Georgia goes forward : the record of one year's accomplishment

GEORGIA GOES FORWARD
T,H AGRICULTURAL AND INDUSTRJAL DEVELOPMENT BOARD OF GEOR"GIA ATHENS, GEORGIA

GEORGIA GOES FORWARD
THE RECORD OF
ONE YEAR'S ACCOMPLISHMENT
THE AGRICULTURAL AND INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT BOARD OF GEORGIA ATHENS, GEORGIA

ELLIS ARNALL, Governor of Georgia
THE AGRICULTURAL AND INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT BOARD OF GEORGIA
BLANTON FORTSoN, Chairman L. VAUGHAN HowARD, Executive Director

IvAN ALLEN

T. F. ABERCROMBIE
W. N. BANKS CHARLES L. BoWDEN
J. CAsoN CALLAWAY
M. D. CoLLINS

RYBURN G. CLAY
c. MRS. FRANK DAVID

BLANTON FoRTSON

CHARLES B. GRAMLING
RoBERT W. GRoVEs ALFRED W. }oNES

ToM LINDER

WILEY L. MOORE

WALTER R. McDoNALD

HENRY T. MciNTOSH
W. H. McNAUGHTON
J. L. PILCHEl\

RoBERT STRICKLAND

M. KING TucKER

'.

"WILSON WILLIAMS

Adanta Atlanta Grantville Macon Hamilton Atlanta Atlanta
Columbus
Athens Atlanta Savannah Sea Island Atlanta Atlanta Atlanta Albany Cartersville
Meigs Atlaata Waynesboro . Atlanta

APRIL, 1945

FOREWORD Governor Ellis Arnall has referred on many occasions in his speeches and writings to the Agricultural and Industrial Development Board of Georgia and to the various programs which it is sponsoring. Recently there appeared in the Atlanta Constitution a series of articles written by him which explains in general terms the work of the Board and the programs of most of its panels. These, together with a similar article in the Atlanta Journal, supply the main outline of the Board's activities. k is the purpose of this report to bring these articles together and to supplement them with a more detailed explanation of what the Board has undertaken during the first year of its operation. In order to present a complete picture there is also included a recent statement by Governor Arnall which outlines the accomplishments of his administration prior to the creation of the Agricultural and Industrial Development Board. Subsequent sections of the report deal with the activities of the Board in its seven fields. Each of these sections, except the one on Board organization, consists of two parts: ( 1) Governor Arnall's article, and ( 2) a statement of the Board's program. I am indebted to the Atlanta Constitution and to the Atlanta Journal for permission to reproduce the articles which have appeared in their columns. Governor Arnall himself has made possible this method of treatment by his generous cooperation and assistance in this as in all other matters relating to the work of the Board.
L. VAUGHAN HowARD, Executive Director.
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CONTENTS

I. The Background-Two Years of Accomplishment

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II. The Agricultural and Industrial Development Board

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III. Development of Georgia's Agriculture . . . . . . . 17

