CHAPTER 1

THE BEGINNING

1906-1920

By Charles R. Adams, Jr.,

of the Fort Valley Bar

A Crisis

A crisis (Judge Ruffin wants the word need rather than crisis)in Georgia's judicial system brought about the creation of the Court of Appeals. By the 1890s, the Supreme Court, then in the sixth decade of its existence, struggled to adjudicate a caseload that had grown precipitously since its inception. The Supreme Court had less than 100 cases its first year, and over 700 in 1894.1 From 1845 when there were 93 counties and 11 circuits, Georgia had grown to have 137 counties and 23 circuits. The population of the state had increased from less than 800,000 people to an estimated 2,000,000. 2 The emergence of "The New South" foreseen in 1886 by Henry W. Grady, the renowned editor of the Atlanta Constitution, had brought new life to the state economy and generated more litigation.

The Supreme Court, Georgia's only appellate forum, was overwhelmed. It was apparent to bench and bar alike that something must be done to relieve the ever-increasing burden. The longer opinions of earlier years in which contrasting legal theories and precedents were presented and discussed in depth for the edification of the bench and bar had been replaced by shorter opinions limited to the facts of the case and the applicable law. The decisions of the three justices were still thorough and well-written, but discussion of judicial precedents, analyses of statutory provisions, and the development of various legal doctrines was necessarily curtailed. So serious was the crisis that it began to appear in the press as illustrated by this article from the 1894 Hawkinsville Dispatch.

No one familiar with the actual condition of legal matters in this state can seriously question the actual necessity for the increase in the number of judges on our supreme court. The security of life and property demand an increase for, as the court is now constituted, it is a physical impossibility for the three judges to give the requisite time and examination to the causes submitted were each one to work for full ten hours per day from the first to the last day of each year. It is the interest and welfare of the people that is at stake.3

It was apparent that a constitutional amendment to increase the number of justices on the Supreme Court was needed. Politics resulted in delay. Frustration over the lack of progress in resolving the problem led to the resignation of Chief Justice Logan E. Bleckley in October 1894. Bleckley was once described as a judge with his beard down to his navel, his hair to his shoulder, and 6 feet, 5 inches, and that he talks like Blackstone and looks like Santa Claus. Bleckley was well respected and his resignation stunned the legal community. 4 (Photo Bleckley) His resignation provided the catalyst for the legislative and public support that was necessary for the passage of a constitutional amendments to enlarge the Supreme Court and to eventually create the Georgia Court of Appeals. An 1896 amendment increased the number of justices on the Supreme Court to six, all of whom were seated in 1897. 5 Relief for the judicial burden had come at last, but the need for an additional appellate court was still apparent.

In 1902, the Georgia Bar Association appointed a "Committee on the Relief of the Supreme Court," consisting of one member from each of the congressional districts. 6

[Box - Quote

This movement – if we may call it such – this movement for the relief of the Supreme Court is of no recent origin. I think it is unfortunate that it has been termed a movement for the relief of the Supreme Court. It is a movement in behalf of the administration of the law, for the relief of those whose lives, whose liberty, whose property, is involved, those who have been given under the Constitution of the State the right to have an adverse decision reviewed. That's what it is, no more, no less. Justice Andrew J. Cobb at the 1906 annual meeting of the Georgia Bar Association ]

Over the next few years, as the Supreme Court caseload continued to increase. There was a concern that within a short period of time the Court would be unable to comply with the Constitutional requirement to dispose of cases within two terms of Court and cases would be affirmed by operation of law.7 A number of suggested solutions were put forward at the annual bar association meetings. Some of these suggestions were the establishment of twelve separate courts of appeal in the various judicial circuits throughout the state; establishment of a monetary threshold for appeal; restriction on appeals from the trial courts; and creation of two divisions of the Supreme Court - one for civil cases and one for criminal cases. 8 As time passed, a consensus developed that the establishment of a single appellate court in Atlanta was best. In 1903, a bar association committee adopted the suggestion of Justice Samuel Lumpkin for the creation of a court of appeals with jurisdiction over all cases except those reserved to Supreme Court had jurisdiction. 9 Its decisions would be subject to review by the Supreme Court by writ of certiorari.

