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About The Columbia sentinel. (Harlem, Ga.) 1882-1924 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 22, 1923)
4 Let's Be Fair and Just to Com - missionet Brown and The Public. That the verdict returned by the Committee appointed to investigate the Georgia Depart¬ ment of Agriculture has not fooled the public is the substance of a strong editorial from the pen of W. T. Anderson of the Macon Daily Tele¬ graph. We quote: Interesting Conclusions. The report made by the joint committee t»f the Legislature that investigated the De¬ partment of Agriculture is highly interest¬ Jor ing, informing, entertaining. It is notable its sweetness of spirit. It is not of the Ttuff of which rebuke or disapproval is made. It rather takes pains to justify. Utmost care is exercised to express its exact conclusions. The following section of report es¬ pecially is worthy of note: ^ “As to the campaign fund referred to above, charges were made that Mr. Brown and 'the department assessed each of the employes of said department the sum of 5 per cent of their earnings for the preceding year, as a campaign fund to aid Mr. Brown in his re-election during the campaign of 1922, and that the employes refusing to contribute were discharged. “The evidence produced before this com¬ mittee from all sources shows that; several of those who were connected with the De¬ partment of Agriculture got together with¬ out the knowledge or consent of Mr. Brown and sent out a circular letter to all of the oil inspectors of the State asking that they contribute an amount equal to 5 per cent of their earnings the preceding year to be used as a campaign fund to secure Mr. Brown's re-election; the said letter stating that Mr. Brown's fight was their fight, and that they were interested in the outcome of said elec¬ tion. The evidence further showed that after the campaign several of those who contributed were not reappointed for vari¬ ous reasons, and that some seventy or more of said employes who did not contribute are still in the employment of the agricultural department. The evu nee further showed that Mr. Brown knew nothing of the request for the contribution and was not furnishfed a list of those who contributted, or of those who failed to contribute, and that he declin¬ ed to look at the list of contributors when he was informed there was such a list, until after the election and untjl after he had made his appointments for the following term.'' The above will go down in history. It is too vital and valuable an^assertion ever to be lost. It discloses a situation that has no right to exist ar . that should be outlawed in every department of our government. It should La against the law for an employe in a State department to contribute to the cam paign fund of the head of that department. The several reasons arc obvious, and do not need to be elaborated upon here. Be it remembered, that the Lankford and Stewart resolutions calling for an investigation of the Dt ,-a. imerit of Agriculture were into, duced in the Senate and House at about the same time. The only difference in the two was this: the Lankford paper paved the wav for what b commonly called a "whitewash” and the Stewart resolution sought to brine on a genuine, searching, and honest INVESTIGATION. In the eyes of men like Brown, Carswell, and Neill the difference is slight. In the eves of tax payers and voters, the difference is great Commissioner Browp preferred the Lankford resolution, and 1 don’t blame him. We shouldn’t hold this against our handsome Commissioner m Agriculture. With all his faults. Brown is human and entitled to certain considers* ior..-. The fact that a guilty man about to be hanged was permitted to nick his jury from among hi* friends ought not to weigh against him. Let’s be fair and just to Commissioner Brown and the public. Let’s trv the case on its merits, Let’a write an honest verdict. Lei’s bear i D mind that the Commissioner was conscious of his wrongdoings. He knew that the searching inquiry contemplated by the Stewart resolution would produce political death-warrants for self and for a score, or more, subordinates. Stewart probe would have wrecked the machine from hell to breakfast. And Brown, as well as his dear friends Carswell and Neill, realized this, Therefore, the machine supported the Lankford substitute—the scrap of paper offered by State Senator George Washington Lankford. Toombs County. My information is, that George Carswell him self wrote the Lankford resolution, it through the Senate, and you may be sure he went o\er the detail' wit h Con inn. hones Brown, Commission, r Brown used hie machine t.'> feat Thomas K. Wal.