IV. An Improved Educational System . . . . . . . . . 25

V. A New Constitution for Georgia . 32

VI. A State-wide Public Health Program . . . . . . . . 37

VII. Developing Georgia's Industry . . . . . . . . . . 44

VIII. A Program of Public Works .

. . . . . . . 51

IX. Harvesting the Crop of Tourist Dollars . . . . . . . 6o

X. A Promising Future . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

I
THE BACKGROUND-TWO YEARS OF ACCOMPLISMENT
By ELLIS ARNALL Governor of Georgia
For two years I have been Governor of Georgia. The problems of administering the affairs of the state have been complicated by the war, which produced a number of complex social and economic questions and presented to the state government unprecedented fiscal and administrative problems.
With these I have dealt, as they arose, in a manner consistent with the pledge I made during my campaign for governor and in my first message to the General Assembly. Their solution has been sought in a manner consistent with the constitution and laws of Georgia through the democratic processes of representative government. Twice it was necessary to call the Assembly into extraordinary session to obtain legislation without which we could not go forward. In both instances, in sessions of five days each, the Assembly acted, demonstrating that in a democracy the legal and regular methods of government can succeed in carrying out the people's will.
When I took office in January, 1943, it was with a pledge to ask for certain reforms. These the legislative branch of our government accepted. Upon these reforms, upon certain other measures subsequently advocated, and upon the fiscal condition of Georgia's government, this report to the people is based.
The principal recommendations which were made to the Assembly were: cooperation with the federal government in prosecuting the war; creation of a constitutional board of education to supervise our common schools; establishment of a pardon and parole system to rid Georgia of the "pardon racket"; repeal of the law permitting the governor to remove the comptroller general and state treasurer; provision that the state auditor be named by the Assembly instead of by the governor; creation of a finance commission to aid the governor in keeping state expenditures within the limits of state income; enactment of an appropriations act as required by the constitution of
Tll.e Atlanta Constitution, January 28, 1945
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Georgia; removal of the governor from membership on administrative boards and commissions; and elimination of the power of the governor to strike from the budget arbitrarily the names of efficient state employees.
These constituted the "ten-point program" which had been advocated in the campaign of 1942. The Assembly passed the measures without opposition. In addition, it provided an effective budgetary system and a sound and realistic appropriations act.
When I assumed office, certain conditions existed which these measures were designed to correct.
The future of education in Georgia was imperiled by political control. The colleges of the University System had lost their accredited standing.
The clemency system had broken down; deserving prisoners were denied release, while others were freed after ridiculously short terms.
The state debt amounted to $35961,630, most of it payable within the term of my administration.
The state was operating without a genuine appropriations bill. The governor dominated all boards and commissions, and state employees were in a state of terror lest their names be dropped off the budget without cause. The farmers and sportsmen of Georgia were deeply concerned about the future of the state's wildlife resources. Confidence in state government was shaken all over Georgia, because it had deteriorated into a vehicle for personal political aggrandizement rather than for public service. Because of the legislation provided by the General Assembly and the loyal cooperation of the heads of all departments, including some who had not supported my candidacy, we have been able to make certain advances. Let this serve as a summary. Education has made tremendous strides in Georgia. The colleges of the state have been restored to an accredited status. The common schools have received more adequate support. Upon them Georgia today is spending more than $2 1,ooo,ooo per year, providing payment from state funds for teachers' salaries for I I months. A teachers retirement system has been established which guarantees an income for Georgia's faithful teachers in old age. The establishment of a constitutional Board of Pardons and Paroles has reformed the granting of clemency in our state. Deserving prisoners can obtain their freedom without having to resort to political pressure. On the other hand, the desperate, habitual criminal no longer is freed after a nominal rest period within prison walls. The effectiveness of the system can be tested by the fact that of nearly 2,000 freed
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since the system was inaugurated, only 83 have violated any parole provision and most of these violations have been of a trivial character.
Unquestionably, the morale of state employees has been improved by ridding agencies of the fear that the governor might eliminate some key employee for political reasons, or even because of a personal whim. This is attested by the fact that the Welfare, Revenue, and Education Departments are operating at a lower ratio of administrative cost to funds handled than ever before.
The establishment of the Fish and Game Commission has placed that agency outside politics and in the hands of the farmers and sportsmen of Georgia.
The fiscal affairs of Georgia are improved. We shall be able to make good on the pledge that every debt of the state either will have been paid, or in the case of the unpresented items, the money will be on hand for payment when this administration leaves office in 1947. This has been possible only because every agency head has cooperated in a relentless trimming away of every non-essential item on the departmental budgets. It is imperative that Georgia enter the postwar period debt-free and with some reserves for a public works program. On January 1, I945 the state owed only $6,9oo,ooo above its debt-paying reserves. The retirement of the $35,96I,63o debt inheritance can and will be completed by January, I947 without increasing the existing tax rates of the state or levying any new tax.
Three other pieces of legislation, not incorporated in the "tenpoint program," have been enacted. One of these makes Georgia the first state in the Union to grant the voting franchise to younger citizens. Under it, those above the age of I8 can exercise the right of suffrage. Georgians feel that those who can defend a nation with their lives are entitled to a say in its affairs. The second measure provided a state soldiers' ballot, under which it is estimated. that more than 5o,ooo Georgia men and women in our armed senrices participated in the election of I944
The third measure, which necessitated one of the extraordinary sessions of the General Assembly, dealt with prison reform. It provided Georgia with a new administrative method, with a policy free from old abuses, and with a new viewpoint upon the problem of its prisons. A year's test of the program has demonstrated that it will be efficient, that it will be more economical, and that it will rehabilitate thousands and restore them to usefulness in society.
The Assembly of I943 provided for a commission on constitutional revision, which has worked hard to bring up-to-date Georgia's sooften-amenrl..~ basic law. Certain reforms have been placed in the
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new document, but, in general, the effort has been to rid it of conflicting provisions, to bring the amendments into proper relationship with the text, and thereby to render it more interpretable. The recent Assembly reviewed the work of the commission, made certain changes, and submitted the result to the people for ratification or rejection.
The obligation of a state to its citizens is not discharged simply by administering the statutes impartially and performing certain explicitly detailed services. Because it is a convenient unit through which the people can work, state government must concern itself with planning for the future. Because it is a trustee of and for the people's rights, it must defend these rights. That we have tried to do during these two years.
Through the seven panels of the Agricultural and Industrial Development Board we are endeavoring to give Georgians an opportunity to plan a system of postwar public works such as highways, schools and public buildings; to develop new industries; to improve the condition of agriculntre; and to develop other natural resources.
Likewise, the state has sought to abate the discriminatory tariffs erected against southern agriculture and industry. I believe that the next year will see these discriminations on their way out, giving us a chap.ce for sound development of our induStry, of our potential for diversified farming, and of our excellent ports. Indeed, so thoroughly do we believe that Georgia's commerce will flourish that the Agricultural and Industrial Development Board today is conducting a study of Georgia's harbors and river systems to point the way toward the expansion of these facilities.
What we have accomplished, I believe, is a step in the right direction. Some contribution has been made toward restoring the faith of Georgians in their own state government, in its integrity and dignity. Certainly this administration has secured an unusual degree of cooperation from every state official, from the people, and from an enlightened press.
Upon my desk there is a little printed motto: "You can do all kinds of good if you don't worry about who will get the credit."
The credit for whatever has been accomplished in these two years belongs to the people of Georgia. They have given to this administration an unusual degree of genuine, interested support that has made the projected reforms possible. The newspapers have offered support and friendly criticism that has been invaluable.
The General Assembly of 1943 was a remarkable body. It has been said that "an extra session always finishes up any administration." Yet these men were twice called into extraordinary session and transacted their business with record-breaking dispatch and without petty
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politics. Their work of reform and reorganization in the regular session is a monument to Geogia's progress. The recent Assembly did even better.
The department heads of Georgia have given the governor every possible cooperation. Many of them are elective officers, independent of the executive. Some of them were in another camp, politically. But none has failed to cooperate. As a result, we have been able to support most agencies better. In the case of the Department of Agriculture, for example, we have been able to allocate funds equal to the fees paid by farmers that had been diverted under a previous administration.
In the two years that lie ahead for this state administration, there is hard work to be done. That period will see the end of the war. It must also see Georgia make strong headway - in industry, in agriculture, in commerce, and especially in meeting the needs of the returning servicemen and women.
To meet those problems, this administration relies upon the people of Georgia for their continued support. It is our hope that we will deserve and merit their support and confidence Without it, we are powerless to do the job. With it, we will succeed.
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II
THE AGRICULTURAL AND INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT BOARD
The Agricultural and Industrial Development Board was created by Act of the General Assembly of I943 (Georgia Laws, I943 p. I r 3). The law provides that it shall consist of 2I members, as follows:
"The Chairman of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia or a member of the Board of Regents designated by the Chairman, the State Superintendent of Schools, the Commissioner of Agriculture, the Director of Public Health, the Head of the Department of Conservation, the Chairman of the Public Service Commission and I 5 citizens from the State at Large appointed by the Governor." It is further provided that "in making said appointments the Governor shall select citizens who are fairly representative of the fields of finance, industry, business, agriculture and labor"; and in making the appointments, the Governor has given representation to all segments of the state's economy. The law also directs the Governor to designate the chairman of the Board and for this position he named Judge Blanton Fortson of Athens.
At its first meeting on February I, I944 the Board divided its work into seven panels and the Governor assigned three members of the Board to each panel. These panels, together with the names and addresses of the members, are as follows:
Agriculture Panel: Cason J. Callaway, chairman, Blue Springs Farms, Hamilton; Tom Linder, Department of Agriculture, Atlanta; ]. L. Pilcher, Meigs.
Education Panel: M. D. Collins, chairman, State Department of Education, Atlanta;' Mrs. Frank C. David, 28o8 Hamilton Avenue, Columbus; Wilson Williams, 735 Spring Street, N. W., Atlanta.
Government Panel: Ivan Allen, chairman, Ivan Allen-Marshall Company, Atlanta; Walter R. McDonald, Public Service Commission, Atlanta; Charles B. Gramling, P. 0. Box 356, Atlanta.
Health Panel: Thomas F. A"bercrombie, chairman, Department of Health, Atlanta; M. King Tucker, Bank of Waynesboro, Waynesboro; Blanton Fortson (also chairman of the Board), Southern Mutual Insurance Company, Athens.
Industry Panel: Robert Strickland, chairman, Trust Company of
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Georgia, Atlanta; Wiley L. Moore, P. 0. Box 4I47 Atlanta; Charles L. Bowden, Mayor's Office, City Hall, Macon.
Public Works Panel: Ryburn G. Clay, chairman, Highway Department, Atlanta; Henry T. Mcintosh, Albany Herald, Albany; Alfred W. Jones, The Ooister, Sea Island.
Trade, Commerce, and Business Panel: W. N. Banks, chairman, Grantville; Robert W. Groves, Savannah Port Authority, Savannah; William H. McNaughton, Cartersville.
The act authorized the Board to employ an executive director, which it did on February I, I944 The person selected, Dr. L. V. Howard, was made a member of the staff of the University of Georgia by action of the Board of Regents of the University System. His office, which is the central office of the Agricultural and Industrial Development Board, is on the campus of the University of Georgia in Athens. The University has been generous in making both its personnel and facilities available for use by the Board.
The administrative staff of the Board consists, in addition to the executive director and his clerical assistants, of a director and technical and clerical employees for each panel. The directors of the panels are listed below:
Agriculture, Pearce H. Layfield, director; Education, 0. C. Aderhold, director; Government, Cullen B. Gosnell, acting director; Health, Rufus F. Payne, director; Industry, W. C. Cram, Jr., director; Public Works, G. T. Papageorge, director; Trade, Commerce, and Business, Lee S. Trimble, director. The total personnel, full-and part-time, was 58 as of April I, I945
The act creating the Board authorizes the establishment throughout the state of advisory councils, the members and composition to be discretionary. Acting under this provision of the law, the Board has authorized the appointment of an advisory council for each panel.
The duties of the Board as stated in the act creating it are to:
(a) Advise and counsel with and coordinate the efforts and activities of all Departments and agencies of the State and its institutions which are engaged in the assistance or promotion or planning for the agricultural or industrial development or the natural resources of the State or in the promotion of a program for the public health in Georgia.
(b) To advertise and promote the agricultural, industrial, historic, recreational and natural resources, facilities and assets of the State; to make research and surveys, prepare plans, maps and publish information with respect to agricultural, industrial and economic resources, facilities and establishments in the State.
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(c) To prepare and perfect plans for an ordered and comprehensive development of the State and its resources; to develop longterm policies in relation to agricultural, land and water utilization, flood controls, conservation, land settlement, tree-cutting, reforestation,, watershed protection, public he:ilth, and water supply reservations.
(d) To encourage counties, cities and towns and groups thereof in the development and promotion of the agricultural, industrial and natural resources of the State.
The Agricultural and Industrial Development Board is therefore both a planning and an action agency. As a planning agency it carries on studies and surveys for the purpose of making recommendations regarding appropriate action or legislation. Its activities, however, do not stop here. As a development board, it int~rprets its function as one of promoting action on those matters which fall within the scope of its duties as stated in the law.
Since the Board is a development agency, it seeks in planning its programs to work in close touch with the counties and communities of the state and with existing state agencies. It is vital to the success of any program to have the support during the planning stage of both the people and the existing agencies of governments. Without this support the plans which are developed have little chance of adoption.
Since the Agricultural and Industrial Development Board is an action, as well as a planning, agency, it must rely very largely upon the press and the radio to carry its message to the people of the state. Both have cooperated to the fullest degree. In their news and editorial columns, the newspapers of the state have continuously advertised Georgia's potentialities, enumerated its resources, economic and social, and promoted the development of the state. They have given full publicity to the activities of the Board and have supported the various panel programs in their entirety.
As a means of furnishing Georgia newspapers with information regarding the state's resources and the efforts being made to develop these resources, the Board has maintained a publicity department. This department has not only provided news stories regarding the activities of the various panels of the Board, but it has also sent to the newspapers data which might prove useful to them in writing editorials on subjects of interest and importance to Georgians.
A record of the space devoted to the activities of the Board in Georgia papers since the Board's organization reflects the energy and the enterprising spirit that are behind the publication of our
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newspapers, both daily and weekly. Although it is impossible to give a complete report on the news and editorials which were designed to promote the aims of the Board, it is estimated upon the basis of facts at hand that more than 2 1,ooo inches have been given to the Georgia program.
A survey of publicity records establishes the fact that at least 1,ooo columns of informational and inspirational material were published in the daily and the weekly press of the state during the past six months. This material would have filled the entire issue of a standard-size Georgia weekly for the greater part of one year, and would amount to three columns each day in any of the larger dailies of the state. More than 200 newspapers and periodicals are published in Georgia and fully eighty per cent of them are regularly giving space to the programs which the Board has proposed.
The news associations, including the Associated Press, the United Press, and the International News Service, have all sent to their members thousands of words of publicity regarding the activities of the Board and its plans for the state and its people. The radio stations of the state have also cooperated to the fullest extent by devoting a great deal of time to the work of the Board. The University System very generously donated eight fifteen-minute broadcasts over Station WSB as a part of its "Forward Georgia" series. The Board is grateful for this cooperation, without which it could not hope to succeed in its efforts to build a "Greater Georgia."
On September 15, 1944 the Board launched its own periodical, Georgia Progress, ten issues of which had appeared by April 1, 1945. The first of these was devoted to the over-all organization and purposes of the Board, and then one to the work of each panel. Subsequent issues have been devoted to various fields of government and private activity where progress is being made. Georgia Progress at the present time has a circulation of approximately 7,ooo. It has received many favorable comments from both within and without the state.
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The following is a statement of the expenditures of the Agricultural and Industrial Development Board during its first year of operation (April I, I944-March 3I, I945).
Personal services ----------------------------------------$I I 3,545.87 Travel ---------------------------------------------------------- I9,3I9.69 Supplies ------------------------------------------------------- 3,624.2 6 Communications ----------------------------------------- 4,004.2 9 Printing and publicity -------------------------------- 4--667.2 2 Repairs -------------------------------------------------------- 3,9 I993 Miscellaneous --------------------------------------------- 227.o8 Books ----------------------------------------------------------- I,095.8 3 Equipment ----------------------------------------------- 8,o6 I.o8 Transfer of funds --------------------------------------- 4> 37 I. Io Grants ----------------------------------------------- 4--2 30.05 Bonding and insurance ------------------------------ Ioo.oo
TotaL___________________________________________$I67, I66.40
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III
DEVELOPMENT OF GEORGIA'S AGRICULTURE
A. THE GoVERNoR's INTRODUCTION
Georgia must obtain a fair share of industry after the war. Georgia must have a fair share of commerce after the war. These are imperatives.
Efforts to stimulate industrial development, however, must not cause Georgians to overlook the fact that approximately two-thirds of our citizens are supported by agriculture and that any program for the economic development of our state must take into consideration their continued welfare.
If America is wise, our leaders will see to it that industry is decentralized after the war, and that the process of decentralization leads to a type of industrial-agrarian economy that permits the most orderly and efficient distribution of the products of farm and factory alike.
Georgia is trying to raise the level of its farm income. Every agency of the state that has to do with agriculture is working harmoniously and cooperatively with federal agencies in that direction.
Five state agencies today are devoting their efforts toward making agriculture profitable in Georgia.
The State Department of Agriculture, of course, is the largest of these agencies. Its bureau of markets reaches into every county in Georgia to assist farmers with problems of selling their products. Its pure seed, food, and feed and fertilizer divisions affect the welfare of every farm home. Its weights and measures division protects farmer and housewife alike against short weight. Its farmers' markets, including the one in Atlanta, which is the largest of its kind in America, handled over $21,ooo,ooo worth of produce during the past year. Its state veterinarian and his aides combat animal disease. The Market Bulletin, with its advertisements of farm products reaches almost a quarter million farm homes weekly.
The Extension Service of the University System also reaches every county in Georgia through its county and farm demonstration agents and the important work of the 4-H Oubs. The experiment stations of the University System are engaged in a constant search for better varieties of crops and better methods of farming. The College Of Agriculture and other institutions are engaged in teaching scientific farming.
* The ,.t "anta Constitution, January 14, 1945.
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The Vocational Education Division of the Department of Education reaches the schools of the state. The excellent record of the F. F. A. in Georgia, for example, has been a triumph for the thoroughness with which this program has been carried forward. The system of schoolcommunity canning plants and freezer lockers has been important. Incidentally, Georgia has not only pioneered the way but also led the nation in this development.
The Agricultural and Industrial Development Board, through its Agriculture Panel, has formulated a program for the advancement of farming in Georgia, and has sponsored the "Callaway plan" for a hundred farms to demonstrate scientific agricultural methods.
The Milk Control Board watches over the interests of dairy farmers in Georgia, and has been notably successful during the past year in obtaining for them additional subsidies for wartime milk production.
The accomplishments that have been recorded during the past year are the accomplishments of these departments, institutions, and agencies. The heads of these state agencies are practical men, with an intimate knowledge of both farm problems and of farm methods. As Governor of Georgia, my principal contribution has been to leave them alone; to permit them to carry out their programs without interference; with the help of the General Assembly to see that they had the funds with which to function; and to try to encourage them in the fine work they are doing. To borrow a phrase from football, I have tried to lead the cheering section while they were carrying the ball down the field.
One of the earliest acts of this administration, two years ago, was to restore to the Department of Agriculture an appropriation equal to all the fees from fertilizer and other inspections. This seemed only fair. The fees ultimately are paid by the farmers, and the department unquestionably needed more money to carry out its program.
The Department of Agriculture has made rapid progress with two new services during the past two years. One of these is the enforcement of the pure seed law; the other is the work of the weights and measures division.
Most gratifying has been the expansion of the farmers' markets. Additional markets will be established when the end. of the war makes materials available.
The Commissioner of Agriculture long has dreamed of a great Georgia farmers' market in Washington, D. C., to function as an immediate outlet for Georgia products, as an advertisement for our state. and as a center for marketing activities, since market experts based there could assist farmers in the routing of perishables moving
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to the eastern markets. This is a portion of the agricultural program that has been approved by the Agricultural and Industrial Development Board and is on the list of postwar "musts" for Georgia.
Illustrative of the excellent cooperation among the various agencies has been the success of the wartime canning program in our state. The demonstration agents of the University System have carried the program into the farm homes of Georgia. The school-community canning program of the Vocational Education Division has attracted nation-wide comment, so that many experts from other states come to study it. The Department of Agriculture has established canneries at some of the farmers' markets, where urban housewives can process the food they buy direct from farmers. These combined efforts have resulted in important contributions to the state food supply.
All of these agencies have their eyes on the future: the Department of Agriculture with its plans for better markets, the University System with studies of new crops and better methods of cultivating old ones; the Extension Service with its farm-to-farm assistance; the Milk Control Board with its promotion of plants to process dairy products; the Vocational Education Division with its program for wider community use of educational facilities, and the Agricultural and Industrial Development Board with its program of coordinating the development of agriculture with the expansion of Georgia industry.
Other state agencies are being called upon to assist. For example, the construction program of the Highway Department after the war will emphasize farm-to-market roads, and the Health Department will make more services available in rural areas.
All this present performance, as well as the planning for the future, is being carried on with the confident expectation that Georgia will move after the war into an era of genuine prosperity.
The problem of our industry and of our agriculture alike has been an absence of markets. In large degree, our lack of industry in Georgia has compelled our farmers to rely upon staple crops that could be exported because there was no market for other more profitable crops. Some of the discriminations practiced against southern industry under the guise of freight rate differentials have weighed heavily upon our farmers.
For example, large commercial canneries are scarce in Georgia. Only one firm manufactures peanut butter. In one instance, it was discovered to be profitable to ship canned goods without their labels to New York, and to unpack them from their cartons there and affix the labels because the curious freight rate "internal tariff" made it prohibitive to label them at the Georgia cannery.
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We believe these discriminations will soon be ended. We think that new industries will come to Georgia and the other states of the South. We hope that our great ports of Brunswick and Savannah will obtain their fair share of commerce with Europe and South America.
We expect to be ready for that day with a program that will mean a higher standard of living and greater comfort for Georgia farmers. Certainly they are receptive; certainly they are progressive. The record of their desire for comforts for themselves and their families is written, for example, in the rural electrification lines. We have made strides because we needed things.
In the coming years, every Georgia agency in the field of agriculture will make new advances, will work in harmony with all other state and federal agencies, and will seek to provide the farmers of Georgia with information, with better marketing facilities, with protection for the quality of their fertilizers and seeds, and with a program that will mean profit for all our citizens.
Such a program will cost money. The erection of additional farmers' markets, although they will eventually pay for themselves, will represent a large investment. Additional buildings at the College of Agriculture will be needed. A greater outlay for equipment and personnel for the vocational education program can be expected.
It is because these essential services will have to be stepped up after the war that Georgia's state government is endeavoring today to pay off every dollar of the state debt, to create reserves for public works including farmers' markets, and to organize an orderly budgeting system that will enable the state to provide the services that will be essential if Georgia agriculture is to prosper.
B. THE BoARD's REPoRT
A more profitable agriculture for Georgia is the objective of the Agriculture Panel of the Agricultural and Industrial Development Board. Cason Callaway, chairman of the Panel, has outlined the steps necessary for the attainment of this objective as follows: ( 1) we must improve our soil; ( 2) we must have long-term commercial credit; (3) we must use machinery to work our crops; and (4) we must have processing plants near our farms. The first of these steps is the one being promoted by the plan put into operation by Mr. Callaway.
This plan was first presented by him to a state-wide group of civic leaders in Atlanta on August 2, 1944. Briefly, it provides for the formation of roo corporations, each of which has seven stockholders, who invest $r,ooo each in the project. Each corporation elects its own officers, buys roo acres of land at a cost of not over $3o per
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acre, hires a manager, and endeavors in three years to build. up the land to as nearly maximum production as possible. At the end of three years it is believed that the average land should be worth at least $70 per acre.
The $7,000 initially invested must go into purchase and improvement of the land itself. If the corporation so desires, an additional $3,000 may be borrowed for the purchase of livestock, machinery, etc.
The goal of 100 farm corporations was reached in November, 1944. As shown on Map A, they are located in more than 70 counties in the state. Each is known as Georgia Better Farms, Incorporated, and is numbered in the order in which it was created.
The facilities of the Soil Conservation Service, the Extension Service, and the Experiment Stations are available to the Georgia Better Farms corporations. Three full-time experts- Bert D. Robinson
of the Soil Conservation Service, J. W. Fanning of the Extension
Service, and W. T. Fullilove of the Experiment Station - are devoting their full time to this work. They are working with county agents and soil conservation technicians, making conservation survey maps and photographs and developing plans and recommendations for land improvements on the farms.
Each year for three years the farms will be graded and ranked in order of accomplishment. Prizes will be offered farm managers and their families. Mr. Callaway believes the average farmer will benefit from this program in many ways. To put it in his words:
1. The business, industrial, and professional men will become familiar with the farmer's problem. 2. This will be a constructive plan for the farmer to emulate. 3 We hope the plan may enable the service men returning to the farm to make a comfortable living without the drudgery and hardships prevalent on so many of our farms today.
The Georgi~ Better Farms program is being watched with interest not only in Georgia but also in many other sections of the country. It has received the endorsement of hundreds of organizations, clubs, chambers of commerce, and business and professional leaders outside Georgia. Already several hundred of G;eorgia's ablest leaders in business, industry, and agriculture are buying farms, hiring managers, planning fams, obtaining machinery, building terraces, planting cover crops, and making other necessary improvements in an attempt to outrank 99 other Georgia Better Farms units.
In addition to sponsoring the Georgia Better Farms plan outlined above, the Agricultural and Industrial Development Board has approved a fourteen-point program for agricultural development set
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Mn A. Location o1 t,".e 100 Georgta Better Farms. 22

