Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

PAGE TWELVE Death of the Tribune. (Continued from Page Nine.) man, as I am, and therefore he made up his mind to have a paper of his own, so that he could say things when they occurred to him. So he scraped together a handful of old type, borrowed some ink, stole an empty cigar box that had been thrown away, and by put ting the accumulated pelf together, found him self in possession of the physical machinery for the getting out of a paper, not much bigger than a Jack rabbit’s ear. This mammoth sheet was called the “Wool hat” and, while it was little, it was loud. The things it said about wrongs and abuses, large robbers, big thieves, rich knaves and confeder ated political rascals, was simply scandalous. Much of what it said was entirely out of or der, unparliamentary to the last degree, rev olutionary in its character, incendiary in its vocabulary, and shamefully true in every es sential respect. WHAT THE SOLONS DID AND WHAT WAS NOT DONE. (Continued from Page One.) followed in the senate, where it was openly charged by three senators that the governor had lobbied with changing senators in a manner which, if the same had been done by rail road attorneys, would have brought forth a howl of protest. The adamantine nature of the sen ate on this subject all bnt caused an extra session. The senate time and again refused to accept three com missioners, and the governor was about to call an extra session to have this bill enacted into a law when the change of heart and votes took place, and the bill was accepted as amended by the senate shortly before midnight Saturday night. The house also amended this bill so that if the governor has the right to appoint two additional commis sioners to serve until they or their successors can be elected by the peo ple, be cannot name the chairman, but that officer is to be elected by the commissioners. It was also fixed in the house that the commission is to have the power to regulate gas, electric and water power companies and in addition to all these, cotton coinpress companies. It was upon the motion of Mr. Hall that the office of attorney to the commission was created with arr annual salary of $2,500, and this place is to be filled by appointment from the governor. So while the house did not pass the bill first, it was the amendments of that body which were finally enacted into a law. In the same way the disfranchisement bill which came to the house for amendments got one of the strongest clauses attached which goes into the proposed constitutional amendment. It is in the third clause under which registration is to bo had, if the amendment is ratified by a vote of the people. This is the * ‘good character clause,” which is to stand for all time and is not to be limited to 1910 or 1911 as was suggested by the senate. Other than thjs the ad ministration bill was passed just as received from the senate. Senate on House Bills. The senate was not so kind to the house bills. Members graduated from the house of last year to the senate or this, insisted that senate bills instead of house ksn - The “Woolhat” looked good to me, even if it was fuzzy and small, and I have a copy filed away among the relics which are kept to remind me of “old times.” The little paper, yellow with age, speaks x to me of man’s honest endeavor, of consecra tion to earnest conviction of toil, of sacri fice, of suffering, of a certain-patient heroism which in the sight of God may be as sublime as that of the soldier who storms the heights. So the “Woolhat” lies among my papers, where it has lain these many years, close to the banners the Populist ladies and girls used to make for me, hard by the withered wreaths that were brought to our meetings,, in the stir ring days when the land was ablaze with a noble enthusiasm. Seventeen years ago, or fifteen years ago, or but thirteen years ago—it seems another age, another world. These crumbling wreaths belong to by-gone era; these banners to an epoch of the past; laws, as has been in the u case in for mer years. The Wright anti-lobby bill was passed early in the session, but notwithstanding it was one of the strongest planks of the Macon platform, it was not enacted into a law. In the senate it was so emaciat ed that the author declared he would never recognize it as his measure. It was sent to the house again, which hody refused to concur in the senate amendments, thus sending it to the lumber room for lost legislation. A like fate befell the«plank in the Macon platform in regard to the an ti-pass evil. The house bv a unani mous vote passed the Hall anti-pass bill which prohibited corporate cour tesies to city, county and state offi cials. The senate passed an admin istration measure prohibiting these courtesies to all persons except em ployes. Saturday night, or Sunday morn ing, according to the old town clock, the house tried twice to get the Hall hill up so as to non-concnr in the sen ate amendments, bnfeeach effort fail ed and this bill, too, went to the lumber room. So much for the big four. By the legal order of things the house had the general tax act and the general appropriations hill first. Tax Act -Causes Prolonged Session. The general tax act was the bone of contention, which swung the ses sion far into Sunday morning. It was that little section of this im portant measure which placed the tax on social clubs keeping intoxi cants in lockers. By reason of the close relation to the subject matter it way swung into another prohibi tion fight and it looked as though an extra session would be necessary to get this clause accepted by both houses. Sunday morning at 3:15 it was agreed to tax these locker clubs SSOO instead of S3OO as proposed by Mr. Wright