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If President Cleveland had been, at heart, favorable to the Income Tax, he would have gone on and enforced the law, in spite of the five-to-four vote of those nine citizens who happened to hold' appointments as Judges. He would have dwelt upon the infamous manner in which the decision was reached, he would have held up to universal scorn the cor rupt judge who sold himself; he would have issued orders for the collection of that tax; and the millionaires who escaped taxation by bribing a federal judge, WOULD HAVE KNUCKLED DOWN! The construction which certain federal judges have placed upon the 14th amendment is wrong. That amendment was intended to fix the status of the negro, not to build a City of Refuge for marauding corporations. The construction which certain federal judges place on the words “no person shall be deprived of his property without due pro cess of law,” is wrong. They hold it to mean that it gives them the authority to act as prophets, and to annul any statute which in their opinion WILL prevent corporations from earning net profits. No judge has the right to act as a prophet; and no judge has the right to say that corpora tion property has been confiscated, when it has been deprived of net profits. How it was that these two heresies ever got firmly fixed in the minds of any set of federal judges, it is impossible to explain. The law never did promise or guarantee net profits, to anybody—NEVEß! The feudal barons who demanded it, and the English King who yielded it, had no sort of idea of sanctifying the principle of net profits when they wrote the clause of The Great Charter which protected lands, houses, cattle, moneys, etc., from arbitrary seizures and confiscations. Yet these errant federal judges say by their decisions that the corporations are not 'only entitled to keep their property, but must be guaranteed net profits. DOES ANY OTHER CLASS OF PROP ERTY, or any other kind of business, ENJOY THAT BOON? Certainly not. From what source, then, do the errant judges derive the principle that corporation PROF ITS are sacred? All of us know that there are periods when, owing to the laws, taxes, fixed charges, unfa vorable conditions, etc., almost every kind of property and business is deprived of net prof its. We have to endure it, and to do the best we can, We can’t run to a federal judge and set aside our taxes on the plea of confiscatory. But according to the errant federal judges, corporation property enjoys the Divine Right to NET PROFITS —no matter whether other kinds of property and business are being run at a loss or not. Whenever this foul and dangerous Heresy runs up against an Executive who happens to unite courage, brains and honesty, it is going to get its vicious life mashed OUT OF ITS HIDEOUS BODY. •ent? The Whiskey Issue in Georgia. The question of State Prohibition is now reminding the average member of the Lcgis ature that “Life is real, life is earnest And the grave is not the goal, Vote it right and vote it promptly, Else be put into a hole.” Fortunately, the old Pops know the road. So far back as 1896, they made a state cam paign against the Barrooms. Hon. Seaborn Wright bore our banner, and did it gallantly. I remember going down to Covington, in that campaign, to make a speech for Scab and the Anti-Barroom bill. Lon Livingston and several others assem- WATSON’S WEEKLY JEFFERSONIAN. bled themselves together to hear me, and I had “good attention.” In the course of the speech, I spoke of the silly inconsistency of which we Georgians are guilty when we spend our cash to build church es and schools for the purpose of making good men out of our boys, and good husbands for our daughters, and then attempt to get the money back by selling some barkeeper the right to try his hand at making sots out of our boys and drunkards’ wives out of our girls. When my eloquent effort was finished, that day at Covington, and various survivors were saying soothing things to me, this is what Lon Livingston said: “Why, Watson, I was making speeches like that six years ago.” His whole expression was one of subdued disappointment, and Christian resignation. He had come there to hear a sure-enough speech and, instead of that, he had been treated to a weakened re-hash of his own familiar antique talks! Still, he would not complain, but would bear up like a man. * In that memorable campaign of 1896, our Democratic brethren couldn’t get their con sent to vote with us against the Barrooms. If my memory is not playing me a mean and low-down trick, Bishop Candler was one of the Democratic brethren who fought manfully against us in our effort to rid the state of Bar rooms. The great Methodist leader doubted the genuineness of any reform which did not come through the Democratic Party; and conse quently, the open saloon received the benefit of his powerful influence in that campaign. Those who do not want any reform except ing that which comes through the Democratic party, have not