newspaper read
ing the masses are finding but little difficulty in meeting the'serious Is
sues of the day and settling them according to the broad intelligence of
this later period.
The minds of the people are alert to the necessities of this time o?
unrest and progress, which. Insistently knock at the door of public
opinion. *
And the people are prepared; yea, are anxious to grapple with what
ever problem stands In the way of the material and Indu^rlal advance
ment of the South.
The recent legislation In several Southern etates Is a most signifi
cant manifestation of this sentiment Questions which had been held In
abeyance for many years and which had been temporized with In the
hope of a conservative settlement became of such momentous Import to
the people Individually and collectively, that like a tremendous storm. It
finally burst, uprooting former firmly established business conditions
and surprising the entire country by the thoroughness of the beneficent
results, due to what the conservatives call “drastic measures."
The people may always be depended upon to become advanced in
the advocacy of public policies when previous conditions have proven
Inadequate and unworthy. That faction of the Democratic party which
was considered radical and unsafe by the other branch of Democracy Th
the memorable campaign of 1906 Is now regarded as''entirely sane and
conservative because of the adoption of so many of fvhat were then
termed- ultra views by the party at large.
Democracy has a tremendous mission to perform, and no one famil
iar with the splendid history of the party ever doubts for a mpment that
this mission will be carried out as becomes the magnificent aggrega
tion of American manhood composing the organisation.*
But Democracy muat and shall keep abreast of the times.
-4
To the Editor of The Georgian:
An Ideal Is tho moat practical thing In
tho world, and an Idealist Is the most prac-
tlcal fellow in the world. Often we hear
tbo remark concerning some fine, Ideal fel
low, “Oh. he Is a dreamer.” Bnt the dreamer,
the Idealist. Is. nfter all, the real builder
anti the world's greatest benefactor. Per
haps many remember reading tho author-
Teacher’s fine religious novel, “In His
-teps, or What Would Jesus I)o?“ In bis
charming way Mr. Sheldon gave us a fine
conception of an Ideal dally newspaper. Just
a little while ago who would dream such
radical dreams as that a great dally could
be successfully run that would exclude
whisky and other objt»etlonnble advertise-
ments? And to champion the cause of pro-
and Interest
Today In this glad year of A. D. 1907 be
hold the realisation of the dream that a
paper can bo run Independent of whisky In
terest and corruption. The Inherent princi
pleof right in man. that stands for purity,
right and true manhood. Is ever calling for
the best, for something higher. Man's
nlgnei* nature Is ever striving to express
itself, and Is making expression In various
man hopes for, longs for, might find some
sort of adequate expression In perhaps the
greatest power of modern times, the dally
press. Is It not nn unhappy reflection upon
the Intelligence of our civilisation for our
press to claim * that the people demand,
must have sensationalism, whisky and
things that go to degrade man, or would It
not be a greater shame on the press to ad
mit that Tt wns run for greed of gain? I
believe today that the people are hungering
for better, nobler things.
The Atlanta Georgian has taken a _
elded stand for right. Will The Georgian
ble place In the field of Journalistic en
deavor. ..
In the Journalistic
and noble women know what It means for a
It is today aft unclassified flower
: lleld. Thousands o^ men
uruiif annul n realization oi nil Kinni uewi
paper? We trust they will. God bless Tb
Georgian aud the noble men conducting tb
enterprise. WILL C. STOKER.
STRIKING OPERA TORS
WRITE OF CONDITIONS
Financing An Enterprise.
In financing any enterprise the first requisite Is a certain
amount of ready cash.
The reason why many young men are compelled to struggle
along on the salary plan when the engaging In some enterprise of
their own would probably mean success, Is because they never.have
the necessary cash to take advantage of the opportunities that con
stantly come before them.
The safest and surest way to equip one’s self for any financial
undertaking la to have a bank account and deposit regularly a part
of one's Income. This bank eapeclally Invites such accounts, and
pays four per cent Interest on them In Its S.avings Department
MADD0X-RUCKER BANKING CO.