forth by Tom Linder, State Commissioner of Agriculture. This pogam is as follows:
1. Establishment of state farmers' markets at Augusta and Savannah similar to the Atlanta market; enlarging Atlanta market; distribution and diversionary market at or near Washington, D. C.; increasing facilities on all markets, including community canning plants and preserving facilities; erection of adequate cold storage and quick freezing plants at each of the larger markets; and employment of experienced men in the larger markets of the North and East to furnish daily information regarding supply and demand on each of these markets and to make delivery of car and truck loads of perishable farm produce moving to these centers through Georgia state farmers' markets. The General Assembly should provide for standard grading, packing, and labeling of Georgia produce, to cope with competition in postwar years.
1. Increased facilities and personnel in seed laboratories for adequate seed control. lbe legislature should provide penalites against violations of the pure seed and feed law.
3 Increased animal pathological laboratory facilities with branch offices in those parts of the state that have denser livestock hog, and poultry populations.
4 Erection of concrete and steel livestock and swine auction sale barns in order to control livestock and animal disease.
5 Erection, by private capital, of stemming and redrying tobacco plants, with tobacco warehouse storage facilities.
6. Development of planting-seed production to save the large sum that leaves Georgia annually for planting seed. Special attention should be given to the production of planting peanuts, seed legumes, com, cotton, and other crop seeds.
7. Development of milk products, both for processing purposes and for fluid milk consumption; establishment of milk and vegetable routes as rapidly as the volume of production makes possible economic operation of truck routes; and development through private capital of milk and milk-processing plants. These should be so situated that milk products in all parts of the state will be within reasonable trucking distance of a processing plant.
8. Special cooperation with the Department of Health, the Extension Service, and the vocational teachers in improving the nutritional value of Georgia-grown vegetables and fruits through the use of necessary plant foods and minerals which, in some cases, are deficient in our soil.
23

9 Encouragement and development of poultry-processing plants, with standard grades and official marking by licensed veterinarians, to give Georgia-produced and processed poultry a high rank in the cities to which it is shipped.
10. Securing from the federal government, at the close of the war, machinery for use by farmers in each county for properly terracing their lands, building dams for fish and for water control and irrigation; cooperation with the department of natural resources, the extension forces, and vocational teachers in carrying this into effect.
11. Urging landowners in pulpwood cutting to leave a sufficient number of their best trees, properly distributed, to produce a crop of saw timber while growing another crop of pulpwood. Urge that some trees be left on land that is sown in permanent pastures so as to provide necessary shade for animals during hot summer days and also to produce a crop of saw timber.
12. A continual increase of the cooperative work now being done by the State Department of Agriculture and federal agencies, such as federal-state inspection of fruits and vegetables.
13 Development, through private capital, of sufficient grain elevators at strategic points to handle all corn, wheat, etc., that can be produced profitably for milling purposes. Much Georgia grain suffers deterioration and damage through weevils and lack of proper handling and proper storage. All of the shuck and cob from corn, as well as all of the screenings from threshed grain, can be profitably utilized in the manufacture of stock and dairy feeds. Many Georgia farmers have been unable to find a profitable market, at harvest time, for corn and other grains because of a lack of elevator facilities.
14. Growing of sweet potatoes, jumbo type, developed and increased in Georgia. Georgia land will produce potatoes of this type and give large yields. These potatoes in their raw state provide an excellent feed for hogs and can also be dehydrated and ground into meal, which is the best known substitute for com in a beef-cattle ration.
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IV
AN IMPROVED FDUCATIONAL SYSTEM
A. THE GoVERNoR's INTRODUCTION
The advance of Georgia in the field of education IS JUSt cause for genuine pride on the part of oar citizens. The advance has been made in spite of the war, in the face of declining revenues from gasoline taxes and general uncertainty about the yield of other taxes, and regardless of the general policy of curtailment of spending.
The gains registered, however, are not measurable in terms of specific monetary grants to the educational establishment. These are important, of course. Obviously a school system can function better with well-paid teachers than with poorly paid teachers. But adequate financial support, important as it may be, is secondary to independence and non-partisan operation of the institutions.
This administration was pledged to freeing the schools and colleges of Georgia from the blight of political interference. It was pledged to the restoration of academic freedom - freedom for instructors to teach and for students to learn. That pledge was authorized by a solemn mandate of the people. Its full redemption is a matter of pride not only to the administration, the General Assembly, and the educators of Georgia, but also to all our citizens.
When I took office, the institutions of the University System had lost their accredited status. Their students were alarmed because it was likely that they would not be able to get full recognition for their years of work at our state-supported institutions. Because of the attack upon freedom of education, Georgia had suffered greatly in the eyes of all the nation.
Georgia citizens answered the threat promptly. They realized what was at stake. They knew that no liberty was worth anything if the foundation of freedom could be corrupted at the source and the education of Georgia's youth made the servant of partisanship.
The General Assembly submitted two constitutioHal amendments, which were overwhelmingly ratified. One of these established a constitutional board of regents. The other created a constitutional board of education. The members of these bodies are not only freed from but also completely removed from political influence, much less coercion.
The Atlanta Constitution, December 24, 1944.
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Liberated from the fears that were engendered by the assault upon public education, the state has registered great gains in education.
Turning first to the common schools, let us examine just what has been done.
Georgia has increased its expenditures for the Department of Education to a larger figure than ever before. Over 3I million dollars will be spent on the common schools this year, if the 1945 Assembly approves the increases recommended by the budget bureau, as I have no doubt will be done. This has enabled every Georgia school to have a full term, while teachers will be paid directly by the state for 1 1 months of the year.
The increase in the grant for teachers' salaries is not the only item of increase in the educational budget. Except for textbooks, purchases of which have been curtailed somewhat as an economy measure, every division of the Department of Education is receiving more money.
The accomplishments of the past two years are the accomplishments of the men and women of the State Department of Education, and of the men and women who are teaching in our schools. All that this administration can claim credit for doing is giving them the opportunity to carry out their program, adequately financed, without any interference. Our many denominational junior colleges, the negro universities, and the various private schools and colleges are also doing an excellent job.
The teachers' salary scale has been adjusted, and teachers now are paid eleven months. The rural and school library program has been expanded.
The Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, which deals with those children and adults who have physical handicaps, is outstanding in the United States. In total number of cases handled, Georgia is first, approached only by California, Texas, and New York. In number of cases fully rehabilitated, Georgia is second only to California, and the margin is negligible. Incidentally, Georgia is the first state to establish a special fund to be used to assist discharged veterans, with nonservice disabilities, in fitting themselves for civilian employment.
The Division of Vocational Education likewise is outstanding in the country. From all over America, experts have come in the past I 1 months to study Georgia's cannery and freezer-locker innovations, which have made this division outstanding in the nation for "taking the classroom into the home." At the same time, this division of the education department has inaugurated a trade school program, providing for state-operated vocational schools as "pilot plants" from which local systems can obtain a view of the possibilities of such train-
26

ing. This is a type of pioneering in the South in which Georgia has established early leadership.
The lunchroom program, which the department administers and toward which the federal government contributes substantially, has been so ably handled that federal administrators told the Georgia agency to write its own ticket this year.
During the past two years, the colleges of Georgia have been engaged primarily in assisting the armed services in the training of personnel for national defense. Thousands of students passed through the institutions of the University System during the past year in connection with this program. In addition, the white colleges had 9,756 students and the three Negro institutions had 926 students.
Unquestionably, our facilities for higher education must be expanded tremendously after the war. Federal assistance will make it possible for almost every veteran who is interested to pursue a program of higher education. The number of students ordinarily attending college will be higher than before the war. Our own demand for teachers in the common schools will require that we prepare more men and women for careers in that field. Our demand for physicians and other professional men will increase. Our College of Agriculture will find its enrollment tremendously enlarged.
Eventually, it should be possible for every boy and girl in Georgia to advance as far in the field of education as is desired. Opportunity for an education should not and must not be limited to those who can pay for it. Education must be free in the economic sense as well as in all others.
Much of the load of higher education in Georgia, as elsewhere, is assumed by institutions thm: are not supported by the state. We have, for example, the manificent contributions of such colleges and universities as Emory and Mercer for men; Agnes Scott, Bessie Tift, Shorter, and Wesleyan for women - all of which are supported by religious denominations; and of the Tallulah Falls, Rabun Gap, and Martha Berry institutions for our mountain children.
There is no competition among these institutions and those that are state-supported. There can never be anything more than a healthy rivalry in service. The denominational colleges, through their insistence upon the fundamental American doctrines of liberty and through their special devotion to the liberal arts and the professions, have won a permanent place in our educational system.
Likewise, Georgia has inaugurated a long-needed system of teacher retirement, established upon a sound actuarial basis with participation by the beneficiaries. The system went into effect in January, 1945,
27

