Message of the Governor of Georgia [Joseph M. Terrell] to the General Assembly, June 27, 1906

MESSAGE
OF THE
GOVERNOR oF GEORGIA
TO THE
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
..JUNE 27, 1906

MESSAGE
OF '!'HE
GOVERNOR OF GEORGIA
'I'O '!'HE
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JUNE 27, 1906
ATLANTA, GA. The Franklin Printing and Publishing Co.
Geo. W. Harrison, Manar-er 1906

MESSAGE.
STATE OF GEORGIA, EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT.
Atlanta, June 27, 1906. To the General Assembly:
You meet in the midst of continued and increasing prosperity. l\faterial blessings have abounded during the past year. Immense crops and good prices have rewarded the tiller of the soil. Opportunity for labor and good wages have rejoiced the heart of the working-man. Fewer mortgages have been given and more money has been deposited by the farmer in the banks than this generation has ever before known, and on every hand appear evidences that the people are happy and contented. The State in its corporate capacity has contributed its part to this prosperous era by materially reducing the ~ate of taxation and by firmly protecting the citizen in all his personal and property rights. The large body of State and county officials, numbering about 7,000, have been active and efficient in the performance of their duties, and these faithful public servants are entitled to honorable recognition for their valuable services in preserving peace and good order throughout the State.
Public office is a public trust. Many men aspire to office, prompted largely by the most patriotic motives.

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Officers of this class regard the good opinion of good men far above the pecuniary emoluments of the office. A State blessed with such officials should generously bestow, as Georgia has always done, her appreciation and approval of official integrity. This is not only an act of simple justice to the public servant, but also highly beneficial to the public weal. Any other policy is but to blight official zeal, discount official integrity and sow in the public mind suspicion and distrust bordering on hatred and anarchy. It is especially gratifying to me as Chief Executive, and I trust that I may refer ,vith pardonable pride to the fact, that during my administration all the departments of government, including the public institutions, have been carefully examined and rigidly audited by legislative investigating committees and boards of visitors appointed by the Governor. In not a single instance have these searching investigations shown any official recreant to the trust imposed. In these times of extensive wrongdoing, if reports from other States be true, Georgians may take inspiration and comfort from the fact that their public servants are faithful and true-and above even the suspicion of greed and ~raft.
In previous messages I recommended the adoption of laws to tax the franchise of corporations, to limit the rate of taxation on property, to levy a specific business tax on corporations, to lengthen the term of rural schools, and to increase the pay of teachers. These laws have been passed and are now in satisfactory operation, receiving the cordial approval of the people. In these same messages I

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called your attention to the need of legislation to further encourage the educational interests of the State by establishing agricultural schools and exempting college endowments from taxation. I again press these matters upon your attention, and earnestly recommend the adoption of the necessary legislation to secure the establishment of agricultural schools and to encourage the colleges of the State by granting to them an exemption, which was universally extended in practice until within a few y,ears past. In several former messages I have also brought to your attention the injustice of our present system of valuing property for taxation. It is unsuited to present conditions and unjust to every honest taxpayer. The State has progressed in every other particular. In the matter of valuing property for taxation we adhere to the law enacted over one hundred years ago. I respectfully renew my former recommendations upon this subject.
RELIEF OF THE SUPREME COURT.
The crowded condition of the docket of our Supreme Court is a serious menace to the general business interests of the State. In 1895 the number of cases in that court reached such a volume that some relief was necessary. The General Assembly in 1895 proposed and the people at the general election in October, 1896, ratified an amendment to the Constitution increasing the number of justices from three to six. The remarkable growth of the State during the last ten years has resulted in more than a corresponding increase in the number of cases brought before the Supreme Court. In 1896 our taxable values