'resent Their Side
of Disagree
ment.
as promptly If we do not pay?
In a little over four years the Bell company has Increased the num
ber of Its 'phones from 3,500 to 12,000. Atlanta haa increased the ex
pense of operating Ita affairs as a city very largely during that time. Is
the Bell company so great a benefactor that our etty comet In for no
consideration? ,
City fathers, Is Atlanta Inferior to Richmond? Are you less wary or
loyal than Richmond’s law-makers? Shall this corporation, of which At
lanta probably owns not s dollar's worth of stock, be Immune, or practi
cally so, while our good people worry along with the moet exasperating,
most Inadequate telephone service a patient people ever lived under?
Gentlemen of the aldermanlc board, you did well to halt the matter.
Yon will do right to get < per cent for Atlanta for the entire thirty-three
years, and you will do better still to sppolnt a board of telephone exam
iners who shall have power to-see that decent senlcols given, or the
company's franchise revoked.
DEMOCRACY MEANS PROGRESS, NOT REPOSE.
In this remarkable period of political reform perhaps the most note
worthy feature la the criticisms being made by a few Democratic jour
nals of Southern Democrats who represent the present dominant faction
of party organization. The critical editors who profess to see only rocks
and shoals ahead, who declare that the beacon lights of the past are ob
scured by the mists and clouds of latter day theories, are Inclined to
predict ruin and disintegration unless a halt Is called to those phases of
political progress which have undeniably the approval and support ot the
majority of voters. Rut wisely the people of the South, who have always
stood loyally for the noble principles of Jeffenonlan Democracy, are now
determined to meet with courage and conservatism Issues which can no
longer be kept In the background. These laauea signify In some In
stances .upheavals Involving the sacrifice of certain opinions tenaciously
held In the past.
\ But a change of conditions necessitates alterations of party plat
forms which In no wise mean a sacrifice of Democratic principle.
The South must keep pace with the progress of the world. What Is
best for all classes of Its citizenship must be recognized and adopted by
the dominant political party which claim* to stand for the best Interests
of the people. The adoption In certain case* of hitherto untried politi
cal tenets is rendered Imperative by the changed conditions which men
ace the party at large. These conditions can not be talked or wrtten
down. They are here to be met and settled by the best judgment' and
the most loyal conservatism ot Southern Democrat!. It ia worse than
folly to try to stem the tide of nniltleal change by taunting references
The striking telegraph operators tn
Atlanta have Issued a statement cov
ering the cauees of the strike and their
demand* upon the company, going ful
ly Into paat and present conditions. In
this statement, signed by the prere
committee and Indorsed by Local No.
60, the strikers Btato that no local busi
ness Is being handled by the telegraph
companies and that the business which
handled le subject to long and In
definite delay'. The statement follows:
With the reports which have been
printed from day to day alnce the be
ginning of the strike of the commer
cial telegraphers, the public has been
given certain Information, or rather
mls-lnformatlon, as news matter, which
should be corrected. In this way we
believe that the public has been mis
led regarding both the exlBtlng condi
tions and the actual facte regarding
and leading up to the strike. It le a
matter of genuine regret that juat at
thin time our friends, the public, are
made to suffer hardships op any em
barrassment*. It la for this reason that
at a meeting of the union, held today
It was decided thflv a more or Ice*
full, conservative and accurate state
ment be made at tht* time and that It
be submitted to the newspapers of At
lanta with the earnest request that It
be published.
While we appreciate the fact that
the newspapers have been the great
est sufferers from the strike, we also
believe that they ere our friends and
understand our position.
Statement* of Officiate. >
For several day* statements have
been made by the official* and mana
gers of the Western Union and Postal
Telegraph Companies as to the num
ber of operators employed, the busi
ness handled and the condition! In the
offices. While the striking operator*
have been content to simply deny these
statements as exaggerations, we are
now convinced that the time for glit
tering generalities I* poet and that our
friends among the public should be ac
quainted with the actual facts, togeth
er with such Information as they can
easily confirm by personal investiga
tion.