and a fund of $1,ooo,ooo is available to start its operation. No longer will Georgia's teachers face destitution in their old age.
One thing ought to be called to the attention of Georgians. Georgia in some ways stands far down the line in education. But statistics are misleading unless all the statistics are examined. Georgia stands first in its financial contributions to education upon the basis of the percentage of state revenue applied to that purpose or upon the basis of the percentage of total individual income applied to that purpose. And Georgia has made greater advances than any other state of the South. During the school year 1944-45 the state will expend for education $24,693,ooo, whereas the year before this administration went into office the total state expenditure for education amounted to only $17,414,393 This is an increase in school funds of 42 per cent. Funds available for teachers' salaries will have been increased in this period approximately 55 per cent. During the present school year this administration is giving education more than 48 cents out of every tax dollar expended for the operation of state agencies and departments. Thus Georgia is spending a larger percentage of operational funds for education than is any other state. On the whole, this has been a job of pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps. There are no large federal contributions to education that compare, for example, with federal participation in the welfare, health, or highway programs. What we have accomplished has been done chiefly by ourselves. That ought to be a source of gratification. Larger federal assistance to education, especially to the common schools, is inevitable. It is the South's due, in return for the long years of exploitation that followed reconstruction. It is our due because we have been cheated out of our opportunities for industrial development by the erection of freight rate barriers and by other artificial devices. It is our due because every American has a right to education, for education is the safeguard of democracy. When that assistance is given, it will go far toward improving our common schools, raising teachers' salaries to the average of the nation, and will be one more step in our goal toward equality with other states.
B. THE BoARD's REPORT
The Education Panel is responsible for assisting educational forces at the state and local level to develop effective programs of action that will result in better education for all the people of Georgia. The problems to be studied were arrived at after consultation with a large group of persons, including officials of the State Department
28

of Education and .of the University System, public school and college administrators and teachers, and numerous lay groups. It was decided that two approaches should be made to the problem of educational development: (I) the state-wide, and ( 2) the local. The state-wide problems which it was determined should be the subject of intensive study are: (I) school buildings, (2) pupil transportation, (3) administrative organization of the school system, and (4) teacher education. Four state-wide committees were set up to guide the studies in these fields.
The study of school buildings showed that school plants generally were in unsatisfactory condition in Georgia. According to accepted standards, 40 per cent of the white and 95 per cent of the negro school buildings were unfit for school use at the present time. Ojlesixth of the white and two-thirds of the negro schools were found to be using drinking water that had not been tested for purity. Similarly unsatisfactory conditions with respect to heating, lighting, and sanitation were discovered. The study pointed out the need for state legislation conferring upon the State Board of Education the authority to deal with the problems that had been found to exist. A bill to this effect was drafted by the Education Panel, approved by the Board, and passed by the General Assembly.
The transportation study revealed a similarly unsatisfactory condition in this field. Some equipment was found which was actually hazardous to the health and safety of children; drivers in some instances had been incompetent or criminally careless; routes had been duplicated because of competition among school districts; and the cost of equipment and supplies had been excessive when compared with the services rendered. It was found that some of these conditions existed because of a lack of authority on the part of county and state school officials to adopt needed rules and regulations. Legislation in this field has accordingly been recommended by the Education Panel and approved by the Board.
The other two state-wide studies, those on administrative organization and teacher education, are not yet complete. As respects the former, much information regarding the experience of other states and school systems has been collected and studied in connection with the recommendations of the Georgia committee on administrative organization. The teacher education study has involved the collection and processing of data relating to a large per cent of the 2 2,000 teachers of the state. It shows that in I943-44 there were 8,798 White and 5,8I8 negro teachers with less than four years of college education; 2,459 of the former and 2,015 of the latter had been to
29

college less than one year. On November 1, 1944t the state was
found to be short 6oo white and 575 negro teachers.
The second approach to the problem of educational development in Georgia is local in character. The Education Panel se~cted twelve counties of the state for concentrated work in educational planning and assigned six staff members to work with school people and laymen in the various communities of these counties. The selected counties are Floyd, Heard, Rabun, Hart, W~ton, Morgan, Atkinson, Jones, Pulaski, Bulloch, Calhoun, and Decatur. Planning centers have been set up in I 02 school communities. During the first four months of the present school year 2,573 teachers and 3,825 laymen attended 292 community meetings for the purpose of planning school programs that will meet the needs of the people. In each community steps have been taken to put the plans into action.
Although a comprehensive report on all the significant activities resulting from community school planning in the twelve counties cannot be made until the end of the school year, several examples will show the type of work being done. In one school in Floyd County the study revealed the need for a more adequate program of preparation for occupations that are available in the area. The data showed that a high percentage of the people in the community are engaged in ( I ) mill operation, (2) distribution of goods and services, and ( 3) homemaking.
The planning group examined the present school program and discovered that few opportunities are provided for youth and adults to prepare for effective participation in these occupations.
A teacher committee began work immediately to develop an educational program to provide instruction for the high school students in distributive occupations. At a meeting with the merchants, a plan was formulated for training a large number of students to assist with the holiday trade. The temporary program was heartily approved by the mechants, students, and school administators; and distributive education has become a permanent feature of the school curriculum.
Another school, as a result of a study of its occupational education program, has inaugurated extensive training in trades and industries. Shops, large quantities of equipment, and instructional personnel have been provided.
The six educational planning groups in Morgan County have demanded that their schools assume responsibility for vocational training. They have asked that opportunities be provided for education in agriculture, in homemaking, and in distributive occupations. These groups have also requested the use of industrial arts facilities to pro-
30

vide opporturutles for creative expression (making things) and to develop skill in the use of occupational tools.
All the spot counties are evaluating their present administrative organization and several are in the process of reorganizing their secondary school systems. In one county four high schools are being consolidated into one and in others the prospects for consolidation are good.
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v
A NEW CONSTITUTION FOR GEORGIA
A. THE GoVERNoR's INTRODUCTION
The General Assembly has submitted to the people the eighth constitution in our I69 years of statehood. The Assembly of I945 was a people's legislature; the constitution it wrote is a people's constitution. It preserves all that Georgians reverence in the I877 document, yet provides for reforms that are essential if our state is to move forward.
The history of Georgia's constitutions is unique in America. Our state was one of the few original states to undertake the experiment of organizing a government without a written constitution, following the pattern of British precedent. The first written constitution came a year after the Declaration of Independence, and after a certain amount of prodding from the congress. The constitution of I777 lasted until I789, when it was replaced by another which lasted until 1798.
The constitution of I798 is identified in history with one of the greatest of Georgians, General James Jackson. It lasted until the War Between the States. New constitutions were written in 186I, in I865, and in I868, the last during the reconstruction period when the state was under the control of federal troops. With the end of the reconstruction period and the ousting of the carpetbag regime, the constitution of I877 came into existence. The name of General Toombs was associated with this document, as was Jackson's with that of I798.
The constitution of I877 was written under circumstances that made their imprint upon the document. It has been amended 301 times, in an effort to render it more flexible.
The framers of the 1877 document dealt realistically with the problems which they faced. They had seen the reckless abuse of the authority of the governor, so they shackled that office. They had seen the wanton waste of public money by the General Assembly, and so they limited the purposes for which appropriations could be made to the barest minimum. They had seen the public credit, especially of towns and counties, lent to dishonest promoters, and so they drastically limited the authority of local governments. But as order replaced the chaos of reconstruction and after the federal gov-
The Atlanta Constitution, March 25, 1945.
32

emment restored citizenship to the Confederate leaders, It became apparent that the system which had been established was too rigid.
As demands for public services, for education, and for highways grew, more and more amendments were added to the constitution. When communities, desperately needing public improvements, could issue no bonds, local amendments became frequent.
One of the main problems of the revision commission, and a phase of its work in which the 1945 Assembly concurred without much change, was the elimination of obsolete amendments, especially those permitting local bond issues. Many of these could readily be dropped from the constitution because the bonds already had been paid.
It has been apparent to Georgians for years that revision of the constitution is imperative. The opinion of informed leaders, however, was that a constitutional convention would not be desirable because of the fact that the convention would not under the constitution of I 877 be required to submit a new constitution to the people of Georgia for ratification in an election.
The General Assembly of 1943, realizing the verity of Jefferson's statement that governments must meet the present need of the citizens and belong to the living era rather than to the past, provided for a revision commission. The membership of this commission consisted of members of both branches of the legislature, members of the appellate courts and of the superior courts, certain constitutional officers of the state government, and representative citizens of Georgia. This commission of 2 3 members undertook the difficult task of editing the existing document and harmonizing its text, removing "dead amendments" and modernizing the entire document. Their work was submitted to the General Assembly, and committees in House and Senate held exhaustive hearings before the work was submitted to the full memberships for debate.
The members of the Assembly undertook the task of revision in a spirit of deep earnestness and statesmanlike willingness to debate and compromise. The document which they have approved, while retaining the venerable traditions of Georgia's institutions, is a document that breathes a modem spirit and that will help our state on its way to prosperity and economic advancement in the postwar period.
Fortunately for those engaged in the task of revision of the constitution, the attitude of the people of Georgia toward their basic law has been singularly realistic and intelligent. Traditionally, they have recognized the constitution for what it is: an agreement by a majority of the citizens of the state, acting through their representatives, which must be accepted in a free election before it becomes operative. Always the people of this state have felt free to make a
33

new constitution and to embody in it the reforms, the changes, and the experiments that they wish.
Certain reforms embodied in the new constitution long have been demanded by increasing numbers of Georgians. One among these is "home rule," or control over local affairs by the residents of the counties and municipalities affected. Another is the elimiuation of special tax exemptions for favored corporations. Others are elimination of the poll tax, which requires a money-payment as a prerequisite to the right to vote, and provision for a uniform literacy test to insure an informed electorate. These are recognized as necessary by an overwhelming majority of our people.
Likewise, a better system of financial control for the state is necessary. When this administration took office, the total state debt was almost $36,ooo,ooo. Some of this was represented by bonds that had been renewed repeatedly for bonds issued originally more than a hundred years ago. Some represented expenditures by state agencies and departments, in excess of money on hand, to pay their carrent obligations.
To the extinguishment of the state debt, to making the government of Georgia debt-free for the first time in over a hundred years, this administration dedicated itself, and by January, 1947, every dollar of this debt will have been paid.
The time to lock the kitchen cupboard is while jam and cookies remain on the shelves. A debt-free Georgia, with loose control over state finances, would be an invitation to unbridled waste, extravagance, and, perhaps, corruption in our government.
The finance provisions of the new constitution provide adequate protection to our state treasury.
In the first place, all funds derived from revenue measures go into the general fund. Second, all appropriations must be by specific amount fixed by the Assembly and not a percentage of a specific tax levy. Third, the appropriations act currendy in force continues until another is enacted by the Assembly. Fourth, contraction of debt by any state agency is prohibited. Fifth, agencies must return unexpended appropriations to the general treasury.
No future governor of Georgia will be confronted on taking office with millions of dollars of departmental debts. The new fiscal regulations will prevent the creation of any "floating debt" whatsoever and assure that every purchase made by the state or one of its agencies will be backed by money in the treasury to meet the bill when it is presented.
Two major state agencies, the Department of Labor and the Department of Agriculture, have grown tremendously in usefulness and im-
34

