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THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN
Published Every Arteraoon TSxcept Sunday
By THE GEORGIAN COMPANY
At 20 East Alabama St., Atlanta, Ga.
Entered &&> second-class matter at postoffice at Atlanta, under act of March 3, 187$
Price—Delivered by carrier, 10 cents a. week. By mail, $5.00 a year
Payable in advance.
Tie the Hands of the Pistol
‘Toter”
The Average Man Who Packs " a Gun "Is a Coward at Heart,
and He Goes Armed Because He Believes that, in Event of
Trouble, He Will Have an Advantage Over the Other Man.
The Atlanta Chamber of Commerce will find itself >ii|>p<>r* -<(
by the best and most patriotic thought and effort of the entire
state, in its movement Io rid Georgia of the "pistol toler.'
The Chamber of < dmmeree proposes to ask the legislature at
its next session to provide a law prescribing a permit from coinju
tent authority as a prerequisite to tin- purchase of pistols in
Georgia.
This plan of regulation is thought by those who have studied
the question to be about the best solution of the grave problem
presented therein, and the Chamber of Commerce has set in mo
tion the machinery through which the desired legislation may be
obtained
The new law will in no wise do away with or weaken any
of the wholesome statutes now in force with respect to pistols.
Jt still will be a violation of the law to carry them concealed, or
to use them for malicious or mischievous purposes. Rather will
the new law strengthen the old laws, in that the permit system
will make the purchase of every pistol a matter of public record,
and the ownership of every pistol figuring in a tragedy possible
of tracing
Every permit should be made returnable to tin' authority is
suing it. with the name of the person or firm from which the
weapon was purchased indorsed thereoq. This would make a
complete record of purchase and sale. And such a. complete
record would throw a dependable safeguard around the transfer
of ownership after purchase had been effected.
In short, this legislation will put the responsibility for <'vt ry
pistol in a community squarely upon somebbdy's shoulders and
it will be a responsibility that law-abiding and liberty-loving
citizens, who compose nine-tenths of our population, will be slow
to abuse or treat lightly.
Most "pistol tutors" are potential murderers. Ninety-five
per cent of the shootings that occur never would occur at all,
were somebody not possessed of a pistol in a moment of unreason
ing anger, jealousy, or spite, or during a period of partial or
complete intoxication. The average ‘‘pistol toter” is a coward at
heart—he carries a pistol because, in the event of trouble, he be
lieves it will give him an advantage. Often ho may carry it more
as a thing with which he may sustain a reputation as a “bad
man in a scrimmage’’—and it is in the scrimmage that In- shoots
and kills, and that more often than not. without intending really
to kill at all.
To'cite a recent example of the all too ready pistol, there is
the Clay case. Clay never intended to kill his wife when ho
went to that little Lee street home last May. Bui ho carried his
pistol with him—and in a conversation with his wife, uncontrolla
ble rage fell upon him, and he shot. Friday he was hanged—and
today his little boy is an orphan, and Clay, the “pistol toter."
lies in a felon’s grave.
The proposal to get rid of the “pistol toter” is a practical
proposition. It is not. a sensational suggestion merely—a thing to
get excited about. It is based upon hard, common sense—com
mon sense that means the peace and safety of society, the pro
tection of life and liberty, the orderly progress ofwivilization, and
the majesty of the law.
The Atlanta Chamber of Commerce lias started a good fight,
—a fight, moreover, that it is sure to win. For the entire state
will support the movement —and other states, seeing the good
work in Georgia, will be prompted to follow its example.
Criminal Carelessness
The report of the interstate commerce commission on the
causes of the Westport train wreck of October 3 convicts the
officers of the New Haven railroad of negligence, involving
wholesale manslaughter. No doubt is left as to the moral quality,
of the conduct of thes< officials.
At the tine of the Bridgeport disashr of last tear th<\ were
warned by the interstate commerce commission that their
“cross-overs" at Bridgeport, at Westport and elsewhere were
too short to he safely negotiated by fast trains Nevertheless,
they neglect to lengthen the ••cross-overs'” or to install de
vices to prevent their being taken at a high rate of speed. The
Westport calamity was unquestionably due to this neglect.
'I he commission of a grave crime by these railroad officials
would be not only morally but also legally demonstrated if it
wterc not for the fact that the recommendations of the contmis
are. uuuer the statute, given an advisory and not a manda
tory force.
Whv should not the interstate commerce commission have
power to impose a minimum standard in railway safetv ap
pliances? What use was ther* in the commission's report on this
disaster if its recommendations wer to be treated as mere gos
sip?
Ihe interstate eumtnerci. mw should be amended. The com
mission should have power to pul a positive ban upon unsafe
it conditions oi ra reading and requin them to It remedied.