. The telegraph companies, too, have
misrepresented our claim* and griev
ance* and we ask the Indulgence of the
public for ju*t a word or two In this
connection.
First, at to the actual facts regard
ing the present conditions, facts which
remain notwithstanding the denials ot
the officials of the telegraph companies
to the contrary. More than this, a few
minutes In the way of personal Investi
gation will support our every state
ment os true, sane and conservative.
Wire Condition*.
Since Sunday afternooa there has
not been a local wire working out of or
Into Atlanta. By local wire* Is meant
telegraph lines .making possible serv
ice from Atlanta to smaller towns and
cities In Georgia and the southeastern
states. Atlanta being a collecting and
distributing point for this entire terri
tory. A conservative estimate of the
number of local messages received In
the Western .Union office In Atlanta
dally Is from 1,000 to 1,200. The num
ber forwarded Is about the same. 1 or a
total of 2,500. White the number ban- . m
died by the Postal Telegraph Company the working of hardships upon the thou-
heavy. As this is purely a local of
fice so far as the Postal Company Is
concerned, the number of relay mes-
sages is comparatively small.
As to the through business, meaning
the business between Atlanta and New
York, Chicago. New Orleans and St.
Louis, according to the statement made
by the officials, these conditions are
"practically normal." As a matter of
fact, every message filed Is with the
stipulated "subject to Indefinite delay.'
Certainly the most striking portion of
this admission, as has been learned
by every person attempting to send a
message, Is the "Indefinite delay.'
That the telegraph companies are
able to handle this business at all Is
due entirely to the fact that there Is
absolutely no local business. That is,
all of the towns and cities throughout
Georgia. ;n1 the southeastern states
are absolutely and entirely cut off from
telegraphic communication with New
York and other big centers because of
the fact that these messages must first
be sent In to Atlanta and from there
"relayed” to destination. In thla way
the telegraph companies, with every
official who can be pressed Into serv
ice as an operator, are handling this
through business after a fashion "sub
ject to Indefinite delay.”
It la only fair to state that a large
part. If not by far the greateat portion
of thla "indefinite delay,” la due to
mall service.
Telegrams Mailed.
Not only the strikers, but Atlantans
receiving messages during the post day
of two have realized that these "tele
grams" havo been forwarded by regu
lar mall trains with such acceleration
as can be secured by the use of a spe
cial delivery stamp. The sender of
these messages, of course, pays the
full, regular telegraphic toll* for the
privilege of using the United States
malls, with this one difference. In
very many Instances telegrams are
held for several hours by the tele
graph companies In the hopes of wiring
them to their destination. By this
method It will be seen that very often
one or more mall trains are missed and
the telegraphic tolls are being actually
paid for much delayed postal service.
Not to longer tax the generosity of
our friends among the public, who are
themselves personally, pertinently and
vitally Interested, we will not go Into
further details, but simply enumerate
a very few of the moet Important facts
With all local business entirely ellml-
nated and through business reduced to
a service of "Indefinite delay" as be
longs to a terribly crippled force of
operators who are now telegraphing for
the first time In years, and the use of
mall trains, even the statement made
by the officials of the companies that
they are able to handle the buslnesa of
the office means practically nothing.
Cause of Strike.
Now a word or two regarding the
real facta leading up to this present
strike. It has been erroneously report
ed that the operators of Atlanta, and
rartlcularly some of the lady operators
are enjoying the present enforced Idle
ness In the way of a vacation or social
Jolllfiratlon Nothing could be further
from the facta. Not a member of the
union, so far as has been heard from,
falls to appreciate the seriousness of
this present situation. Many of them
are heads of families and It must be
remembered that every union operator
depends upon hts or her work for sup-
|K>rt. This Is not all. In every' meet
ing, two of which are held dally, the
public's side has been prS.-ented. If
there was uny way possible by which
»e could secure only tvhat we believe
to be our Just dues, we certainly would
not resort to any meant necessitating
we dally do buslnesa.