portance within recent years. Neither of these agencies was protected by possessing a constitutional status. They might have been eliminated or interfered with at any time by a bare legislative majority, in the heat of some partisan battle. Under the new constitution the Commissioner of Agriculture and the Commissioner of Labor, and the agencies which they direct, are given a constitutional status.
Likewise, the Department of Veterans Service, which will be charged with the duty of assisting returning service men and women to readjust their lives after the war, is made a constitutional department and placed under the control of a non-partisan, non-political board composed of :veterans of our country's wars. The State Board of Corrections also goes into the new constitution.
These represent major changes in the state constitution, changes which are essential if Georgia is to move forward socially and economically to greater prosperity and security for all our citizens. In addition, there are other less widely recognized and widely discussed reforms that are important, and to which I shall return in another article.
All of these changes are in the spirit of our institutions. All of them are in line with Georgia's tradition of bringing its basic charter into harmony with the times, so that it reflects the will of the people, to whom state and government alike belong.
B. THE BoARD's PROGRAM
The Government Panel has for its objective, the improvement of government at both the state and local level.
The first interest of the Panel has been in the problem of constitutional revision. The General Assembly of 1943 authorized the creation of a constitutional revision commission of 2 3 members to revise the existing constitution and submit its work to the next session of the General Assembly. The Government Panel has assisted in promoting the adoption of several ideas which have gone into the constitution adopted by the General Assembly, especially home rule for counties and cities and a constitutional merit system for the state.
The Panel has also worked with several state departments in helping them to prepare legislation for submission to the General Assembly. These included the State Department of Forestry, the Public Service Commission, and the Veterans Service Office. It prepared a report on veterans' legislation in other states and recommended several bills to the Board, which were approved for submission to the General Assembly. It also prepared a report on state advertising,
35

which recommended the adoption of a comprehensive advertising program by the state of Georgia.
The Panel has so far been unabJe because of a lack of personnel to carry on any program of assistance to county and city governments. After the issue of home rule has been settled, it hopes to be able to be of service to governments at the local level.
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VI
A STATE~WIDE PUBLIC HEALTH PROGRAM
A. THE GovERNoR's INTRODUCTION
A sound public health program is the foundation of progress, as the good health of the individual is the foundation for individual happiness and prosperity.
With a remarkably fine and healthful climate, the people of Georgit should be among the most healthy in America. Statistics show, however, that we have too much illness, especially from preventable diseases. Tuberculosis, malaria, and the social diseases annually take the lives of Georgians, both white and Negro, at a rate far above the national level.
We must combat these diseases with the same effectiveness that we have waged war upon smallpox and diphtheria. We can win the fight if we give the men and women of our State Health Department and the medical profession the support that will be required.
Let us examine the accomplishments of the past 30 years. Typhoid and smallpox have been virtually eliminated in Georgia. Diphtheria occurs only a tenth as often as in 1920. Deaths from malaria are but 1o per cent of the figures of a quarter-century ago.
The war against these diseases was not an easy one although the weapons were available. It was necessary to conduct a long campaign of education before vaccination against smallpox became universal, before communities were willing to spend sufficient funds upon antimalaria drainage projects, and before water supplies were rendered safe against typhoid.
Local campaigns have demonstrated that the same general methods are effective against syphilis and tuberculosis, the two diseases that Georgia must conquer. But greater patience- and greater expenditures - will be needed to combat these, for they do not yield with the same readiness.
The magnificent work that the State Health Department has carried on against diphtheria, typhoid, malaria, hookworm, smallpox, and pellagra is a story that has never been told in full. At one time in Georgia, "the choking sickness," diphtheria, took the lives of many thousands of infants and small children annually. Today this disease is a rarity because of the practice of immunization, and when it occurs it is seldom fatal. Hookworm has been greatly reduced. Pel-
The .A.tZanta Constitution, December 10, 1944.
37

lagra is seldom encountered. The systematic analysis of the water supplies of Georgia's towns and cities has ended typhoid as an urban threat, and it is vanishing as a rural malady as a result of the educational campaign for sanitation. Malaria already has ceased to be a serious scourge; and after the war, when new mosquito destroyers become available, it will vanish completely.
On the other hand, tuberculosis is looming as one of the most serious diseases in Georgia. Perhaps stimulated by the strain and overwork of the war period, it is on the increase.
Likewise, there is an upward trend for deaths due to maternal and infant causes. Furthermore, the battle against the social diseases has not yet been won in Georgia.
Past experience, both in Georgia and elsewhere, leads to the conclusion that public health services, if given sufficient financial support to maintain adequate personnel, can control all the diseases that are amenable to specific immunization, isolation, and sanitation. Indeed, we have rather thoroughly conquered diseases of this type.
But the work that must be done in the future will yield no such speedy and dramatic results. The eradication of tuberculosis as a public enemy in Georgia will require a control program of a different, more complex, and more expensive type. This is equally true of the other diseases that we still have with us.
More hospital beds, more physicians, more and better laboratories will be needed if we are to win these wars.
The contribution of the state for public health in the past fiscal year amounted to slightly above $r,ooo,ooo, of which $6oo,ooo went to the Department of Public Health, and $414>000 for the support of Alto sanatorium. Federal participation in the public health field was very large, and it is likely that these funds will continue to be available.
If we are to extend our health services to a point where they will properly protect our citizens, additional expenditures by the state will be required. That is because the right kind of public health service is beyond the means of some of Georgia's counties.
There may be some critics who will find fault with a policy of greater state participation in a health program and who feel that the support of local health services is essentially a local function.
I am unwilling to concede, on the basis of public morality, that any citizen of Georgia should be allowed to die of preventable disease because the property assessments in his county of residence will not yield sufficient revenue from a one-mill tax levy to support a local health agency. But moral questions aside, it is obvious that typhoid
germs and tuberculosis bacilli are not restrained by county lines, and
38

that an epidemic of diphtheria can spread easily from one Georgia county that is poor into another Georgia county that is prosperous. The problem of public health is partly nation-wide; it is certainly state-wide.
The Health Panel of the Agricultural and Industrial Development Board has just completed a careful study of the postwar needs for public health in Georgia.
It discovered that only eighteen counties can support, by a onemill property levy, a health officer and a nurse and that only eleven counties can afford a full-time health department.
There was, however, a bright side to the picture. One public health nurse can serve s,ooo persons and one public health officer can render adequate service to 50,000 persons. By grouping counties, it will be possible for all those counties that cannot afford complete departments to have the benefit of adequate health services.
This would mean that every group of counties would have an adequate staff of medical officers and a sanitary engineer, and that the public health nurses would be attached to these offices to serve the surrounding areas.
Stressing the importance of local support and local control over local functions, the report points out: "Under this plan each county board of health would operate under its present powers. Each would have the right to select its own personnel as is done at the present time."
The program that is being devised will cost local units no more than a one-mill levy, and will cost the state only a reasonable sum.
Of course, one early step that must be taken is the expansion of facilities for the care and treatment of tubercular cases. Alto must be expanded. Possibly other similar institutions must be built. This building program will be an integral part of the state's public works outlay after the war.
Incidentally, it is because of the pressing character of these improvements for public health, public welfare, and education that this state administration has insisted upon a fiscal policy of rigid economy. If we are to afford the things that we need, we must pay off the state debt and develop reserves to meet building costs when materials are available. It may involve a policy of "penny-pinching" today, but it means better conditions tomorrow.
The state program of public health alone cannot do all that is needed to protect Georgians. An expansion of local facilities for the treatment of illness is also needed. The Health Panel of the Agricultural and Industrial Development Board has stressed the importance of adequate hospital facilities and pointed out that counties
39

can build such hospitals by the creation of a local hospital authority. The construction of hospitals would assist physicians in their private
practice and encourage them to establish their offices in the smaller towns and rural areas, reversing a trend toward concentration of medical facilities in the cities.
Of course, the concern of the state necessarily must be with prevention of disease and with the treatment of communicable ailments that constitute a menace to public health. But its agencies stand ready to work in close cooperation both with the community and the private practitioner in helping to make Georgia the healthful state that it can be.
B. THE BoARD's REPoRT
The objective of the Health Panel of the Agricultural and Industrial Development Board has been to prepare a comprehensive public health and medical care program for the entire state. In order to do this it was necessary to survey existing health and hospital facilities. This survey, which covered the entire state, showed that only 59 of Georgia's 159 counties had full-time health departments, while 62 of the remainder had public health nurses working under the direction of the regional health officers of the State Department of Health. This leaves 38 counties without any public health services at all.
The survey of hospital facilities showed that there were 86 counties which had no general hospital beds in the county, while an additional
s6 had fewer than 3 beds per I,ooo population. Since 3 beds per
1,ooo is regarded as the lowest minimum standard by public health authorities, it is seen that 142 of Georgia's 159 counties are without minimum standard hospital facilities. Of the I 23 hospitals in the state only nine give an accredited internship.
The situation as respects physicians is even more disturbing. Two counties in the state have no physicians at all, 76 have one physician for each 3,ooo or more of population, and 6 I have one physician for each 2,ooo-3,ooo of population. Since a physician cannot adequately serve more than 2,ooo persons, it is seen that only 20 Georgia counties have enough doctors to serve the minimum needs of their population. The war is no doubt partly responsible for this shortage, although the survey showed that relatively few physicians have been taken from rural areas.
The health and hospital survey revealed severe deficiencies (I) in public health departments, ( 2) in physicians, (3) in hospital beds, (4) in hospitals of desirable size for training physicians, and (5) in the equipment necessary for the control of more serious diseases such as tuberculosis and syphilis. These are deficiencies which can be met
40

only through a long-time program in which both state and local governments participate.
The plans developed through the Health Panel of the Board call for a better distribution of both medical and hospital facilities. A better distribution of the former can only be secured by setting up a health program which is state-wide in character. This can never be done on a county unit basis, however, because of the large number of small, rural counties with insufficient taxable wealth to support even a minimum program. It is for this reason that the health plan proposed by the Board groups the counties of the state together into districts, each of which has a population of at least so,ooo. One health officer is proposed for each district and one nurse for each county, plus an additional nurse for each s,ooo population. One sanitarian for each 30,000 population is recommended, as is one clerk for each county.
It is also recommended that the districts referred to above be grouped to form nine regions, as shown on Map B. Each regio.n should have an administrative health officer and a staff of specialists who would be responsible for the public health program in that area. The counties would be required to carry out programs that would meet recognized minimum standards.
No recommendation is made regarding the best method of financing this program. The cost seems to be reasonable and well within the ability of the state to finance - if it wants the program. The plan, which was approved by the Health Panel and by the full Board, has been endorsed by the General Assembly.
The second aspect of the Board's health program, namely, a better distribution of hospital facilities, can be accomplished only through community acceptance of responsibility for the erection and the maintenance of such facilities as will meet the minimum requirement of three beds per I,ooo population. This will require the construction, addition, or purchase of s,66o general hospital beds in 53 counties of the I59 Those counties not having hospitals should have combined maternity shelters and out-patient clinic facilities. This will require an additional I,532 beds. Shelter beds plus general hospital beds will furnish a total of I I,532 beds, or an average of 35 per I,ooo. There should be built approximately I25 non-bed health centers for towns of 500 or more population that have no public facilities of any type. Tuberculosis beds for I,625 additional patients are needed if any solution is expected for this problem. There should be one sanitarium in each of the nine districts so that patients and their families would not be too far from each other.

MAP B . R egions to1 Public H ealth Administrati on
43

As respects financing, it is thought that local funds, supplemented by whatever state and federal funds may be available, should be used for construction and maintenance of general hospitals, maternity shelters, and health centers. On the other hand, state funds should be used for the construction and maintenance of tuberculosis sanitaria and regional laboratories in each of the nine regions shown on the map.
The following table gives the estimated cost of the entire program in each region and for the state as a whole.

Region

Local Construction Operation

State Construction Operation

Annual operating
cost

12 _-_- _- -_-_-_3_______ 4_ _ _
5 6 7 8 I

$ 1,911,000 1,855,000 7,779,000
1,012,000
1,933,000
1,675,000 1,875,000 2,201,000
2,358,000

$ 307,664 307,402
1,069,900
227,771
378,853 325,133
326,194 292,448
300,205

$ 500,000 425,000
1,500,000 425,000 575,000 575,000 425,000 350,000 500,000

$ 412,240 $ 719,904 431,630 739,032
1,056,870 2,126,770 334,525 562,296 481,535 860,388 392,137 717,270 440,860 767,054 420,220 711,668 376,010 667,215

Totals $22,545,000 $3,535,570 $5,275,000 $4,390,357 $7,925,927

All construction based on estimate of $3,000 per bed.
Operations of general hospitals and shelters based on estimate of $4 per day with 20 per cent of beds provided at no cost. Tuberculosis bed cost based on $2 per day, which is slightly below present average.