in the house, or SIO,OOO as proposed by the senate. This com promise was not effected until the general assembly was worn out, tired and sleepy. The greatest loop-the-loop of the session took place in the house on this bill in regard to the income tax proposed for all public utilities. The governor sent a special message to the general assembly asking for an income tax on all railroads in the state. A section to the act taxing all public utilities, including rail- WATSON’S WEEKLY JEFFERSONIAN. roads, was offered, and after much debate was voted down. The house declared against income taxes. An amendment to the act calling for an income tax on the manufactures of soda fount syrups was offered and voted down. The next day a second section to the act was offered eliminating cer tain utilities, short telephone lines, water power companies and the like, but imposing a 1 per cent tax on other utilities, and after much de bate, mirabile dictu, was adopted. This put the members on record as favoring an income tax. As a joke, an amendment to tax the manufacturers of patent medi cines, copyrighted soft drinks, and the like, was offered and adopted. In quick order amendments were of fered and adopted levying a similar tax on sewing machine manufactur ers, telephone and telegraph compa nies, express, Pullman parlor car companies, and the like. Thus com pletely reversing house form. The house a few days before had refused io accept an amendment to tax locker clubs SIO,OOO, but when Mr. Wright, of Floyd, one of the pro hibition leaders, made a plea for a S3OO tax and asked that there be no opposition, there was none, and this tax was levied. This bill went “to the senate, and the senate sent it back,” but greatly changed in appearance. All income taxes had been eliminated. The house, which week before last was “against-for” income taxes, was this time square against income taxes, and voted to leave that tax act. The senate had raised the locker tax to SIO,OOO, and the house refused to have it. This brought on the dead lock, which was only broken by the compromise Sunday morning. In the same way the general ap-. propriation bill was handled. A rec ord for dispatch of this burdensome bill was made in the house, however. Every amendment offered by the able chairman of the general appropria tion bill, Mr. Candler, of DeKalb, was accepted, and the bill passed in a single day, an unheard of event. School Fund is Raised. The house refused to raise the common school fund to $2,000,000, but when the senate stood out for that amount for 1908, instead of $1,850,000, as fixed in the house, the house concurred, as it did for several other minor appropriations. This disposed of the general meas- this faded “Woolhat” tn a generation that is gone. The little paper started by the one-horse farmer grew into a larger weekly and then into a daily, and was a mighty educator of the people. In like manner, the Populist move ment of fifteen years ago, grew from a small beginning until it overshadowed the land. The Daily Tribune is now dead, just as the great Populist organization is dead; but nei ther the paper nor the creed are any more lost the world of living things than were the seed which the sower went forth to sow. •t * H Special to Subscribers. If you should receive a bundle of Sample Copies of Watson’s Weekly, please understand that you are earnestly requested to hand out these extras where they will do the most good. We will thank you very much if you will co operate with us to this extent. ures of great importance to be acted upon. As a reinforcer of the prohi bition law the house Saturday night passed the bill which prohibits the sale of narcotics, except on physi cians’ prescriptions. But the bill by Mr. Mundy, of Polk, making it a felony instead of a misdemeanor to sell intoxicants, prohibited by law, was not passed. The greatest interest had been aroused over what has been commonly called the “water power bill,” that was tabled Saturday night and killed for the sessiop. This bill provides the right of eminent domain for pub lic utility corporations, and gives them the right to condemn other wa ter power companies for the public good. After a hard fight the senate reported the bill favorably; the senate passed it; the house spe cial judiciary committee reported it favorably; it was set for a special order —and tabled. The house took the posititon that there was too much involved in the rights granted to allow a hurried passage, and on the brink of enactment it was shoved into a pigeon-hole to remain a year. Central Investigation Killed. One of the most important and far reaching pieces of legislation that was allowed to go over without en actment was the Hardeman resolu tion calling for the appointment of a legislative commission to investi gate the alleged ownership of the Central of Georgia by the Southern, any other corporation or individual in violation of the constitution of Georgia. The people and press of the state begged for this commission. The house committee on railroads report ed the resolution favorably; it was adopted by the house, reported favor ably in the senate, and —tabled. Killed for a year. In the meanwhile these corporations have an opportun ity to adjust themselves to satisfac tory conditions. Another important resolution not acted upon was that by Mr. John son, of Jasper, which called for the creation of a commission to investi gate who is getting the benefit of re duced freight rates since the rates have been reduced to the jobber and the prices to the consumer continue to soar skyward. The general assembly also failed to create a board of legislative in quiry as provided for in the resolu tion by Mr. Barksdale, of Wilkes •oußty. The eommiaaion wm to take