been over-fed on reform. I hear of no cases of colic, acute indigestion, or stall-fed obesity. All that I’ve got to say on the subject is this: Those who are willing to wait on either of the old parties for what reforms they get. would make the patience of an old fisherman seem like the restlessness of a prancing horse— and would make Job appear, by comparison, to have been too fractious and impatient to lis ten to good news. Yes, our good Democratic friends, breth ren and fellow-sufferers refused to help us Pops knock the Barrooms out of business in 1896. The thing could have been done at that time, as well as now. But until the Democrat ic party got ready to shut the Barrooms, thousands of citizens who • have never been thought of in connection with lunatic asylums, refused to vote against John Barleycorn, al though they constantly preached and prayed against him. In consequence of this highly sensible and creditable attitude, old John has had eleven years in which to do his best to ruin our boys, and to give to our daughters drunken husbands who break their hearts. n God help us all to see the right, to preach for it, to pray for it, and to vote for it. I was sorry Bishop Candler, and the thou sands of good, true men who went astray in the campaign of 1896, could not obtain their con sent to drop partisan prejudice and unite with us to strike fl blow for God and Right and native land. " But I bear no malice and hope I’m not nar row —and since the Bishop would not follow me in 1896, J’m ready now to follow the Bish op. Shall we unite and knock out the Barrooms, Doctor Candler? Lead on, Man of God! —I follow. Casual Comment. “By J. D. Watson. Well, Governor J. M. Terrell, the man who was so gallant at the presentation of the Sil ver Service to the Battleship Georgia as to fail to mention the name of the Georgia girl who deserved the credit for raising the money has retired to private life, and he is apt to stay in retirement for many years to come. Later on we will see what the Railroad Santa Claus brings him. Hon. Hoke Smith has been inaugurated Gov ernor and we are hoping that we soon will see long needed reforms enacted into laws. Mr. Smith is helpless unless he has the legislature with him, so it remains to see what the present legislature will do. The time was when legislators made all kinds of promises to the people at home before election time, then paid no attention to them after reaching Atlanta. But the time has come now when the people are watching their representatives, and those who fail to support the measures that will come before the present legislature will stay at home next time. The people of Georgia have awakened to the fact that there must be some changes in our laws, and if such changes are not made, there will be some changes of legislators. Attorney General Bonaparte has directed United States attorneys in different parts of the country to institute at the earliest practica ble date 188 suits against different railroads for violation of the Safety Appliance law. This news will bring joy to the people throughout the country, especially to those who have to work or ride on trains. * On a complaint from the Dallas, Tex., freight bureau, the Interstate Commerce Commission has regulated the coal rates for that city. At Warrensburg, Mo., the prosecuting at torney has filed ten suits against different rail roads for violation of the eight-hour law in respect to telegraph operators who handle train orders. From Washington comes the news that the Attorney General of Oklahoma Territory has filed six complaints with the Interstate Com merce Commission against Western railroads charging them with levying unjust freight rates in Oklahoma. The railroads seem to be having rather a strenuous time of it these days, and, as the people come to realize more fully how they have been imposed upon, they will make times more strenuous. »» Philadelphia, June 27. —In the archives of the Pennsylvania Railroad has been found a letter from James Buchanan, written when he was President of the United States, declin ing an offer of a free pass on the Northern Central Railroad. The letter came into the possession of the Pennsylvania Railroad when that road acquired control of the Northern Central. It is as follows: “Washington, March 24, 1859. “Dear Sir: I return the free ticket which Mr. Gittings has directed to be forwarded to me on the Northern Central Railroad, with as many thanks for his kindness as though I had accepted it. It has been the practice of my life not to travel free on any railroad, being opposed to the whole system of granting such privileges to individuals not connected with these roads. “Yours, very respectfully, “JAMES BUCHANAN. “ROBERT S. HOLLIS, Esq., “Secretary.” The above clipping from the Washington Post is interesting. I wonder how many simi lar letters have been written by our Presi dents? There are perhaps few, for most of them not only take the pass, but a private .car, and sometimes a private train, PAGE NINE