The Creation of the Court

Finally, in 1906, the legislature, with the support of Governor Joseph M. Terrell, passed a proposed amendment to the Georgia Constitution of 1877 that would accomplish these purposes. 10 The amendment was ratified by the public on October 3, 1906.11

The amendment limited the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court to three classes of cases: (1) civil cases originating in the superior court, or carried thereto from the court of ordinary [probate court]; (2) all cases of correction of capital felonies; and (3) determination of questions certified to it by the Court of Appeals. All other cases were within the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeals, but any constitutional issues were to be certified by it to the Supreme Court.

Although the original draft of the constitutional amendment had proposed a court of appeals consisting of five judges to be appointed by the governor for staggered terms, the amendment as finally passed established a Court of Appeals of three judges to be elected in the following manner:

The Governor shall, immediately [up]on the ratification of this amendment, call an election, to be held on Tuesday after the first Monday in November, Anno Domini nineteen hundred and six, at which the judges of the Court of Appeals shall be elected in the manner in which Justices of the Supreme Court are elected. . . . The terms of office of the judges then elected shall begin on the first day of January, Anno Domini nineteen hundred and seven, and shall continue respectively two, four and six years and until their successors are qualified. The persons so elected shall, among themselves, determine by lot which of the terms each shall have, and they shall be commissioned accordingly by the Governor.

The candidates on the November ballot would be those nominated in the Democratic primary election of October 3rd.

The following account of the primary election is contained in an article by Judge Arthur G. Powell published in The Georgia Review in 1948:

(Headlines of Newspaper Article on Race - POLLS WILL OPEN TODAY FOR GENERAL ELECTION, ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW COURT WILL BE SUBMITTED TO VOTERS, Atlanta Constitution, October 3, 1906)

Sixteen candidates qualified: Thomas J. Chappell of Columbus, Fred Foster of Madison, Thomas F. Green of Athens, William R. Hammond of Atlanta, Frank Harwell of LaGrange, William M. Henry of Rome, Benjamin H. Hill, Jr. of Atlanta, Charles S. Jones of Macon, Charles G. Janes of Cedartown, George S. Jones of Macon, Henry C. Peeples of Atlanta, Arthur G. Powell of Blakely, P.P. Proffit of Elberton, David M. Roberts of Eastman, Richard B. Russell of Winder, Howard Van Epps of Atlanta, and B.S. Willingham of Forsyth.

Judge Russell had not announced his own candidacy, but, at the last moment, just before the entries for the primary closed, his friend Walter Brown of Atlanta had paid the fee and entered his name. . . .[Each candidate had to pay a qualifying fee of $100. 12]

On the basis of early returns, the press of the state announced as the probable nominees, Judge Russell, Arthur G. Powell, and Henry C. Peeples, in the order named. But on the final count, Benjamin H. Hill, Jr. nosed Peeples out by a small margin. The amendment creating the court was strongly opposed in some sections, but it was ratified by a safe majority, and a few days later it was proclaimed by the Governor as adopted.

Judges Russell, Powell and Hill were unopposed in the general election in November, which also confirmed the passage of the constitutional amendment creating Ben Hill County, named after Judge Hill's father. The three judges took office on January 1, 1907, and proceeded immediately to draw for terms by lot as the legislation had provided. Judge Russell drew the six-year term, Judge Powell the four-year term and Judge Benjamin Hill the two year term. Each of them was subsequently re-elected.