In (his connection It Is only Juat and
right that the public should 'know that
all other means and methods known
were first practiced. Although we lost
materially by this succession of delays
covering a period of five years, wo
made every endeavor to bring about a
settlement such ne would result In Just
nnd honest remuneration without sac
rificing principle. v
While the present strike Is due In
part to recent conditions In San Fran
cisco, the real grievances ante-date thp<
period by several years. In fact wo
believed that an amicable settlement
had been reached In San Francisco re
cently. Terms "'ere drawn up which
were agreed to by both the operators
and the telegraph companies. When the
crisis came the telegraph companies re.
fused to live up to their agreement not
to discriminate against union opera
tors.
Discrimination.
That this discrimination was not lo
cal to San Francisco was proved In a
few day's by similar action of petty of
ficials throughout the West, That this
would soon spread to every fiffice In the
country was self-evident. -This, of
course, necessitated concerted action on
the part of all union operators or the
surrender of their every contention for
which they had honestly worked and
prayed for years.
Such Is the real significance of the
strike In San Francisco and the spread.
Ing of the strike that followed.
Not only do we expect to win out,
In fact are absolutely confident, and In
this way better ourselves personally,
but also a very Important result will
be a tremendous Improvement of the
service to the public. V
That the public Is certain to benefit
through the concession of the telegraph
companies to our claims, must necessa
rily follow for many reasons.
That there haa been much complaint
by the public because of Inefficient
service during the past few months
Is a statement which will not be gain
said or denied. Good service, such as
the public Is entitled, to, especially In
view of the recent advance In tolls, was
Impossible on account of existing con
ditions In a very great majority If not
all of the office*. Traffic was tre
mendously congested. Facilities were
Inadequate. Inefficient operators' were
placed In charge of Important circuits
and In this way destroyed the good
work of the very beat operators along
the line. Offices were ill lighted, poor
ly ventilated, crowded and with bad
sanitary arrangements made continual
beat efforts of the operators almost
Impossible.
Another of the most eerloue draw
backs to good service to the public haa
been the working hours, not only det
rimental to the operators' health, but
to a degree which made the accurate
sending and receiving of messages an
Impossibility,
Ask Eight-Hour Day.
We ask for a day of' eight hours.
There Is no more nerve-wearing, work
than that of handling the telegraph
key. Besides being both sedentary
and confining, the constant strain Is
one that wears upon the nervous ays
tem;
While the present day work Is nine
hours; with no lunch recess, In the
past conditions have been such as ne
cessitated the working of many extra
hours on the part of the operator to
eke out sufficient wages to support a
family, even one consisting of no more
than hUBband and wife. The privilege
of being a father has necessitated the
working of many added extra hours,
until It has become a common remark
with tho arrival of every youngster
that the proud daddy must burn the
midnight electricity, or take an early
morning trick, such as must mean the
leaving of hla own fireside long before
the little ones are awake.
Not only Is the operator's work nerve-
wearing, but the constant telegrapher
must have an education far superior
to the holder of the average clerical
position. The wages paid by the com
pany have been further curtailed by
the requirement that every operator
furnish his own. typewriting machine.
To a man Just starting out In life this
necessary capital of $100 Is one of real
moment. As the average machine
gives way to the heavy strain In two
or three years, this requires a biennial
or triennial outlay such as materially
reduces the operators' wages. An this
stipulation Is not required of stenogra
phers or any other class of employees,
we believe It to be unjust and exces
sive.
This expense Is often Increased by the
operator acquiring tclegrapha’ paraly
sis, the chief Impediment of which Is
a "glass" or stiff arm. Such unfortu
nates are compelled to purchase an au
tomatic sender, varying in cost from
$10 to $125.
Publio Will Benefit!
In thle way It will be seen that the
public muet materially benefit by the
winning of this strike. Incidentally, It
may be better to say that the public
will benefit, as success Is now assured
As we have attempted to prove, nil of
theee drawback* to good and efficient
service will be corrected In the secur
ing of those claims which we earnestly
contend are only fair and Just.