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were $413,307,473, and in 1905 they were $577,841,252, making an increase of $164,533,809, or about 40 per cent. The Southeastern Reporter publishes the decisions of five States, Yiz., Virginia, vVest Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. An examination of these reports for the last year will show that the Supreme Court of Georgia decides nearly as many cases as the Supreme Courts of the other four States combined. There were brought to the October Term, 1896, and to the March Term, 1897, of the Supreme court 778 cases, and to the corresponding terms for 1905 and 1906 there were 1,165 cases, making an increase of about 50 per cent. The creation of eight new counties, and tl1 e establishment of additional lower courts to meet the necessities of the people will no doubt result in a much larger increase of the cases before the Supreme Court during the next ten years. In 1896 there were 137 superior courts and 13 city courts from which cases might be carried to the Supreme Court, and in 1906 there were 145 superior courts and 57 city courts, with a probability of new city courts being established annually for several years. In a few years, should no remedial legislation be enacted, we are almost sure to witness the spectacle of a majority of the cases brought to a term of our Supreme Court being affirmed by operation of hw on account of the inability of the court to hear and determine the same in the time required by the Constitution.
These conditions call for serious consideration at your hands. Justice should be judicially administered. Every

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citizen of Georgia, under the Constitution, has the right of having his case heard and determined by a court of review. This is a right not given to the citizen by all the States. Some make a distinction by giving the privilege of appeal when the amount involved in the suit exceeds a given sum. Other States unconditionally require bond before entering the appeal, which policy frequently prohibits any but the rich, or those able to make the bond, from having the right to carry his case to the Supreme Court. Many States prescribe such excessive cost bills as prevent the citizen from taking his case to the court of review. The Georgia policy is the right one, as justice should be administered "freely without sale, fully without any denial, and speedily without delay" in every case. To accomplish this desirable result, it is our highest duty to provide the necessary courts. In order that the difficulties which confront us may be fully met we should establish an additional court of review to be known as the Court of Appeals. This court should have exclusive and final jurisdiction in all cases originating in all courts other than the superior courts, and in all misdemeanor cases, irrespective of the courts in which such cases are tried. The Supreme Court alone should have final jurisdiction over constitutional questions, and it should be provided that if such a question be raised in the Court of Appeals that it should be certified to the Supreme Court and decided by that tribunal, and the decision certified to and followed by the Court of Appeals in deciding the case; also, that the Court of Appeals may at any time certify to the Supreme

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Court any other question or propositions of law concerning which it desires instruction of the Supreme Court for proper decision. An examination of the present docket shows that a Court of Appeals, as above outlined, would relieve the Supreme Court of about forty per cent. of the business. I most respectfully suggest that an amendment to the Constitution be proposed provid_ing for such a court.
INTERCHANGEABLE MILEAGE.
I ask your consideration of an important matter involving the interest of the traveling public. Railroad companies in making a difference between rates in carload lots and smaller shipments recognize the commercial principle of making wholesale and retail prices. Carriers adopt this general rule, not only in the sale of through tickets good on through lines, but in selling thousandmile tickets and excursion tickets at less than the usual passenger rates. These mileage books are a great convenience, and are issued by several of the trunk lines in the State. As there are some that do not do so, I recommend the passage of a law conferring upon the Railroad Commission the power to fix the terms, conditions and rates on which mileage books shall be sold. If these books are made interchangeable the traveling public would thus be saved great annoyance and inconvenience. While our Supreme Court has held that corporations can not be forced into partnership relations with one another, yet if the power is conferred upon the Railroad Commission to require the issuance of interchangeable mileage books

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upon such terms and conditions as the interest of the public may demand, ancl the ends of justice to the corporations will authorize, the Commission will be enabled to prescribe such conditions in their orders as will make it beneficial to the railroads to co-operate with the Commission in inaugurating this much needed reform.
TAX ON INHERITANCES.
In my message to the General Assembly 111 1905 I called attention to the importance and advisability of the enactment of a law taxing inheritances. The constitutionality and the wisclorn of such an Act could not be questioned. Many of the most conservative States of the Union have such a law. Besides being a just measure, it has proven a source of vast revenue. We might expect under a practical measure equally as good results in this State. Large estates being acquired solely by the accident of birtl1_1uay fairly be taxed. \Vhile the time has not yet come in Georgia when immense estates may threaten the public good, yet it must be admitted colossal fortunes capable of being handed do,vn from generation to generation constitute a serious menace to the general \velfare in some parts of the Union. The accumulation of such wealth may well be regarded with suspicion. Often it is invested in securities not taxed under the laws of the State. The inheritance tax is the only remedy to keep such estates in bounds, as well as affording the only legal means of requi1:ing the owners to contribute their share to the support of the government giving them protection.