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The Atlanta Georgian
; “My Predecessor, Frithiof”—An English View
of the Kaiser’s Gift
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By presenting them with the gigantic statue shovn above, the kaiser pays Norway a compliment. Frithjof<
jj was a Norwegian national hero of the sea —to Norway what the kaiser himself would like to be to Germany, ac-j
j cording to an English periodical. With a slight upward twist of the mustache (see photograph inset) he would/
J look by no means unlike his imperial majesty. The statue will be unveiled next year at Framnaes, on the Songe'
Fjord, where the graves of Frithjof and Ingeborg are situated. The sculptor, Professor Max Unger, is seen standing )
> by the side of his nearly completed work. i
By ELLA WHEELER WILCOX.
Copyright 1912, by American-Journal-Examiner.
1 4 I >M K time ,-,go you wroti
k 7 ui article on second tnar
, riages in which occurred
the following sentences:
" ‘Only one woman in five hundred
who is widowed in her prime is left
with a memory of such ideals of
love th.tt remarriage is impossible.
And only one man in five Hiousand.'
“Does this mean that you con
sider there are nins hundred more
ideal husbands than wives?’ It
would seem so. Curious Reader."
No; it means tiiat every woman
possesses nine hundred times the
qualities which make constancy to
a memors possible. With the very
best conditions, and a perfect Ideal,
only one man In five thousand Is
so constituted that lie could find
contentment in living a widowed
life, and solacing his lonely heart
witii memories of a happy compan
ionship in the past.
Mental and Spiritual Realms.
Rut there are many women who
are so constituted They possess
extreme sentiment, great imagina
tion. much spirituality. They are
not strongly sexed, their vitality is
usually below normal.
And they live in the mental and
spiritual realms, finding happiness
in pleasant friendships, in the com
panionship of their children, of
relatives, and in social and char
itable occupations.
While there are many such wom
en w idow ed, it is only oni husband
In live hundred who leaves memo
ries with a wife after he passes on
which make an impassable barrier
to a second marriage,
\s a worn; n lecturer once said,
“There Is ofttimes great Cenw'a
cenej behind til,. Widow's veil. be
en.- she ■> - conic int fr-’dou-
J
< Second Marriages
MONDAY, DECEMBER 16, 1912
•k out of slavery, into the right to
handle and use money which she
has helped earn, after having been
a beggar at her husband’s door for
a long period; and ofttinies her
tears shed over his casket are tears
of pity for self, for the lost illusions
of her honeymoon."
We have all seen the faded, spir-
■ *' fIH
5 *' . ""' I
ELLA WHEELER WILCOX.
itless, middle-aged wife bloom out
into the beauty of maturity, after
dropping widow's weeds. And with
her weeds, dropping a decade of
years.
Few Men Ask the Reason
One can not help hoping the hus
band, in his home beyond the earth
plane, is witnessing this transfor
mation. and realizing that it was
his own utter lack of sympathy, of
liberality, of considerate care, and
of loving companionship which
made the wife fade before hgr time.
Vnd that Io is -■■•lug the .'loom
••urn to her cheek, .util th< light
■ to lie: eye, and the admiration of
. other men offered at her shrine.
No man likes to see his wife fade
and lose her attractions.
Yet. few men who such
changes in the fresh, fair girl they
have married stop to ask the rea
son therefor.
With few exceptions, the reason
could be traced to the husband.
Now and then life shows us the
sorry type of woman who loses all
he- pride ami self-respect and pret
ty feminine vanity, as soon as she
is legally married, and with these
things loses, of course, her com
plexion and figure and other at
tractions. She simply s< ttles into
the complacency of middle age, and
is satisfied to be well housed, well
fed. and to have her bills p id, ami
to affix M . s. to her natm
Take Careful Look at Wife.
She take- her husband’s lot,, am
• •yaltv as a matter of course, and
Is the last one to Know when Tie
becomes disillusioned am! disloyal.
Fortunately. such women a:.- ex
ceptions. and the unattractive, life
less. uninteresting wife, is. as a
rule, the handiwork of the thought
less, selfish, inconsiderate husband:
the man who has ceased to be the
lover, or the comrade, or even the
best friend, of his wife.
The man who finds all his pleas
ures outside his home, and who ex
pects his wife to be satisfied with
her children and her church and
her home duties.
Take a careful look at your wife,
good sir. and see how she is ap
pearing after a few years of marital
partnership with you.
Are you preparing her for com
placency under her widow’s veil?