'That living expenses have Increased
very materially, and this le tremen
dously true ne far as Atlanta Is con
cerned, during, the past few years, as
a result of whlcb wages have been gen--
erally. In fact, universally Increased to
meet these growing demand*. Our very
good friend, the Order of Railway Teleg.
raphers, whose moral and financial
support we have, .was among the latest
tn secure recognition along these lines.
It Is but very recently that Ita claim,
after long arbitration, was satisfactor
ily adjusted.
Telegraph operator*, their wives,
their children or their aged parents de
pendent on them for support, enjoy
no special perquisite, privileges or
special concessions of any kind what
ever. Their board bill has been raised
simultaneously with all other classes
of workers, the butcher, the baker, the
candlestick-maker, demand uniform
prices from these telegraphers, and
while the telegraph companies but ro-
llng of the business of these telegraph
companies.
Such Is the careful, conservative and
accurate statement which we have to
make regarding both the present ex
isting conditions and our claim and
grievances in this present contention.
While we have not gone Into details
the actual facts support our every
statement. And with these facts we
gladly leave our case with our friends
the public, for such a verdict as they
consider Just, honest and equitable
Press Committee, _ Commercial Teleg
raphers Union of America.
MRS. E. 13. SMITH.
B. F. MOORE,
R. B. CHENEY.
A TOO POPULAR FALLACY.
"The world owes me a living."
—Highway Tramp.
Quite Wrong, Mr. Tramp. Where did von
get this Idea'/ Certainly not from the more
of the “Garden eastward In Eden " Wbeu
did you earn that livlug "liy the sweat of
your fnec?"
The world owen you nothing, yon insy
vagabond, that you do not work for and de
serve. There arc too ninny Idlers, like votir-
self, thnt flatter themselves with your fnl-
larlnii. notion. The world would be better
off Without your parasitic anil pestiferous
set. The world furnishes an honest living
to those who make nn honest record for
work nnd worthiness: the ract that vou are
without thle and In the beggar class proves
that yon are a delinquent, and have not
mode whateyou claim. Yon hove no right
to even a prace lu the world, to say uothlug
of n living.
The men who repeats the too popular bnt
. Illarions adage Is sn—— “ - -
od criminal; beware i
who utters It.
He off, Mr. Tramp!
You are a bad citl-
sen, n urenaiui example. Get to work! In
America nt least the Idler Is despised. It Is
only the man who works who Is respected.
The Jail birds are recruited from the Idle
elass. even If rich. Only those who eon-
tribute to tile good of the world deserve a
living. Hawks nnd prowlers, sloths ami
parasites were better baulshed. Get out!
THE MATTER WITH THE MAILS.
To the Editor of The Georgian:
Your editorial of the 15th instant, "Wliat
Is the Mutter With the Molls." can lor an
swered lu one word, "nigger." Now you
hnve been proloihly too busy getting out
the best paper In the South to find out that
this statement Is true.
And who Is to Maine? The superintendent
of this division? No! The chief clerks?
Hut the existing civil service Inw,
the negro colleges around this city. They
are successful lu these examlnntlons. Just ns
a pqrrot may be trained to talk or a dog
Jnmp over n broom, and, after appoint-
meat, almost totally Incompetent, ami yet
there nro fe.v others to appoint.'
Take ir look ut the civil service elass
standing the railway mail service examina
tion. nnd So per cent are found to be black.
Why should It be necessary for n member
of the civil service commission to make n
tour of the .South to nroils,- Interest In
those positions nmone the more competent
class of the whit. a', -seause no self-re-
■ side oy elds In the
ears (hot nights not excepted), wash In the
same basin, nnd nn the night ruus (where
possible to sleep some) almost sleep In the
snme bed. Offlclnlly they are onr equnls.