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AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION.
In my message to your body last year I stated at length my Yiews upon the subject of agricultural education, and urged that sufficient money be appropriated to the University for the erection of suitable buildings ancl properly equipping the same, so that in Georgia we may have an agricultural college second to none in the Union. I again submit this important question to you, ancl urge your favorable consideration. Georgia is largely an agricultural State. As her agricultural interests prosper the State as a whole prospers. The possibilities of development in agriculture are as great as the possibilities in steam or electricity. They are equally as hidden, and in the search for the valualile secrets of plants ancl plant life we need skilled men just as we ncecl skilled electricians and engineers to discover the secrets of electricity and steam. \Ve have not discharged our full cluty to this our greatest interest until we have by legislation set in motion those forces that will best serve in its development. The Act of 1903 requiring that the elementary principl~s of agriculture be included in the curriculum of our public schools is a wise ancl important measure. Following this lead, our normal schools are specially training and preparing teachers for the work of teaching this study in our public schools. Between these schools and the University there exists a wide gap which can best be supplied by agricultural schools or colleges in each Congressional district. As stated in my message to the General Assembly on November 8, 1902, "for the establishment and main-

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tenance of these schools no extra tax would be necessary, as they can be maintained by the net fees arising from the inspection of commercial fertilizers. 'fhese fees are paid by the farmers in addition to the ad valorem property tax which is required of all citizens, and every principle of justice and equity demands that they be expended as will best tencl to the aclyancement and uplrnilcling of the cause of agricnlture throughout the State." However, should you not agree with me as to the advisability of establishing so many of these schools or colleges as one in each Congressional district, I ,niuld then urge upon your consideration the establishment of two aclclitiona1 branches of the UniYersity. to be known as agricultural aid normal colleges, and graded the same as the North Georgia Agricultural College at Dahlonega. One of these to be located in the middle section of the State ancl the other in the southern section. 'l'hese colleges to IJe estabfohecl from the inspection fees of commercial fertilizers, all(l when established such fees he divided upon an eqnitalJ!c basis between them ancl the North Georgia ,-\gricultural College for their maintenance. They slrnnlcl be required specially to teach agriculture, and also have a normal department for the suitable equipment of such of the students as contemplate becoming teachers in our public schools.
EDUCATION AL INSTITUTIONS.
No forces haye contributed more to the splendid development ancl substantial progress of Georgia than her educational institutions. They deserve to be fostered ancl

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sustained not only for the present good we derive from them, but also on account of the rich promise for the future. We should look upon these institutions with gratitude and hope. A nation's glory does not consist in the greatness of its army and navy, nor in the grandeur of. its domain, but in the character of the men and women who compose it and of the institutions which they foster. No power is so potent in the development of the country as an enlightened public opinion, and nothing can bette.r serve to advance its progress than a clue regarcl and reverence for the law, a just and clean public press. the erection and proper appreciation of religious and educational institutions, and a wholesome clesire to acquire learning ancl live uprightly. If the Republic may survi,e. it must heed the voice of these things and harken unto their call. As eternal vigilance is the price of liberty, so alone through constant and incessant effort may individual am! national progress be achieved. To maintain these public institutions of learning requires considerable expenditure of money from the public treasury, but this is money well investee!.
The groundwork or basis of these institutions is our common school system. All measures looking to the improvement of this system deserve our favorable consideration. The various laws enacted from time to time, and which constitute the system, present a lack of harmony in several features. These defects should be corrected, and it would be well to have these laws, together with several needed amendments, covered by one Act or compilation.