In order to acquaint the people of the State with the public health plan of the Board, a series of eighteen meetings was held during the month of December. Much interest was manifested at all of these meetings. Since that time the General Assembly has approved the plan and it will be put into effect as rapidly as personnel and funds become available.

43

VII
DEVELOPING GEORGIA'S INDUSTRY
A. THE GovERNOR's INTRODUCTION
The next two decades will see many changes in the structure of America's economy. The trend toward centralization of industry is certain to be reversed, and with it there will be a considerable shift in population.
The change is inevitable because the system that existed before the war was inherently wasteful, expensive, and inefficient. The change will no doubt be associated in the minds of many Americans with the war and its aftermath of reorientation, but the war will not have been the cause of the change, although wartime conditions and experiences will have accelerated the process.
There is always an element of waste involved in processing a raw product at a great distance from the point of production. Convenient location, with reference to raw materials, is usually desirable. Of course, there are other factors, natural and artificial. For example, some industries have grown up around workers rather than around materials, as in the case of the silversmiths and toolmakers of New England; but such instances never involve what can be classified as "heavy industry." Likewise, industry might grow up around a cheap and abundant source of power.
In the United States, artificial factors have contributed more heavily to the centralization of industry, however, than any of the natural factors. The concentration of credit facilities in the East, and the freight rate discriminations against the South and West, principal producers of the nation's raw materials, are the factors that weighed most heavily. Adequate financing is now possible for an industry in any section of the United States. Within the next 12 months, I am convinced, the freight rate discriminations will have been eliminated, so that Southern and Western manufactured products can move to their markets under conditions of fair and free competition.
In this article I am avoiding the citation of statistics upon the value and extent of manufactures in Georgia and the South because such figures would be misleading. While we have not expanded our plant facilities during the war so rapidly as many sections, wartime enterprises have been numerous, involving many new plants of various types. To include figures based upon these would result in a dis-
The Atlanta Oonstitution, January 21, 1945.
44

tortion of our economic picture. The wartime enterprises in the South are of an impermanent nature, in the main, I am convinced. With the exception of a few, such as the Bell plant, which will continue after the war, the new plants have been engaged in shipbuilding or such other work as to make it unlikely they will be reconverted to civilian uses on a large scale after the war.
With the exception of the textile industry, Georgia was confined before the war to the primary processing of raw materials or to small plants with distribution confined to limited areas. Even the textile industry, as a result of the freight rate structure, was limited to certain types of production.
Broadly speaking, Georgia industry prior to the war was restricted to types of manufacture that made for limited profits to the investor and low wages to the employee. The income of Georgia workers can rise appreciably, in normal times, only when we manufacture finished goods, requiring high skills on the part of workers and providing sufficient value to be added through manufacture to sustain a high wage scale.
We cannot do this when we ship our vegetable fats, such as cotton seed and peanut oil, and rosin to be processed into soap elsewhere. We cannot do this when we send our textiles elsewhere to be bleached and finished. We cannot do this when we ship our canned vegetables to the East unlabeled becaust t..he addition of a label adds too much to the freight rate.
We must develop n~w industries and expand our old ones. The industries that we develop must be those that grow out of our raw materials or out of those raw materials that we can obtain conveniently, and process and distribute more economically than someone else.
There are three things that must be done to facilitate our industrial development. These three things lie wholly or partly within the sphere of action of the state government. The financing of industry and its actual development are outside that field, of course, and a matter for private endeavor.
The first thing that must be done is to find out what we can make profitably. We are endeavoring to do just that today, through the Industry Panel of the Agricultural and Industrial Development Board of Georgia. In this effort businessmen, labor leaders, civic organizations, and local governmental units are cooperating.
The first phase of this endeavor is to find out what we make now; to obtain an inventory of Georgia's manufacturing enterprises. The second phase will be to find out what we consume that could be produced efficiendy and cheaply in Georgia. The third phase will be
45

to discover methods of bringing together the realization of the need and the realization of the opportunity to fill it.
The second thing that must be done and can be done is to provide Georgians with the requisite skills. Of the things that are needed to develop a sound industrial structure - natural resources, human resources, technological skills, capital or credit- we are possessed of the first two in abundance; we can obtain the capital needed; we lack technological skill and must provide it for ourselves.
Technological skill is required on every level. We shall need more skilled workers, more engineers, more technicians, more specialists of every kind to meet the demands of an expanding industrial establishment. The place to begin the training is in the schools. Today the State Department of Education is operating certain vocational schools as "pilot plants" from which our educational leaders will learn just what must be provided in this field. Presently we shall have throughout the local school systems Qf the state an excellent program of vocational education along industrial lines to parallel the magnificent accomplishments already recorded in the agricultural field. Our college program already is being pointed up to meet these needs when the war is over.
As a result of the large force of workers trained during the war in industrial techniques and the enormous number of specialists who will return from the various branches of the armed services, Georgia will have a strong nucleus around which to build a well-trained force of skilled workers.
The third thing that the state, as a governing unit, can do is to get its governmental house in order. Industries will not seek, nor will industrial workers choose to live in, a state where standards of public health, education, highways, and welfare services are low. Industries will not come to a state where the state's finances are chaotic. Georgia has never had a high tax rate; but Georgia always has had a disordered state budget, a considerable state debt, and a threat of abrupt changes in its tax system.
Obviously we cannot determine until after the war the precise needs for the services enumerated. We can and are makin.g surveys of needs and mapping plans for improvements. We can and are getting the state budget in an orderly condition. We can and are paying the state debt, so that Georgia will emerge in the postwar era without a single dollar of bonded or floating indebtedness not fully covered by a sinking fund.
There is a final way in which the state of Georgia can help in the promotion of industrial development in this state. We can fight to the end the old inequalities, the old discciminations, the old prejudices
46

against Georgia and the South. For example, the state is seeking to end the freight rate discriminations that have blocked many phases of industrial expansion in Georgia. We are fighting, likewise, with every resource at our command to secure fair treatment by the federal government of our two fine harbors at Savannah and Bunswick, for development of our inland waterways and for a just method of distributing federal grants to the states.
It is necessary that this program, in every aspect, move along rapidly and with public cooperation. Georgia must move speedily when the war ends if our people are to prosper. After the last war,, which involved less than a fifth as many Georgians in the armed services, we lost population.
The same conditions that developed after I 9I 8, if they were permitted, would multiply that exodus from Georgia many times over and perhaps permanently injure the economy of our state and disrupt its social relationships. Against such a misfortune, every Georgian must do all that is possible to safeguard our state and its people.
The state government will do its share. Georgia can and will occupy a better economic condition, with greater prosperity for all its citizens.
B. THE BoARD's REPORT
The program of the Industry Panel has a two-fold objective: (I) the development of local home-owned industries throughout the state, and (2) the attraction of out-of-state industries to Georgia through a national advertising campaign.
In order to initiate the first phase of this program it was considered desirable to secure the assistance of a large group of leading businessmen throughout the state. Accordingly an Industry Panel Advisory Council of 92 members was named.
This group met in Atlanta on October 5, I944 at an organization meeting addressed by Governor Ellis Arnall, Dr. Edward R. Weidlein, director of the Mellon Institute of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Dr. Joseph Lazear, director of the Southern Research Institute of Birmingham, Alabama. At that time a series of ten district meetings and the names of district chairmen were announced. Approximately I,8oo selected persons from 225 towns attended these meetings.
Governor Arnall spoke at several meetings, as did Chairman Fortson, Panel Chairman Strickland, Executive Director Howard, and the members of the Industry Panel. Each group was reminded of the relatively low per capita wealth of Georgia people and urged to make plans now for developing industries which would increase the per capita income and raise the standard of living of our people. It was
47

pointed out that small industries, such as plants to process agricultural products, constitute the best prospect for the i~mediate enlargement of Georgia industry. The types of plants for processing agricultural products were discussed and examples cited of success achieved by the plants which already exist in the state.
It was also pointed out that the work of the Industry Panel is of an advisory nature, and that the Panel will not attempt to dictate the choice of industries to be created or to favor one community over another in locating industries.
It was likewise pointed out that the opportunity for expanding Georgia industry is more favorable now than ever before, principally because of the presence in the state of tremendous wartime savings,
estimated at approximately 7so million dollars. Another factor is
the supply of skilled and semi-skilled labor, which has resulted from the training of thousands of persons in war industries.
At each meeting a questionnaire was distributed to one person from each of the towns represented with the request that it be returned as soon as possible. This questionnaire seeks to bring together such information about each town as will enable the Industry Panel to advise the town intelligently regarding the type of industry which it should seek to establish. The representatives from each town were also requested to organize as soon as possible local industry committees with which the Industry Panel could work in its efforts to promote the industrial development of Georgia.
The first definite evidence that the program of the Panel was bearing fruit came in an announcement by Chairman Fortson on December I 3 that the Athens Cooperative Creamery was planning to construct immediately a $4o,ooo milk condensing plant. It is expected that this development will add from $5oo,ooo to $75o,ooo annually to the farm income of Clarke County and the surrounding area.
Reports from various parts of the state indicate that many local committees on industrial development are being formed as a result of the enthusiasm aroused at the district meetings. The questionnaires are being processed as qqickly as returned and much valuable information is being tabulated. This information will be used both to advise the communities of the state with respect to the type of industry which they should seek to establish and to advise new industries or old ones seeking a new location where they can find the facilities which they require.
The Research Department of the Engineering Experiment Station at the Georgia School of Technology has been of invaluable assistance in connection with the work of the Industry Panel. Since July I, I 944, it has worked in cooperation with the Board in making economic
48

and industrial area surveys and in promoting the establishment of industries within the state. H. E. Dennison is director of economic research at the Station and also director of research for the Agricultural and Industrial Development Board.
The economic studies of the Station began in 1943 when it did for the Macon Chamber of Commerce a survey of the 26 counties comprising the Macon trade area. In 1944, it completed a similar survey of 31 counties in the Augusta trade area. More recently it has entered into contracts with Waycross, Valdosta, Albany, and Rome. These surveys represent an attempt to inventory the resources of each area and to develop more efficient and profitable employment of labor and natural resources. The general outline of these studies is as follows: I. Population; II. Labor forces; III. Housing; IV. Natural re-
sources, A. Livestock, B. Income, C. Vegetables, D. Field crops, E. Problems; VI. Transportation, A. Rail, B. Bus, C. Highway, D. Air;
VII. Existing industries; VIII. New industries; IX. Public utilities and community services; X. Tourist possibilities; XI. Education, churches, cultural advantages XII. Historic background.
In addition to its larger economic studies, the Station also carries on more localized industrial surveys. For example, when a city or community wishes to put up some kind of small industry, the Station does all the basic research which is necessary to determine the type, nature, and quantity of resources available for processing. Included in such a canvass is a determination of possible sites, of water supply and nature of water, of housing facilities, and potential labor supply. Other factors such as transportation, competition, and presence of other types of business are evaluated.
A third type of work performeq by the Experiment Station is to obtain technical data relating to a proposed industrial enterprise. This is prepared as a subject report or prospectus. Thus, if a community wants to set up a factory to manufacture viscose rayon, it would be the function of the Station to determine what are the necessary raw materials, the extent to which they are found locally, and the amount which would be required to manufacture one unit of the manufactured product. At the present time, reports are being worked up on several types of business enterprises. These include grain elevators, feed mills, meat-curing plants, freezer lockers, canning and preserving plants, and furniture factories. A prospectus on abattoirs has already been released. These reports will be of great assistance to the Industry Panel in carrying on its development program in the state.
The second objective of the Industry Panel is to bring out-of-state industries to Georgia. Already numerous requests for information
49

about the industrial potentialities of the state have been received and some material collected for use in this connection. Plans for the initiation of a national advertising campaign are also being perfected.
Governor Arnall's fight for the elimination of discriminatory freight rates is vital to the future industrial development of Georgia. If they can be eliminated, the bringing of out-of-state industries to Georgia will be a much easier task.
50