And will she look ten years
younger when she puts on second
mourning and begins to go about
<nd ‘njoy life than she do<*s now
- . •?ur m gieeted wife “
i
THE HOME PAPER
Judge Wm. D. Ellis
Writes on
The Divorce (
Evil |
White Divorces Exceed
Negroes in Southern
Cities, But Not inCoun- ’^MhßR 4
try—Laws Should Be
U n if or m. *
Written for The Atlanta Georgian
By Judge Wm. D. Ellis
Os the Atlanta Circuit.
ARTICLE 111.
Statistics show that the propor
tion of divorced persons who re
marry is constantly on tlie in
crease, showing that divorce is less
disreputable than formerly, and
now quite respectable, and indicat
ing also that divorces are being
sought for the purpose of getting a
chance to take on some discovered
affinity or some more attractive in
dividual.
In the South all tile obtainable
information tends to show that the
larger proportion of divorce cases
were among the colored population.
The excess of divorce eases among
colored over white people in the
rural districts is very large, but in
the cities the excess is among the
white rather than colored people.
In the cities the excess is largely
due to the fact that the laws
against bigamy are regarded with
less fear among the colored than
white population.
Tiie most painful evil of divorce
is its effect upon the children of the
divorced parents. Not only do they
go forth In life with the cloud
hanging over them, but the contest
over their possession embitters the
bad feeling between the parents,
and teaches the children to lose all
affection and respect, for either or
both, and especially against that
father or mother from whom thej'
are taken. They go out into the
world with all the neglect and help
lessness of orphanage, and are oft
en in a worse plight, because they
ara.bereft of the care which, if they
were indeed orphans, they might ob
tain from benevolent institutions or
from childless philanthropists who
might adopt and care for them.
Necessity for Divorce Law.
There is, I believe, necessity for a
divorce law, but it ought to be uni
form In all the states, and it ought
to be hedged about with such re
strictions and regulations as rather
to be deterrent, than persuasive. No
total divorce ought to be granted
on the uncorroborated testimony of
one of the parties. If a husband or
wife has been so cruelly treated as
to authorize a divorce, some other
person would know about it. If
either party is an habitual drunk
ard, some one, as well as his wife,
could testify about it. If either
I he Voices
By LILLIAN LAUFERTY.
r I 1 1K Voice of the World is calling:
I “Come out to strive and to do'
There is work for men
And the men are few •
There are laurels waiting
I For you—for you;
1 ht re is fame to win. there is praise to gain.
And a man must strive thru toil and pain
lo reach the goal that is reached by few.
It our out and strive—there is work to do.”
The voice of Life is calling. ■ *
“Come out to taste and to see!
1 here is knowledge for men,
And the men are few.
There is harvest waiting for you—for you:
1 here is much to see. there is much to try.
And the man must live, though he question why.
Come, learn the truth—it is known by few.
Come out and live—there is much to do.”
The voice of my Heart is calling:
“Go out to learn your soul!
There is Life for men.
And the men are few.
There is suffering waiting for yon—for you;
There is some of sweet, there is some of pain.
And a man must bear both loss and gain.
Strive for the soul that is reached by few.
Go ! Life is short—and there’s much to do!”
party has deserted the other for the
years required (three years in this
state), some of their neighbors
would know of it.
There ought to be some period
of delay in regard to remarrying.
This thing of a divorce in the
morning and a wedding that night
ought to be prevented, and a law
which would delay remarriage for a
year or more would be at least cal
culated to deter divorce.
Divorce strikes at the sanctity of
the home. To destroy tlie home
not only ruins the family, but hurts
the neighborhood. To injure the
neighborhood injuriously affects the
state and all the people in it.
A Proposed Amendment.
I prepared a bill and presented
it to the legislature, which provided
that no total divorce should be
granted on the uncorroborated tes
timony of one of the parties; that
no divorced party should remarry
within a year; that in undefended
cases an attorney should be ap
pointed and paid to take testimony
and represent the state, so that the
real truth could be shown. This bill
was killed by the judiciary com
mittee and not reported favorably,
either as drawn or by substitute,
and I can see no reason fur its fate
except that fewer divorce cases
would result In fewer fees.
The church inveighs against the
evils of intemperance; it pro
nounces anathemas against the so
cial evil, but I have heard of little
it has done or said against the evil
of divorce or the dreadful conse
quences of its prevalence and rapid
increase in our country. The Ro
man Catholic church, however, may
be an exception to the rule. That
church denounces it among its
members, and it may appeal to the
Protestant people of the country for
more attention to this subject when •
it is apparent that the divorce rec
ords show tiiat this growing evil
has in rare Instances Invaded
Catholic homes, and that in Italy.
I Ireland and Spain divorce is rarely
I heard of.
Since writing the foregoing paper
I have been pleased to see in news
paper reports that at a general
conference of the Methodist church
ground has been taken against the
growing evil of divorce and pro
testing against it.