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An amenclrnent conferring more authority upon the boards of education relati,,e to school libraries and school lmilclings should be enacted. As stated in my message of No-, vember 8, 1902: "It takes four things to make a schoolteachers, pupils, hooks ancl schoolhouses. \Ye have teachers ancl books, ancl pupils we have in abundance, but of schoolhouses in country districts there is woeful want. Proper and comfortable houses will add greatly to the efficiency of our common schools." From the current official report of the State School Commissioner you will note the large number of modern buildings for the rural schools that haYe been erected during the past year. This is gratifying to all ,vho are interested in the great cause of education, as it shows an awakening of the people that augurs much for the State's continued progress and de\'elopment. Another important amendment is one changing the scholastic year from the calendar year, so that it may hereafter be from September 1st to August 31st. Such a change, after two years, would practically settle the question of paying the teachers their salaries when clue. The first eight months of next year might be made a special scholastic year, and have apportioned to it an ec1uitable share of the fund set apart for 1907. In addition to accomplishing the desired result of furnishing a plan that will enable school officials to arrange for the prompt pi1y111ent of salaries when clue, it will harmonize the system with that of the local systems and long-term schools ancl colleges throughout the State. The Act of 1905 carrying into effect the constitutional amendment au-

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thorizing the adoption of a local tax system by districts, as ,veil as counties, has pnffen a ,vise ancl popular one. The operation of this law has suggestecl the necessity of an amendment setting forth more clefi.nitely the taxing po\\ers, especially with reference to the taxation of railroad property ,vithin the limits of the school districts. The enforcement of this taxing provision has resulted in litigation, and cases invoking this question are now pending in the Supreme Court. The decision of that court may Le rendered at an early clay, and the construction placecl upon the law may m:1ke an amendment unneces sary; however, should it Le otherwise, I recommend the enactment of a suitable amendment so that all property of e,ery kind arnl character ,vithin the limits nf the district may Le subject to this tax.
During the last year I h;1,e ,isitecl the University, the State )formal School, the Cirls' Normal ancl Ill(luctrial College, the School of 'l'eclmology and the ?\orth Gf'crgia ,."\gricultural College for the purpose nf examination and inspection. In making the reco111111e11clatio11s hereinaft~r set forth I have kept in ,iew the State's finances and the constitutional limitation upon the tax rate.
'l'he most pressing need of the Uni\'Crsity is for a s11fficient appropriation to erect upon the recently acr[ttired tract of Janel paicl for by private subscriptions suitahle buildings properly equipped for a great agricultural college. As the cost of these buildings ancl equipment 1,as heen estimated at $100,000, I suggest that the appropriation for same be mac.le a,ailable in t,,o annual paymrnt,.

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The State Normal School is doing a splendicl work. The two new dormitories which are now being comp'.ctecl. ancl which were paicl for one-half by the friends of t11e school ancl the other half hy the State, will enable the school to accommodate a rnnch larger stndent-liocly. These buildings need a heating system, ancl one ,Yill have to be installed before next ,\inter. I recornmcncl a suitable appropriation for this purpose.
The Girls' J\'ormal and Inclnstrial College has had a most successfnl year. Chappell Hall, tl1e academic building now in process of constrnction, \rill sene to reline somewhat the demand for class room. The crG\nled condition of the dormitories, ancl the fact that abont one hnnclrecl girls were tnrnecl away last year on account cf meager clorrnitory facilities, strongly appeal for :rn ~:dclitional dormitory to accornmoclate at least two h11ndrecl ancl fifty girls. This is one of the most nrgent miUcrs connected with our educational institutions that will be presented to your consideration. 1\nd I therefore recommend an appropriation sufficiently large to meet the nf'cessities of the college.
The immediate neecls of the School of Technology ;:all for a small appropriation for the ec1nipment of the new Lyman Hall Laboratory and an increased maintenance funcl to meet a deficit that has been carried for a number of years, and to cmer the cost of new departments. The growth of this school has been so marvellous th01t ,ve are now facing the fact that the campus is entirely tL)O small. It contains about ten acres, ancl is located in c"!