--on in the 1918 contest with Representativ e \ insmi, and when Watson tested Wilkinson * minis . George ( a .vll & : otopany burned !i ■ election returns. This little incident was responsible i'< a air Watson's ''rue alk” Blown in .front of McDuffie Bank / Ho, when Carswell plained to the sioner the merit of Lankford's resolution, Brown i j •v that it would sidetrack P ; . : .1’ •: 1, 01(1 i: • ■;■■! t his I give him a coat of whi ewa h, CC hads v h me applied 1 • the - Tills Investigating Committee, two vt a 9 THE COLUMBIA SENTINEL, THOMSON, GEORGIA. .The substitute was not adopted until the night of the late lamented do-nothing Legisla ture. Pressed for time. Brown, Neill, and Cars well were forced to closet themselves locked doors for the purpose of. picking jurors to try the wounded innocent, J. J. B. Under parliamentary law, Speaker Neill should have named Representative Stewart on this Com¬ mittee. He was the author of the original reso¬ lution and was entitled to a place on the Com¬ mittee. V The fact that Charley Stewart was not ap i iected pointed, satisfies my mind that J. J. Brown se ! the jury. Mr. Neill would not have violated .the rules of the Ho”se, in not naming Mr. Stewart, with¬ out good cause. The fact that Stewart knew damaging facts against Brown, and with full knowledge that. Stewart would if named on this Committee, bring these, facts to the attention i of the State, accounts for Neill’s failure to ap point the author of the House resolution. With the possible exception of Hon O. R. Ben ! nett, THE COMMITTEE NAMED BY THE PRESIDING OFFICERS OF THE ASSEMBLY ENTERED THE JURY BOX DETERMINED TO EXHONERATE COMMISSIONER BROWN. I As I told Chairman Lankford wh^n he visited Savannah, r.< l uount of evidence would have | restrained this Committee from doing what | their they verdict were appointed is sweeping to do; exhoneration and the fact f their that a o Boss, J. J. Brown, leaves no room for doubt in the mind of an honest man. I a; vo with Mr. ijtewart, that it would have been a waste of time for us to have attended the hearing., and submitted our documents to the Lankford Committee. Why do I say this? The facts nd circumstances justify the state¬ ment, and I will show you why. Investigating Committees appointed by leg¬ islative bodies are not empowered to turn their brief authority into a court. On the contrary, the committee is invested with power to hear the widest range of testimony, go into every detail of the indicted department, and uncover, if possible, the wrongdoings of the accused offi¬ cial. There is no prosecutor in legislative investi¬ gations ! Commissioner Brown and his attorney tried to force Mr. Stewart to become the prosecutor, and Stewart did right in refusing to act. It was the duty of this Committee to make its own investigation and to invite outsiders to appear before the Committee and tell their stories. If this Committee had followed the usual rules, Lankford would have conducted the examination of witnesses without any co-opera¬ tion from the accused man’s lawyer. Instead of this, Lankford permitted Brown’s lawyer to con¬ duct the examination of ail witnesses and to outline to tCommittee its duties in the prem¬ ises. No, ... once did ... any member , of . this ,, . Committee _ ... « ake the f gl ) te st mp f n at investigating the Department + of Agriculture. A Appointed to in J estlgate ’ lo « k into ’ V ncover wast ®> tha travagar ‘ ce ' th f. over-lapping, the number of do n ,°: hi ng underlings, , and to report its findings, ! hm , C-ommittee ignored its plain duty and went ,nt .° KeS81on ado P‘ Supenor Court ru, *f. l0r ' ls government. the Committee let it be known that it ! , md would usurped conduct tDo functions investigation of a court its and that no on own mo t,, ' n -. ,m that it'would hold the public down to ( ">al of a man who had not been indicted, f 1 rat, ^i l1 pJoplc or ™ cd [^ir own conclusions , Alc real,zad kat ,hc Committee would R0 , “ vi,sl i« atc thc Department oi Agriculture and , Dmt Lrown wanted his opponents to pre cni A 1 1 10 (hum H they possessed in order that u 1>c wiped from the slate before the next . ! ' 1 . iu fhunder , , J J ' ™ my over <° - ' I,r "' VR and k ! s attorneys Representative Stewart took my advice and qU ; the investigation 1 V ,r case w,!! h<! sab ™ ltted Lo the proper Un¬ , Tf ?!:o peo " , 0 of Georgia-and when the ‘'ounted next September, there will l T. no °’\ ^ecujntol lawn and-no Jose ph! Brown ,n ,he Department of Agriculture, I VIEWS AND COMMENT ON NATIONAL TOPICS. (Continued from Page One.) oath of office? From President to bailiff, our public servants take a i oath to support the Constitution and j laws of the United States. If this oath carries no weight, what of this proposed pledge? , Mr. Bryan’s remedy reminds the writer of 1 Bryan’s plan for wiping out the double standard of morals: h<; proposed an amendment to the Federal Constitution, The Si eel Trust and International Bankers j from continue Pont to hern shout house-tops, “Underwood hoping for to win President South ! era delegates for the Alabama Senator, who is nation’s outstanding reactionary. « 1 Senator Underwood’s friends in Alabama know that the people of Underwood’s home State do not favor his Presidential candidacy: tliere e, a rule or ruin element in Alabama declined to submit Underwood's claims to the voters of that State., T!,< lubaina delegates will vote for Senator rwt in (he national convention, although .irople of that State let it he known in no unevuiin language that they want no Under ; wood in the White