308 



GEORGIA. 



ties, where it was desired to set aside Federal 

 supervisors. Quoting the Constitution as to 

 qualifications of voters and registration, he said : 

 The grave matter for consideration is : Has the State 

 of Georgia required a registration for all voters at 

 elections for presidential electors and representatives 

 in Congress ? Are the local registration enactments 

 prescribed for various counties of the State, which 

 are practically as varying as they are numerous, such 



t'ering among 

 features, in consonance with the Constitution of the 

 State of Georgia and the Constitution and laws of the 

 United States ? 



The court is of the opinion that, as constituting an 

 obstacle to the appointment of supervisors to super- 

 vise a general election, the registration enactments of 

 the General Assembly of Georgia are inoperative and 

 void because in conflict with the Constitution of the 

 State. ' 



The Legislature. The Legislature met on 

 Oct. 26, pursuant to the provision of the con- 

 stitutional amendment. Hon. A. S. Clay was 

 elected President of the Senate and Hon. W. Y. 

 Atkinson Speaker of the House. Among the 

 important bills were the following: 



To make it unlawful in Georgia to charge more than 

 7 per cent, interest. 



To create a State board of health. 



To grant a certain portion of the land around the 

 old State Capitol at Milledgeville to the city of Mill- 

 edgeville upon which the city council may build bar- 

 racks for the Middle Georgia Agricultural and Mili- 

 tary College. 



To reduce the pensions of widows of Confederate 

 soldiers from $100 to $60 per annum. 



To withhold pensions from such widows of Con- 

 federate soldiers as are owners of more than is defined 

 in the homestead laws. 



To increase the number of Supreme Court judges 

 from three to five. 



To prevent railroads from being controlled by syn- 

 dicates and combinations, and to insure the holding 

 of railroad stock, as far as practicable, by individuals 

 in their own right. 



To appropriate $200,000 for the purchase of text- 

 books for the school children. 



To provide for the establishment of a more thorough 

 system of volunteer soldiery. 



Political. The Democratic State Conven- 

 tion for choosing delegates to the National Con- 

 vention at Chicago met at Atlanta in May. The 

 majority of the county conventions that had met 

 previously had declared against the candidacy of 

 Mr. Cleveland, and in favor of tariff reform and 

 the free coinage of silver. Mr. Hill was the 

 favorite as presidential candidate. At the State 

 convention. May 18, the Cleveland men secured 

 a victory in the election of their candidate for 

 temporary chairman, who was then made perma- 

 nent chairman. A resolution was passed com- 

 plimenting the administration of Mr. Cleveland, 

 but one instructing the delegates to vote as a 

 unit was lost. The platform contained the fol- 

 lowing declarations : 



We are uncompromisingly opposed to the enlarge- 

 ment and concentration of Federal powers; to the 

 usurpation by the Central Government of the func- 

 tions of State ; to bounties and subsidies in every 

 form ; to every species of class legislation and Gov- 

 ernment partnership with private enterprises ; to the 

 whole theory and practice of paternalism. 



We demand the free and unlimited coinage of both 

 silver and gold on a parity with each other, to the end 

 that the money of the people shall be such in quan- 



tity and quality as was originally contemplated by 

 the Constitution. 



We demand that the prohibitory 10-per-cent. tax 

 on State bank issues be stricken out of the national 

 bank law, and, when this is done, we desire that a 

 uniform system of banking be provided for by the 

 Legislature of Georgia, with a flexible expansive State 

 bank currency. We further demand that the pro- 

 hibition in the national bank law against accepting 

 real estate as security for loans shall be stricken there- 

 from. 



We demand that the amount of the circulating me- 

 dium be speedily increased on a sound basis sufficient 

 to meet the needs of the country. 



We regard as the most important issue before the 

 people a reform of the present iniquitous tariff. 



We further demand a just and equitable system of 

 graduated tax on income. 



The biennial convention of the Democratic 

 party met in Atlanta on Aug. 12. and placed in 

 nomination the following ticket : For Governor, 

 Hon. W. J. Northen ; for Secretary, Hon. Philip 

 Cook ; for Treasurer, Col. 11. U. Hardeman : for 

 Comptroller-General, Hon. W. A. Wright ; for 

 Commissioner of Agriculture, Hon. R. T. Ncs- 

 bitt ; for Attorney-General, Hon. J. M. Terrell. 

 All of these except the last named were present 

 incumbents of the offices. 



The Republican State Convention met in At- 

 lanta on Aug. 11, and decided not to put a State 

 ticket in the field. Electors for the presidential 

 contest were nominated. 



The People's party held a State convention 

 on July 20. The platform approved the one 

 adopted at the national convention at Omaha, 

 condemned the convict-lease system, demanded 

 economy in public affairs and reduction of tax- 

 ation, and called public attention to the fact that 

 the producing interest in both city and country 

 is bearing more than its fair share of taxation. 

 The nominations were as follow : For Governor, 

 W. L. Peek ; for Secretary, W. R. Gorman ; for 

 Comptroller, A. W. Ivey ; for Treasurer, J. E. H. 

 Ware ; for Attorney-General, J. A. B. Mahaff ee ; 

 for Commissioner of Agriculture, James Barrett. 



At the State election, Oct. 5, the entire Demo- 

 cratic ticket was successful. The total vote of 

 the State was 209.482, of which Northen received 

 140,492, and Peek 58,990. The House stands, 

 158 Democrats, 14 of the People's party, and 3 

 Republicans. The Senate has 43 of the Demo- 

 cratic and 1 of the People's party. There are 2 

 colored members. 



The result of the November election was an 

 overwhelming victory for the Democratic party, 

 the popular vote being 129,386 for Cleveland, 

 48,305 for Harrison, 42,939 for W r eaver, and 988 

 for Bidwell. 



Notice has been given by Mr. Watson, candi- 

 date of the People's party' for member of Con- 

 gress from the 10th District, that he will contest 

 the seat with Black, whose election was returned. 

 Charges are made of fraud, bribery, corruption, 

 intimidation, and illegal and frequent repeating 

 of votes. One specification is that there are but 

 6,000 legal voters in Richmond County, and that 

 over 10,000 votes were polled at the election. 

 Notice of contest was also given in regard to the 

 seat for the 6th District by Chapman Turner, 

 nominee of the third party for Congress. He 

 charges that voters were driven from the polls 

 at Culloden by shotguns, and that illegal votes 

 were cast in other sections of the district. 