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popular residence section of the city. In a feyv year., :i1e State will be unable to purchase aclclitional lane! suitd for purposes of this school without paying several times i1s present value. After advising with the Goverror ,tml Doard of Trustees, President l\fatheson secured options from owners of the lots adjoining the campus. These lots aggregate about seyen acres, and the options are for about $30,000. The necessity for an enlarged campus is so apparent and pressing that many friends of the school have expressed a willingness to contribute towards the purchase of additional lands, and I feel that we may rely with confidence upon such contributions aggregating $ro,ooo. I therefore recommend that $20,000 be appropriated for this purpose to become available during the next two years in such sums and at such time as these contributions may be made and collected. It is the desire of authorities of this school to utilize the State's geological equipment in some way for the benefit of the school. To clo this it has been proposed to have one of the officers of the department meet the class in geology for a short time on certain clays of the \Yeek in orcler to make a practical explanation of the State's resources in the line of this work. It is not believed that any great objection could be suggested to such use, inasmuch as a school of mines has been lately opened as one of the departments of the institution, and the study of geology is an essential part of the same. Much good to the State might result, and in this way discovery and investigation in the geology of the State be stimulated to a very great degree. I can see no objection to this proposition.

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The North Georgia Agricultural College is accomplishing much good for the State. Its dormitory facilities are very meager, and the necessity for one sufficiently large to accommodate 125 students is very pressing. I therefore recommend an appropriation for this dormitory.
No appropriation was made at your last session for the support of the Summer School for Teachers. Upon investigation it was ascertained from the chairmen of the House and Senate Appropriation Committees that this failure was simply through inadvertence. The authorities therefore arranged for the school this year, confidently trusting that the appropriation will be made at this session of the General Assembly. I therefore recommend that you appropriate for this purpose $5,000, to become immediately available.
You will find before you the report of the Trustees of the State Uni,versity and of the Board of Visitors to the University; the report of the Directors and the Board of Lady Visitors to the Georgia Normal and Industrial College; the report of the School of Technology; the State Normal School; the North Georgia Agricultural College, and the School for the Colored People. You will find that these reports give a clear insight into the work of thes~ institutions during the last year, and will amply repay a close study of the same. They contain many valuable suggestions and recommendations, which I commend to your earnest consideration.

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STATE SANITARIUM.
Through the means of personal inspections and frequent conferences with the trustees and officials of the Sanitarium I have kept in close touch during the year with this institution. The money appropriated for its mainfenance has been most economically expended. The daily per capita cost for the last year was less than 3 I cents, as against 33 the previous year. In view of the increased cost of provisions, clothing, and everything used in a well regulated sanitarium, this is a remarkable showing.
The report of the Trustees and the Superintendent clearly sets forth the needs of the Sanitarium. I desire to specially commend to your consideration the following recommendation:
"The Board would again call your attention to the hopeless condition of the feeble-minded or defective children under sixteen years of age, and numbering sixty, now confined in the Sanitarium for lack of proper provision for them elsewhere. The only door of hope open to them lies in a training school, where by scientific methods some few of then1 may possibly lie fitted in some measure for self-support. No more pathetic sight is to be seen in this institution than these helpless little ones, and the Board earnestly craves for them the one chance left them. Such a school should have no connection with an asylum for the insane."
A number of States have schools of this character, :md many feeble-minded or defective children are so trained as to be made self-supporting. Much can be done towards

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reclaiming them by a proper system of education and of mental exercise, and it is deplorable to consign them without effort upon our part to lives of hopelessness, which is inevitable if they are left to the chance of natural development only. I therefore suggest that a suitable committee or commission be provided for tJ,e purpose of investigating such schools in other States, ,vhere they have been successfully operated, with the view of establishing one in Georgia.
SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF.
The official report of this institution contains much interesting information and many valuable suggestions. Its affairs are administered wisely and economically. Last May I accompanied the Board of Visitors to this school, and joined them in the recommendations set forth in their report. The sleeping-rooms are so badly crowded as to render them not only uncomfortable, but, I fear, unhealthy.
ACADE~IY FOR THE BLIND.
Only the colored department of this school has been in operation during this year, on account of sale of the old and the incomplete condition of the new building. The affairs of this institution ,,.ill be found fully given in the official report of the Trustees and Superintendent. The report of the Board of Visitors will also be before you, and contains much valuable information. The recommendations of the Board are conservative and wise. I commend them to your favorable consideration.