House. Brother Oscar k AV r ■]) known ip his horn State: he can’t win an Alabama endorsement without spending large wads of E Pluribus Unum, and the Underwood Campaign Committee dis¬ plays good sense in not going before the masses with its hero. The Atlanta Constitution for October 13— unlucky day for Underwood—says that the Ala¬ bama Committee “plans to capture Georgia del¬ egates for Underwood.” and that the Senator is as popular in Georgia today as when he carried the State against Woodrow Wilson. When Mr. Underwood won Georgia's votes, in 1912, Hoke Smith supported Mr. Wilson. Smith is for Underwood, this year! The only way for Underwood to obtain Geor¬ gia’s votes is to “capture” the Georgia delega¬ tion, just as Alabama’s delegates were caught. If the Legislature is not willing to give us a preferential primary, the State Democratic Ex¬ ecutive Committee must provide means for hold¬ ing an election, as we did in 1920, when Georgia voted for Thomas E. Watson for President. If Henry Ford’s name can’t be used, let’s try Senator James. A. Reed, of Missouri. Mr. Ford is the only war profiteer whose pro¬ fits—blood money—will be returned to the Government. On munitions and machinery, the Ford Company earned more than twenty mil¬ lions in profits, and Mr. Ford’s share will be paid into the United States Treasury as soon as ex¬ perts fix the amount. The fact that Mr. Ford is not willing to ac¬ cept blood money puts him in a class to him¬ self, as Industrial King. Ford didn’t wait until now to make announcement that his share of the twenty millions would be returned to Uncle Sam; he made the announcement in 1918, when other Industrial Kings were stuffing their pock¬ ets with this blood money. Henry Ford’s excoriation of Secretary Weeks’ perfidious conduct in regard to Muscle Shoals is the subject of talk from coast to coast. War Secretary Weeks’ reply didn’t help Weeks. His confession emphasized Ford’s charges against the “Boston bond broker,” now a member of President Coolidge’s cabinet. Mr. Weeks says that he will submit the whole affair to “a proper tribunal.” Perhaps Mr. Weeks would be willing for the G. 0. P. National Committee to hear evidence and write judgment in the premises. But, this will not be done. Ford appeals the case to the American people and Muscle Shoals becomes a national issue. It may become the deciding factor in the approach¬ ing Presidential campaign. At any rate, the fight for Muscle Shoals has been lifted out of the War Department and of Congress and transferred to the field of politics. Ford says that he can make cheap guano, at Muscle Shoals. Bond Broker Weeks says that he cannot. The point is: Mr. Ford is willing to back his judgment with his money; why should John W. Weeks object? Henry Ford says: “Long ago Mr. Weeks ma¬ tured the plan to break up and dispose of Muscle Shoals by piecemeal.” Mr. Ford is right: the war speculators, the Fertilizer Trust, and the Boston Bond Broker are not willing for Muscle Shoals to be used to aid farmer's in their battles with the Guano Trust. The Manufacturers’ Record says: Henry Ford through his widely circulated Dearborn Independent is fighting the whole banking system as it exists, and sowing the seed in millions of minds that such of the banking interests of the country as are row dominated by the Federal Reserve System are a dangerous menace to national wel¬ fare. Perhaps it may be unfortunate that Mr. Ford has hundreds of millions of cash at his command, thousands of agents work¬ ing for him. and one of the most widely cir¬ culated papers in the country preaching his doctrines. He may loom large on the horizon in the next presidential campaign, and the extent to which he will do so depends largely upon the Federal Reserve Board. On the Board, rests this responsibility. It cannot shirk it. The country demands an answer. Mr. Lloyd George, now in America, is perhaps the world’s greatest statesman. He is honest, outspoken, and clear headed. He is fearless, at home and abroad. He says what he thinks, and his way of thinking appeals to other thinkers. In New York, Lloyd George admitted that the recent Greek-Italian controversy demonstrated the League’s weak spot. Mussolini walked rough shod over the whole League household, and there wasn’t a chirp of opposition from any source. A League of bankrupt nations is no protection against war. If Uncle Sam joined this super-government, our soldiers and our dollars would probably put down future uprisings on the part of bankrupt members. But, is European “peace” worth the price they ask us to pay? THE LAWLESS CONDUCT OF OKLAHOMA’S GOVERNOR. (Continued from Page One.) or the Ku Klux Klan? February P2 1923, Governor Jackson Walton tiled with the Klan an application for member¬ ship; his application went before the Klan -of Jack’s home-town, and Jack’s neighbors black¬ balled the applicant. The truth is, Jack-Walton is a Roman Cath¬ olic; he says that he is not; he claims to belong to the Christian' Church, although he admits that his wife is a Roman Catholic. Whenever you find a politician with a Catholic wife you way'be sure that the husband is secretly