VIII
A PROGRAM OF PUBLIC WORKS
A. THE GoVERNoR's INTRODUCTION
No one can know at this time the extent of the public works program that will be undertaken when the war ends. That will depend upon many and varied factors: the dates on which hostilities cease in Europe and in the Pacific, the suddenness of the Axis collapse, the speed of industrial reconversion, and the ability of foreign nations to buy and pay for American goods.
There is a determination that public works programs after the war shall not be of the "made work" type, but shall be directed toward the construction of facilities that are actually needed, and that any program undertaken shall be only an acceleration of normal public works development.
Georgia will be prepared, as a state, to meet any eventuality in the postwar period. It is the determination of the state administration that, whether the public works program progresses at a wholly normal rate or whether it is expanded to provide rapid employment, Georgia shall have the plans ready and, insofar as possible, its share of the funds ready. too.
During the past two years, of course, it has been impossible for the state to carry on any important construction of highways, buildings, or other facilities except where they were needed in connection with the war effort. Even maintenance had to be reduced to a minimum because materials were unavailable and manpower was inadequate. As a result, there is a considerable backlog of what might be termed "normal projects," and these will have priority in the immediate postwar period.
In the past two years, however, state agencies have not been idle. Though the staff of the Highway Department, for example, has been smaller than usual and has confronted unusual emergency problems because of the war, the agency has gone ahead with the preparation of large-scale plans for the years to come. Likewise, the agencies controlling our eleemosynary, educational, and penal institutions have projected their future needs; and close attention has been given to programs for developing our ports and rivers, our parks and recreational facilities.
It is possible, after two years of intense study of what is needed in
The Atlanta Oomututfon, March 10, 1945.
51

Georgia, to outline a picture of the postwar public works program from the viewpoint of the state government.
For example, studies have convinced us that Georgia's recreational resources can be converted into a "tourist crop" that will pay dividends for everyone in the state. Our postwar plans include the development of the 26 state parks, which contain some of the finest beauty spots in the Southeast, and the acquisition and development of beaches on our seacoast. These projects will provide facilities for recreation that will be of value to the people of our state; they will help to keep Georgia dollars at home, and by attracting tourists and vacationists to Georgia, will bring in more dollars.
Our various state institutions will require expansion. For example, several vocational schools, to serve as "pilot plants" for a general system of vocational education under local supervision, will be established by the State Department of Education. An institution to house the criminal insane must be erected for the Department of Corrections. Some of our colleges will need plant expansion after the war. Some of these projects are ready now for the "blueprint stage;" others are being given intensive study to determine precisely what is needed.
Our highway system includes 14-.000 miles of roads in Georgia. Already there are 7,200 miles of paving, although some of this is obsolete and will require reconstruction and resurfacing. Part of the reconstruction program has progressed in wartime, despite restrictions on materials. In the last 12 months, for example, a thousand miles of Georgia road have been given complete or partial reconstruction by the Highway Department. Paving the remaining 6,8oo miles of the system is the program set out for the postwar period.
In the past two years the Highway Department has been making surveys of routes all over Georgia. We discovered that the federal government had never participated in the cost of such surveys, but that such participation could be obtained. Approval has been secured for such participation in surveys that will cost $1,400,000 and that will provide comprehensive, detailed plans for the remaining mileage to be paved.
The highway plan is an example of the need for flexibility in setting up a public works program. State authorities do not know what share of the cost of highway construction will be borne by the Public Roads Administration and other federal agencies. We will not know this until Congress has acted. If all the plans are ready, however, we can expand or curtail the program to absorb all available funds and to complete the system as rapidly as possible.
For example, the federal government has designated certain interstate roads as "express highways." The extent of federal participa-
52

cion in the cost of these projects is not yet known. We feel, of course, that it should exceed the usual 50 per cent given for normal federalaid roads. But the planning is in progress. This planning includes surveys of traffic flow in the cities and towns affected, so that the highway when built will help the solution of local traffic problems rather than augment them.
Improvement of the state capitol grounds is an example of the kind of secondary public works that must be planned. The state intends to erect a building to house the supreme court, the court of appeals, the law department, and the various quasi-judicial agencies. Likewise, we are planning a war memorial building, in a suitable setting near the state capitol, to house the veterans' service office and to provide space for the various agencies and organizations dealing with veterans of all wars. The building will be both utilitarian and at the same time a permanent memorial to those who have defended our country in its wars.
Development of our ports and harbors, of our waterway systems and our potential hydroelectric resources is very important to the future industrial progress of Georgia. A survey is under way of the potentials of our ports of Savannah and Brunswick. It will determine what is needed to make them the oustanding ports on the south Atlantic. We expect to be able to present to the federal government, which expends enormous sums in rivers-and-harbors development each year, our real needs. One reason why Georgia and other Southem states have gotten so little in the past is that they were never in position to present their case to Congress.
In order to make preparation for the postwar period reach down to lower governmental levels, the state is assisting counties and municipalities in Georgia to prepare master plans of their needed public improvements. This is being done by providing the services of engineering and other technical assistance in the employ of the state to counties and municipalities through the Public Works Panel of the Agricultural and Industrial Development Board.
The development of the Altamaha, Savannah, Chattahoochee, Flint, and Alabama-Coosa river systems as transportation routes, for flood control, and for construction of hydroelectric plants is extremely important to the program that we visualize for a new and profitable relationship of agriculture to industry. Two of these basins lie almost wholly within our state; the other three will require joint action with other states. The possibilities are enormous. Indeed, preliminary studies indicate that the potential of the Alabama-Coosa basin is second only to that realized by T. V. A., and that it offers the greatest oppor-
53

tunity in America, perhaps, for a new technique of control by states and local units of government.
For the farmers of Georgia, the State Department of Agriculture has plans for expanding market facilities, including an experimental state market in Washington to advertise the state and bring Georgia products to the attention of the East in a new way. We intend, likewise, to offer every possible cooperation to the efforts of businessmen to erect plants for the processing in Georgia of Georgia products, and to push the farm-to-market road system as never before.
Many agencies have had a hand in planning our program for the postwar period: the Agricultural and Industrial Development Board; the Departments of Agriculture and Education, Public Welfare and Public Health; the Board of Regents; the Milk Control Board; the State Highway Department and its Highway Planning Division; and the Division of Conservation, through its Departments of Forestry, Parks, and Mines.
After the war, there will be a relocation of industry in America, especially when the freight rate discriminations are removed. The Southern States, with favorable climate, good ports, agricultural selfsufficiency in many particulars, a wealth of raw materials, and exceptionally favorable geographic location with reference to trade with South America and Africa, will furnish America with "Economic Opportunity Number One."
Georgia, of all the Southern States, has the greatest opportunity for the development of that agrarian-industrial, social and economic order that provides the maximum standard of living and the greatest degree of individual enterprise. We have our chance, at last.
To prepare for the postwar period, this state administration has endeavored to get state finances in orderly condition, to retire the entire state debt, both bonded and floating, and to create a small but adequate reserve for working capital. To do this, in the face of revenue problems enhanced by rationing of gasoline and losses of income from alcoholoc beverages and cigarettes, has not been easy. We have had to resort to a vigilant economy that a good many people, including many friendly to the administration and some within it, have thought b9rdered on the miserly.
It has not been pleasant to say "no" so often to suggestions for expenditures that ordinarily would be desirable or, at worst, harmless. But Georgia has to prepare for peace. We are getting ready.
54

B. THE BoARD's REPORT
The Public Works Panel has for its general objective the planning of a comprehensive public works program for state and local governments during the years immediately following the war. Public works includes highways, streets, schools, hospitals, airports, water supply, sewage disposal and drainage systems, and other public improvements of a related nature.
In carrying out this program, every effort is being made to complete as rapidly as possible those phases that will provide employment for returning service men and war workers. Such employment is obviously of a temporary nature, but it will aid very materially in helping to bridge the gap between a war and peace-time economy. In other words, it will help to provide employment during that period when industry is being reconverted to a peace-time basis.
Furthermore, during the war neither state nor local governments have been able to carry on building programs projected prior to the beginning of the war. Neither manpower nor materials have been available with the result that there has been virtually no public works construction during the past three years except that which was closely related to the war effort. State and local governments have, as a result, been able to save most of the money which might otherwise have gone into construction programs.
There is in virtually all units of government an accumulation of funds which, but for the war, would have been used for public works construction. It is highly desirable that plans be worked out for an orderly spending of this money just as soon as the war is over and men and material are again available.
The Panel approach to public works planning in the state is a modification of that formerly used by the National Resources Planning Board. The 159 counties of the state have been divided into 55 unit areas consisting of from one to four counties each. Since all counties and towns in an area will be worked together, there should be a considerable saving in time and money resulting from the use of this procedure. In addition to the county and municipal programs, a program for the state level is also being prepared.
Of the 55 areas into which the state has been divided, 43 are classed as rural. In these areas, there is no city with a population in excess of 15,ooo.
No survey is undertaken unless the services of the Panel are requested by the appropriate governing body, county commissioners, or mayor and council. This is in line with the general policy of the Board that developmental programs in any field can succeed only if
55

they have the support of local people. To date the officials of 94 counties and 99 cities have been contacted and the program and objectives of the Panel explained to them. Resolutions requesting the services of the Panel have been passed by 36 counties and 29 cities.
The rural planning program is already under way in several areas of the state. Area No. 53 on Map C (Brantley, Camden, and Charlton Counties) was the first to request the services of the Public Works Panel. The field work on the program for this area was completed some time ago, and the printed report has recently been distributed. This outlines a program of public improvements not only for the three counties but also for the cities of Nahunta, Kingsland, St. Marys, and Folkston. In addition, surveys have been started in more than 20 other counties and approximately the same number of cities.
In planning a public works program in rural areas, the procedure is briefly as follows. A representative of the Panel is sent to the area to study the finances of the counties and municipalities and to make a report. This gives some indication of the funds, from established sources, that are likely to be available for public works in each of the units. Representatives of the Education, Health, and Highway Departments, and of the Civil Aeronautics Administration then meet with the local officials and with representatives of the Panel to determine local needs in their respective fields of public works. All of this information is integrated and a program prepared for each of the counties and municipalities on the basis of need and ability to finance. A report is then prepared for submission to the local government.
In the urban field the aim of the Public Works Panel is to prepare, with the arterial highway system as a base, a master plan and longlange program of public improvements for each of the counties having a city with a population in excess of xs,ooo. The plan is to have a consulting firm of known standing and experience prepare a report for each of the twelve urban units to cover the entire field of public works.
It is expected that these studies and reports can be financed through federal, state, and local aid with such additional assistance as Congress is expected to provide for postwar public works planning. The studies themselves will include definite plans for financing the recommended improvements, including right-of-way and other land acquisition.
Considerable progress has been made in carrying out these plans through the cooperation and collaboration of the State Highway Department with the Public Works Panel. A comprehensive, city-
56

