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6 The first move along this line was the announce ment <>i’ Mr. W. S. Morris, treasurer of the Georgia Railroad Company, of his candidacy for a seat in the Georgia Legislature from the Richmond district, in opposition to Mr. Bowdre I’hinizy. editor of the Augusta Herald. It seems that .Mr. I’hinizy is to be punished and humiliated because he had the temer ity some months ago to call public attention to cer tain decayed cross-ties and other physical defects in the Georgia Railroad Company’s road-bed and track age, which he conceived to be inimical to the safe passage of trains over some portions of the system. The technical charge General Manager Scott is thought to have registered against Mr. I’hinizy is Lese Majesty, a common translation of which term is popularly accepted as “abuse of royalty." or some thing like that. If Mr. I’hinizy should be defeated it would doubtless carry a salutary lesson Io the com mon people of the dangers which lie in criticism of their rulers. Mr. Morris announces in a card that he has the word of the management of the railroad that the of ficials of that corporation would not consider the 1 entry of its treasurer into the campaign for election to the legislature “an interference with his duties to the road." This assurance is said to have been very com forting and decidedly encouraging to Mr. Morris, inasmuch as it removes from the path of his ambi tion every obstacle save that which he regards as. unimportant, namely, the will of the people not al lied with the railroads. Mr. I’hinizy's fight in be half of the unrailroadized part of the population clearly teaches that there is still a disposition in some quarters to “persecute the transportation com panies" in this State, and that it is the people, not the railroads, who should be “regulated.’’ Truly, Georgia is getting on. Do Not Coerce or Discourage the Militia. As the season approaches for the regular annual encampments and practice drills for the State mili lia, young men belonging to military bodies are meeting their regular annual troubles with their em ployers. The latter seem to be growing more and more hostile every year toward the natural and praiseworthy ambition of youngsters in their pay to connect themselves with this very important branch of home defense. While it is true that Hie militia is but seldom called into active service, it is also a fact that when the necessity does appear it appears very suddenly, and the militia when needed at all. is needed very badly. It would seem to be an amazingly short sighted policy on the part of men of affairs and own ers of destructible property should they employ co ercive measures to prevent their employes from joining the militia, or to induce those already en listed to sever their military connections. But if there is anything in persistent rumors and complaints one hears about the streets of Savannah, a great many business mon are pursuing precisely this policy and, furthermore, some are discriminat ing against militiamen in favor of non-soldiers when | new men are employed. The very citizens who are following this course would doubtless be among the first to clamor for military protection should there unexpectedly occur any sort of outbreak of popular passion too consid erable for the police to handle. THE REASON As is well known, the South particularly, and the country in general have always opposed a large standing army, because of popular reliance upon the State troops to furnish all needed protection from attack from without or riotous conditions within the national borders. Discourage Hie growth of the militia, and you make ... . ’-eat standing army an early and inevitable necessity, is the wisest opinion heard. It is with difficulty that comment is elicited from the young men effected by the unfriendliness of their employers toward soldier service. Some are said to have lost their jobs because of it. Others are apparently intimidated and are reluctant to express themselves fully, and when they talk about the mat ter at all, it is under the seal of confidence. The intimation is now and then heard that some of the commissioned officers who, in the conduct of their business affairs, employ young men. do not — to say the least —encourage the enlistment or con tinuance of the latter in the State militia service. One officer, holding a high commission in the lo ' cal military service, when asked for his opinion in regard to the matter of coercion in general, dis played marked impatience and stated that he had determined not to be quoted on the subject, nor even to discuss it with his own men. As an after thought, he observed while excusing himself from further questioning, that there was “no such trou ble in his regiment.’’ 11 is regiment must be of very little importance not to have been touched by the trouble complained of. Hoke Smith—A Character Study. All things considered, it is probable that Gov. Hoke Smith is pretty well satisfied with his visit to Savannah. This city has been generally regard ed, ever since the campaign began, as the Gibraltar of the opposition to the Governor, and he, himself, admitted in the course of his speech at the Savan nah Theater, Tuesday evening, that he was sensible of the fact that he was confronting the “enemy’’ in his stronghold when he faced a Savannah audience. There was something in the atmosphere about the Theater early in the evening which appeared strongly portentions of squally times ahead. The Brown advocates were present in goodly numbers, and on the part of some there was noticeable a ten dency to make things interesting for the Governor, and there was some indication that these gentlemen had predetermined about how they would do it. That these plans were not carried out to any great extent was unquestionably due in large part to the Governor’s tact and diplomacy in dealing with in terrupters who were apparently intent upon embar ra sing him. Gov. Smith displayed a broad capacity for gov erning his temper under more or less trying condi tions. and for returning apt and pithy replies to hostile questions. His skill in reparte, while arousing great enthusiasm amongst the Smith supporters, was displayed in a manner to beget the admiration and respect of his adversaries rather than to implant a sting in their hearts. Only once did the Governor manifest a disposition to “flare up.” That was when a persistent interrupter insisted that the Gov ernor’s alleged “Happiest day of my life” remark