con- . nected with the Italian church. ( Governor Walton’s neighbors—members of ‘ the Ku Klux Klan—knew the facts; and when Jack's application came before the Klan, it was rejected, simply because every man in that local knew Walton’s reasons for applying for mem- . bership. He wanted to be on the inside in order to gather first hand information for high officials of the Roman Catholic Hierarchy. Do you blame the Klan for rejecting Walton’s application ? • . I have seen a photograph of Jhck Walton’s application; it was written with his own hand; he cant deny these facts: Walton described himself as follows: Age, 42; 5 feet, six inches tall; weight, 210 pounds; brown hair; blue eyes; born in Indiana; father a North Carolinian; mother Mississippian; member Chris¬ tian Church resident of Oklahoma for 19 years; veteran of Spanish-American war; remits $10 fee and $10 for a year’s dues. Witnesses familiar with Walton’s handwriting say that this application was written by Jack Walton himself; and this significant statement was written on. the face of the application: “The Governor Can’t Be Active.” Governor Walton wanted to run with the Klan, but he didn’t want the public to know it. He would not have applied for membership without his wife’s consent. You may be sure of that. The mere fact that his wife did consent, proves that high officials of the Catholic Church gave theirs: and there is no doubt at all that Walton’s reason for trying to sneak into the Klan was prompted by his ambition to be of service to the Catholic Hierarchy. Governor Walton didn't part his lips in regard to the Klan’s alleged lawlessness until his ap¬ plication was rejected and his $20 returned. Caught with the goods, nailed in the very act while trying to do dirty work for Oklahoma Bishops and Priests, Jack Walton resented the action of local Klansmen, and to save his face, he fired the first gun in this battle between Gov¬ ernor and people of the State of Oklahoma. Ilis declarations against Oklahoma Klansme?i haven’t a leg to stand upon, and Jack knows it. He tries to bolster up his side of the controversy by publishing to the world what he calls Okla¬ homa’s “lawlessness.” The fact that the Gov¬ ernor was willing to libel his own State and slan¬ der the people who elected him to govern their commonwealth ought to give Walton a black eye in the opinion of every honest American. Jack Walton’s lawlessness in employing the militia against the civil authorities demands an impeachment. He can’t escape impeachment! He wrote his own death-warrant the minute he signed a proclamation putting the military above the civil authority of Oklahoma. His threats against the civil officers of the State, upon whom rests the responsibility fob seeing that honest elections are maintained, shows that Walton had no respect for the funda¬ mental law of Oklahoma. He tried to call off an election ordered by -a statute bearing the signature of Governor Walton! He didn’t want the people to.vote; he tried to disfranchise every voter in Oklahoma; he wanted to walk rough shod over the heads of Sheriffs and other peace officers; he failed to respect the legislative arm of the government; he wanted to jail his political enemies; and his every act from the moment his home Klan rejected his application for membership until now, has been lawless, unscrupulous, and un-American. If Jack Walton is not impeached and kicked out of the State of Oklahoma, the American public will be THE ROMAN CATHOLIC question was never handled by any one, as it was by the late Senator Thos. E. Watson. We have on hand a limited supply of his book¬ lets; when these are gone, no more will be printed, arid they will be rare authorities for years tocome: Maria Monk (the victim nf a Canadian convent) .10 What Goes on in the Nunneries? .10 Popery in its relation to Civil and Religious Liberty .10 A Short History of Papacy and the Popes .10 Ancient Paganism and Modern Catholicism the Same .10 Romau Catholics Falsifying History .10 One of tlie most interesting of these books, in view of the fact that the House spoken of has fallen, is "The House of Hapsburg." .25 Tiie Roman Catholic Hierarchy, an absolute au¬ thority on the history of the Roman Catholic Church, illustrated .75 Dealing with the "Dark Ages" in Rurope, "Ancient Civilization” is one of the most interest¬ ing of the smaller hooks, the author ever wrote .25 All of these books are paper bound, good type good print. THE COLUMBIA SENTINEL, Thomson, Ga. FARMS FOR SALE IN GEORGIA. 933 acres in Dooly county on Montezuma and Drayton road, 200 in cultivation, balance in pasture. Also, j 127 1-2 acres in Telfair county near Lum- I ber City; 110 in cultivation; all fenced. Also, 202 1-2 acres in Telfair county, 140 acres in cultivation. Also, 91 acres in Putnam county on Greens¬ boro and Milledgeville road, 70 acres in cultiva¬ tion. ! Also, 270 acres in Paulding county, 150 in cultivation, on Villa Rica and Dallas road. Also, ts 12-100 acres, 8 room house in 1-4 mile of city of Atlanta. The above properties for sale on time or cash. Address E. PATTERSON, 412 East Second St., Cincinnati, Ohio, - ~ ' 'J