MAP C. A1eas tor public wo1ks planning .
57

wide traffic study covering origin, destination, and parking has been made in the city of Savannah by the Planning Division of the Highway Department. In addition, a competent engineering consultant has been employed to analyze this and other pertinent information regarding Savannah and Brunswick and to prepare a report with recommendations for major arterial highway facilities in these cities. This consultant firm is already at work and the completed report is expected to be ready early in 1945. A similar study is ready to be made in the metropolitan Atlanta area. Most of the preliminary ground work has been covered and an organization to conduct the study is now being set up.
The Public Works Panel is also attempting to arrange for a coordinated program of airport construction. To this end, it is collaborating with the Civil Aeronautics Administration and the Aeronautic Advisory Board of Georgia. The latter has prepared legislation on airport construction, maintenance, and operation for consideration by the next session of the General Assembly. The ultimate objective is an airport in every county in Georgia.
A most important activity of the Public Works Panel is river and port development. This is being handled for the Panel by a special committee of the Board, consisting of Blanton Fortson, chairman; Robert W. Groves, and A. W. Jones.
Under a contract with Frederic R. Harris, Inc., of New York City, this outstanding firm of consulting engineers is conducting a harbor, port, and industrial survey of Brunswick and Savannah. This study will give full and complete information regarding ( 1) nature, con.:. clition, and ownership of existing facilities; (2) need for additional facilities; ( 3) nature, amount, source, and destination of present inand-out traffic; (4) determination of types of exports and imports best suited to these ports and of foreign markets which they can best serve; (5) rail transportation facilities in the area; and (6) legislation necessary or desirable to carry out the recommendations.
This survey, upon which approximately $4o,ooo is being spent, is financed in equal amounts by the Agricultural and Industrial Development Board and from local sources in Savannah, Brunswick, and Glynn County. The Board sponsored a bill in the General Assembly to create a State Ports Authority, which was passed. This legislation, which creates a three-man board to construct and operate port facilities at Brunswick and Savannah, may well be a landmark in the history of the development of Georgia.
The Public Works Panel has also engaged the Harris Company to conduct a survey looking to the formulation of a program for the physical development of the principal river systems of the state.
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These include the Savannah, Altamaha, Flint, Chattahoochee, and Coosa rivers. The report will ( 1) outline a comprehensive plan for optimum uses of the river systems of Georgia; ( 2) assemble supporting data essential to any legislation which might be required; ( 3) recommend the most desirable order of project construction; (4) recommend the most desirable order of investigation for streams requiring further study; (5) discuss the possible effects of the proposed program on the industrial and economic development of Georgia, with particular reference to highway, railroad, waterway, and air transportation, and to the development of Caribbean and Sou~ American trade; (6) discuss the organizations most suitable for carrying out the provisions of the plan; and (7) coordinate these waterway and river development investigations with any river and harbor studies which may be undertaken. It is expected that both of these reports will be completed within the next few weeks.
Certain basic legislation is considered essential for the proper formulation and execution of any comprehensive public works program. With this in mind, the Panel prepared legislation to cover highway right-of-way acquisition and control of access, as well as uniform enabling acts to govern zoning and subdivision control, aHd authorization of reserves. In the preparation of this legislation the experience of other states and of federal agencies was fully utilized.
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IX
HARVESTING THE CROP OF TOURIST DOLLARS
A. THE GovERNOR's INTRODUCTION
The climate of Georgia is one of the most agreeable in the nation, both in summer and winter. Its scenery has very real charm, without monotony. Both the mountains and the coast abound with natural beauty spots that should provide recreation for our own people and attraction for tourists.
Extensive developments, utilizing the State Parks Department with its zo projects as a basis, are imperative in the early postwar period.
The "tourist industry" is important to many states, yielding in the case of Maine and Florida, for example, more profit than any other "crop." It is an enterprise in which the closest cooperation between the state, the local community, and private individuals is necessary. This is a major project of the Trade, Commerce, and Business Panel of the State Department Board.
Almost equal emphasis must be put upon recreational facilities for our own citizens. These ought to be developed as a contribution to the health, comfort, and convenience of Georgians.
At present the State Parks Department is giving close study to the possibilities of expanding recreational facilities. The Conservation Division and the Agricultural and Industrial Development Board are working with it and with communities and private groups toward formulating a program that will serve our own needs and at the same time attract visitors to Georgia.
The existing structure of state parks is adequate, except for beaches. Development, however, has lagged. Only four of our state parks are actually in such condition as to attract large numbers of visitors. Many of the others exist only as tracts of undeveloped land.
The mountains of North Georgia are among the most beautiful in the eastern part of the country. The state owns three excellent parks in these mountains, but only that at Vogel is developed to any extent. During the past year, the facilities of Vogel have been strained to the utmost to take care of visitors. There is acute need for more cabins and cottages for visitors.
At Pine Mountain, in West Georgia, both the inn and the nearby cottages have been "sold out" throughout the season. What the
The .Atlanta JournaZ, February 18, 1945.
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state has at this park is attractive, but what the state has is less than half of what is needed to make the park the attraction that it should be.
With a magnificent coastline, with many fine beaches undeveloped, Georgia has not a single state-operated beach park.
The magnificent possibilities of Fort Mountain have scarcely been touched. The West Georgia Indian mounds, one of the most important archaeological discoveries in the eastern United States, ought to attract thousands of visitors annually. Stone Mountain and the mysterious Okefenokee Swamp, unequalled anywhere in America, should attract even more tourists.
The development of the large parks, which already belong to the state, and the acquisition and development of a beach, must be one of our early postwar projects in Georgia.
Even more important, probably, is the development of parks for local recreational use. One of the finest of these is Little Ocmulgee at McRae, where boating and fishing can provide recreation for many South Georgia residents within a short drive of their homes. At this park, the State Parks Department is now engaged in rebuilding the dam and improving the area.
Scattered all over Georgia are historic sites that are associated with the heroic past of our state and nation. Many of these already have been marked, and in some instances, as at Jefferson Davis Memorial Park near Irwinville, improvements have been made. But far more such sites exist and should be made attractive for visitors to our state. Some of these, such as Indian Springs, combine historical interest with recreational facilities.
Most of the existing parks in Georgia became ours without much effort on our part. They were the outgrowth of the WPA and the CCC. Perhaps our attitude toward their development has been colored by the fact that they were obtained without much difficulty. At any rate, we have not utilized them as we should either for ourselves or as an attraction to tourists.
The program that is now being developed will endeavor to fit them into the general progress that can be expected for Georgia.
The conclusion is that Georgia can develop a number of large parks: at least two in the mountains of North Georgia, Pine Mountain in West Georgia, one at the Okefenokee, one at the beach, one at Indian Springs - all with accommodations for a large number of visitors. Parks of this type, with hotel and cottage facilities, can be self-supporting and, indeed, can eventually pay for their cost. The state already owns all these properties, except at the beach, which we plan to acquire.
In cooperation with local communities in some instances, the state
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can also develop a large number of parks that will offer recreational facilities for the people of the immediate area. These would follow generally the pattern of "Little Ocmulgee" at McRae and "Laura Walker" at Waycross.
Finally, the program of restoring and marking historic sites throughout Georgia must be pushed more rapidly.
The parks program will be integrated, of course, with the efforts for reforestation and will be an integral part of Georgia's comprehensive conservation plans.
The state should accept the responsibility for developing a number of recreational sites with tourist possibilities. It is not the idea of the state to "go into the tourist business," but by its developments to point the way for Georgians to develop our possibilities along this line. Likewise, the state's assistance will be given communities in developing local park recreational areas.
The Parks Department and the State Development Board are not alone in planning tourist attractions for Georgia. The State Fish and Game Commission has a share in the program.
This agency, which is controlled by the sportsmen and farmers of Georgia, has been giving attention to the possibilities of developing Georgia's wildlife. The trout streams of North Georgia and the virgin forests and swamps of extreme South Georgia, with their deer and bear, should bring many visitors to the state. A program of farmer-sportsman cooperation in developing hunting and fishing will be ready after the war.
It has been estimated that if every tourist who passes through Georgia without stopping were to spend three days here, the net yield would be as great as the net profit from our cotton crop. Certainly the "tourist crop" needs and deserves attention, and the problem is being given careful thought by the state.
Improvements at the parks will form a part of the general public works program that Georgia will begin when the war is over, and for which the state administration is endeavoring to build a reserve. It is one of the things, in short, that Georgia has been saving up to buy after the war.
B. THE BoARD's REPORT
The Trade, Comerce, and Business Panel had as its first director Dr. R. P. Brooks, Dean of the College of Commerce of the Univer~ity of Georgia. Dean Brooks worked on the problem of disposal of surplus war goods in cooperation with the Atlanta regional office of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation. Eight meetings - at Rome, Atlanta, Gainesville, Augusta, S~vannah, Brunswick, Albany,
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and Macon - were held, which were attended by an average of approximately I oo interested persons. At these meetings representatives of the Board and of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation discussed the need for Georgia manufacturers to act promptly if they wished to secure from the federal government wartime machinery as soon as it was declared surplus. The procedure for disposing of such property was explained, and those present were urged to take advantage of the opportunity to acquire wartime machinery and tools for use in postwar manufacturing.
Dean Brooks resigned as director of the Panel in September I 944> to return to teaching duties, and his place was taken by Lee S. Trimble, for the past eight years manager of the Macon Chamber of Commerce.
Since that time the Trade, Commerce, and Business Panel has had for its major activity the development of a tourist program for Georgia. Servicing the needs of tourists is one of the largest businesses in the United States, ranking next to agriculture and textiles in importance. Furthermore, Georgia is strategically located for development as a tourist state. A great many people go to Florida for vacations and most of them pass through Georgia twice en route. It takes no effort to attract this group. We need only to take good care of them as they pass. Many of them would undoubtedly stop over for a few days if an effort were made to acquaint them with Georgia attractions. Georgia has an excellent climate, beautiful scenery, and a variety of places of interest - historical, natural, and scenic.
These attractions, however, need to be developed. To that end the Panel at the present time is perfecting plans which for their complete success depend upon the cooperation of individuals, business groups, and government agencies throughout the state. An advisory council, consisting of 65 members has been appointed to work with the Panel both in stimulating interest in the tourist trade on the part of Georgia people and in developing sites of historic and scenic importance.
Among the business groups which will benefit substantially from an enlarged tourist trade are the retail merchants, the hotels, the oil and gas companies, and the railroad and bus lines. The Panel is working with these groups and they with it in an effort to promote cooperatively an undertaking in which all are interested. Special mention should be made in this connection of the Better Home Town program of the Georgia Power Company. Its efforts to get Georgia towns to clean up and paint up should be actively supported by all who are interested in the future welfare of tb~> state.
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In like manner the Trade, Commerce, and Business Panel is working with such state agencies as the Division of Conservation, the Department of State Parks and Monuments, the Department of Forestry, and others. All of these have much to contribute to the success of a tourist development program, and it is hoped that the Panel can also contribute to the success of their activities.
The Trade, Commerce, and Business Panel is sponsoring the formation of local and regional organizations to mobilize support for its tourist development program. The principal ones are a North Georgia Association to develop the mountain area of the state, a Coastal Area Association to develop beach resort areas, and a Historic and Recreational Association to develop points of historic and recreational importance throughout the state.
Another activity of the Trade, Commerce, and Business Panel is the forest resource appraisal. This appraisal is being carried on in cooperation with the State Department of Forestry, the American Forestry Association, the Georgia Forestry Association, the Agricultural Adjustment Agency, and the School of Forestry of the University of Georgia.
Specific contributions have been made by each of these agencies. The State Department of Forestry is doing a considerable part of the field work. Technical advice is supplied by the American Forestry Association. The Georgia Forestry Association is raising funds to assist in financing the project. The Agricultural Adjustment Agency is furnishing aerial photographs and space for their processing, while the School of Forestry is providing office space for the staff. The Agricultural and Industrial Development Board has supervision over the project and has assigned to it the services of three full-time persons.
Covering from 55 to 6o per cent of the total land area, the forests of Georgia are her greatest natural resource. The Forest Resource Appraisal is obtaining data on a county unit basis of sufficient detail and accuracy to permit efficient and constructive plans for the future management of these forest resources. Those who are informed on the forestry question realize that the wise use of 55 to 6o per cent of the total land area of the state must be based on reliable information as to supply, growth, and consumption of forest products; the location, area, and condition of present forest stands; and the proper responsibilities of owners and state and local governments. Therefore, the Appraisal seeks ( 1) to make an inventory of the forest land and the present volume of forest products thereon, ( 2) to determine the rate of timber increase and the rate of drain, (3) to secure econ01nic data relative to value and income, (4) to
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find out acreage burned during the past year and the last five years, and (5) to determine ownership.
These findings will be interpreted, and correlated with present and expected economic conditions in such a manner as to be of service in the formulation of both public and private forest policies in the state. Aerial photographs have been processed for 40 counties and the field data for the completed counties are being assembled as rapidly as possible. It is expected that the entire survey will be completed by the fall of 1945.
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X
A PROMISING FUTURE
The programs outlined in the preceding pages are all under way. They are programs which have the support of Governor Arnall, the Agricultural and Industrial Development Board, and the people of Georgia. Some of them are being put into effect now; others must wait until the end of the war. In either event, however, they are action programs which, when carried out, will mean progress for the state.
Georgia is moving forward. It is moving forward because its people and its leaders are not content either to stand still or to lag behind. It has the resources, both human and natural, and these form the solid foundation upon which its development is taking place.
The future of Georgia is promising. In agriculture, in industry and business, in the social services, in government - in fact all along the line - progress is being recorded. The General Assembly recognized the state's need for development when it created the Agricultural and Industrial Development Board. The Board in tum has gone to work. The people have caught the vision and as a result the state is advancing and will continue to advance in the months and years that lie ahead.