This rendition of nffalrs deters competent
young white men from desiring to enter the
service, and those already lu are seeking
other fields nt fnst at opportunities ran lie
had. These nre facts. Inmentnhle ones to
those of ns who nre. for the present, tied,
ns It were. In n business where our knowl-
* (cnee, to say nothing o‘
iiffi nothin? in nnv nthpr
and
hungry'montint to feed. some of tin
hnve to grin nnd bear It. The negro hns
been declared nnflt for the nrmy. Why
should he be so acceptable In the most Im
portant branch of tho government service,
service which. In the past. hnn been --
“dent nn lmp< ‘ ' * uk
<atcs tho ver
—i’» commercln
Lot The Georglnn nnd other* take this
mntter up nnd help nn to noire thin prob
lem, or elne In ft very few year* It will
bo spired for tin, nnd tho South will hnve
n service composed nltogether of no-called
clerk* better fitted for the plow.
I do not sign thin, not becnunc I nm
nDimmed of It. but nn I unfortunntely hnve
to work with nome of these “nigger*.’ it
would obrtouily be unwlne nnd possibly It
mny be n technical violation of the "regum*
° nS ’ RAILWAY POSTAL CLERK.
cently raised their tolls, making these
same contentions, we see no reason
why the rule does not work both ways.
In fact, if there f* any -discrimination
whatever In the price of living, com
paratively speaking, it lias been ranch
ure largely increased than ha* been
ATTACKED BY NEGROES
MEN DRIVEN FROM WORK.
Rpeolnl to The Georglnn. ^
Columbus, Ga., Aug. 1«.—G. J. Mur
ray, section foreman, and his brother
was attacked by negroe track hands
at Shntul, Ga., nine miles east of this
city at a late hour last night an<T had
to take to the woods. They came in
this morning and reported the matter
to JuetIce Cargill, who Issued war
rants for the arrest of the negroes,
and County Officers Ellison and Lay-
field aro searching for them.
DROUGHT IN GEORGIA.
(From Collier's Weekly.)
The state of Georgia hnn passed n pro
hibitory law whlcb for thoroughness cant*
thnt of Maine Into the shade. Not only does
It close every saloon In the state, but k
doe* not nllow liquor to be sold by anybod).
even n druggist, for nny purpose whatever.
Tropic who need stimulants for niedicai
purposes may get what assistance they can
from pure alcohol, on a physicians pre
scription. Even thin may not Ik? furnished
by the druggist except on the day the pre
scription Is dated, nor lu quantities exceed*
l«g n pint. Most stringent regulation* are
provided for preventing violations of tn«?
law. The burden of proof that alcohol 1*
wanted for nu Innocent purpose Is thrown
I. snhi to hare «vrf
ImpoNsihlc of enforcement In the larger
cities. The largest city in Maine ha* 6»,<> •
Inhabitants. Hut Georgia has one city « r
LtS.000 aud another of i6,000. She has a -
nearly twice ns many negroes as the total
imber of Inhabitant* in Maine. Hie ju
re to keep liquor out of the hands of til’*
part of the (M)pulatlon. so easily brutallzj*d
by drink. Is icsnonntble tor much of tne
spread «»f prohibition sentiment lu Georgia
and In the other Southern states In wb.*n
the s.-iloou ban received so luauy ■tuggerlu.-f
blows. . #llrt
There will l»e an opportunity now for [ho
fairest test the nntHunteeu rule In tn*
nrmy has ever received. If the law Is en*
forced, the soldiers In the military post* 10
Georgia con no longer find liquor outsnie-
Let their |>o*t exchange* be made
tractive as they can lie without beer, an j
let u* see wl»nt statistics show at the end
of a year on the subject of drunkenness.
FOR THE FOUNTAIN FUND.
To the Editor of The Georgian: ,
Aerept the accompanying dollar {** • V
denreof g#n><! faith In the movement latin' •
«tl by The Gi*org!r$n, and when you tir 'J
reaily, to -start the boU rolling' to er « •
the “fountain at t!i»* cnpirol" n* > $mgg* *«'
In your paper tonight, and let
beautiful one. Atlanta nnd The Gt-orgw
U lera.' the amaffnt bu.lne.. 1. V.r, sand, of our friend, for and wltTwhom it. LSSSS coated SjL&*|* SS&kSlflSL'*
Oil