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wEIGHTS A:\'"D MEASURES.
Section 1638 of the Code prescribes that the Governor shall procure standards of weights and measures for each county which does not have them. There are ten or hvelve counties, in addition to the eight new ones, which have not been supplied with standards of weights and measures. During the last two years the Ordinaries of a number of these counties have applied to the Governor for these weights and measures, but as no provision has, been made for their purchase the law and the requests of the Ordinaries could not be complied with. I respectfully bring this matter to your attention, and suggest that suitable provision be made for same.
OFFICIAL REPORTS. You will have before you the reports of the AttorneyGeneral, State Treasurer, State School Commissioner, Comptroller-General, A.djutant-General, Commissioner of Agriculture, Secretary of State, State Board of Health, Railroad Commission. Prison Commission, Pension Comm1ss1oner, State Geologist. State Librarian, Roster Commission, Compiler of Records, Keeper of Public Buildings and Grounds, and such other departments as are required by law to submit annual reports. I have carefully examined a majority of these reports, and find them to contain valuable information and many meritorious recommendations. They bear unmistakable evidence of the efficiency and fidelity of these public servants, 'and I trust that their recommendations may receive your favorable consideration.

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PENSIONS. The appropriations made at your last 3ession for pensions were insufficient to pay the enrolled claims and those that ,vere approved prior to January I, 1906. The defici amounts to nearly $19,000. In the early part of the year it was apparent that there would be a deficit, which the Commissioner estimated at $17,000. There was some reference made to this fact by the press of the State, and I received an offer from an ex-Confederate soldier and a prominent Georgian, to make a loan of $17,000 to the State without interest to be used in paying these pension claims, with the proviso that under no circumstances should his name be disclosed. I communicated with this gentleman, and informed him that I was without :.i.uthority b;, borrow money for the State under the existing conditions, as I did not think this deficit ,vas such a casual deficiency in the treasury as gave the Governor the right to borrow money under the Constitution-the deficiency being in the appropriation a"nd not in the treasury. I also informed him that I appreciated to the fullest extent the generous impulse which prompted him to make tae offer, and suggested that if he would let me have the money to the extent of $17,000 that the Commissioner would pay out the same upon claims in his office, where the claimant would transfer to the Commissioner for his use the pension warrants. This suggestion was adopted, and the $17,000 furnished me. I then authorized the Commissioner to pay out the same to such claimants. I therefore recommend the immediate appropriation of $19,000 to cover this deficit.

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COKTINGENT FUND.
For the last ten or twelve years the contingent fund has been $ro,ooo annually. For fifteen or twenty years previous to that time it was from fifteen to twenty thousand dollars annually. Occasionally the Legislature would provide a smaller contingent fund, and invariably it was necessary to increase same at the following session. On the first day of last January there was a deficit of over $2,000 in the contingent fund for 1905, which had to be met out of the fund for 1906, and as the necessary drafts upon this fund have been larger during this year than last year it is apparent that the deficit for this year will be equally as large, which will cause a deficit at the end of this year of about $4,000.
Demands upon this fund grow with the natural increase of the various departments. In the matter of postage, express, telegraph and telephone expenses of the various departments, the increase within the last few years is about fifty per cent. The law enacted at the last session providing for payment of the expenses of judges of the superior courts, who were directed to hold court in circuits where the judge thereof was providentially prevented from doing so, has added several hundred dollars to these demands, and the expenses of the Ducktown Commission and litigation have been met out of this fund, thereby adding to the natural increase.
JAMESTOWN EXPOSITION.
There will be presented to you the question of provid ing suitable representation of the State's resources at the

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Jarnestown Exposition to be held during next year. It is
always advantageous to bring before the general public Georgia's magnificent store of natural wealth. I am sure you will give to this measure such careful consideration as its importance demands.
FOR:v1ER RECOMMENDATIONS.
I respectfully renew the recommendations made in my message of June 28, 1905, upon the subjects of Election Laws, Immigration, Confederate Flags and Misdemeanor Convicts. I trust that these measures may receive favorable consideration at this scss10n.
J. M. TERRELL,
Governor.