What was the nation like when the Court was established? In 1906 there were 76 million Americans. It was a period of significant immigration from Europe, over 1.29 million immigrants came to the U.S. in 1906. In 1907, the average worker made $12.98 a week in wages. In the year 1907, the Wright Brother made their first flight at Kitty Hawk. Sears & Roebucks and Montgomery Ward catalogs were the most read books after the Bible. In Europe, nations began the face-off that would lead to war within seven years. Prussia, Austria-Hungary and Italy formed the Triple Alliance, to which Britain, France and Russia responded with the Triple Entente. President Theodore Roosevelt continued to increase the size of the United States Navy, whose "Great White Fleet" showed the Stars and Stripes in a cruise around the world. These ominous developments caused no concern to the newly-
formed court or its operations, but within a decade all Americans would be affected by the conflict to be known as "The World War. 13

The First Judges

The first three judges of this court were a son of a famous United States (and Confederate) Senator, the father of a famous United States Senator, and the author of one of the finest legal treatises ever written in the State of Georgia. Each was an able and experienced attorney of the highest reputation.

( Hill Photo ) Benjamin H. Hill, Jr. was baptized as Cicero Holt Hill, but while in college changed his name to Benjamin Harvey Hill in homage to his late father, a distinguished member of both the United States and Confederate Senates. He was a graduate of the University of Georgia and its Law Department, Class of 1871. He had practiced law in Atlanta for many years, and had served as the state solicitor-general (district attorney) in Atlanta 1877-1885 and as United States District Attorney, at the appointment of President Grover Cleveland from 1885-1889. 14

Upon its organization, Judge Benjamin Hill became the first Chief Judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals. In an article in The Georgia Review in 1948, Judge Powell told the story in this manner:

He (Hill) told me he was anxious to be the first Chief Judge of the court, but did not wish to commit the indelicacy of voting for himself. I told him that I could avoid that embarrassment for him; that the constitutional amendment had made no provision for the selection of a Chief Judge. I reminded him that the same situation had confronted the Supreme Court when it was organized in 1845, and that an act had then been passed providing that the oldest Justice in commission or (if there were more than one whose commissions were of the same date) the one who was oldest in point of time should be Chief Justice. I told him that in the present plans of organization I had been delegated to draw, I would with propriety embody such a provision, and that with his vote and mine it would be adopted, and that he would so automatically become the Chief Judge.

The first reported opinion of the Court of Appeals was in a case argued on January 8, 1907, and decided on January 11. 15

The first opinion delivered by this court was prepared by Judge Hill in the case of Hunter v. Lissner, 1 Ga. App. 1. The case was one of small importance, involving a certiorari from a justice's court, in a suit upon a promissory note, but the opinion delivered by Judge Hill set an example which he followed throughout his judicial career. It was clear in expression and indicated patient research and careful consideration of the questions involved. He wrote with an easy, flowing style, and lucidity of expression, which was characteristic of all his opinions. One might differ with his conclusions, but there was rarely ever any doubt as to the meaning of his language.

Judge Hill served as Chief Judge until 1913, when he resigned to become Judge of the Superior Court of Fulton County as the compensation for that office exceeded that of a Judge of the Court of Appeals. His tenure as Chief Judge was largely responsible for the confidence the bar and public had in the new Court. His reputation was that he was courteous, considerate, and absolutely fearless in upholding the dignity and majesty of the law. He was defeated in the next election for Superior Court Judge and resumed the practice of law in Atlanta for two years in association with his nephew, Harvey Hill. He ran for election again to the Court of Appeals "both because he loved the work and because he wanted to vindicate his judicial record before the people of the whole State." He was elected by a substantial majority, and sworn in again as a judge of the Court of Appeals on November 15, 1920, and served until his death, July 19, 1922. 16He is buried in historic Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta.17

Richard B. Russell ( Russell Photo) was born in Marietta on April 27, 1861, two weeks after the first shot of the Civil War was fired at Fort Sumter. At 19 years of age, he was graduated from the Law Department of the University of Georgia and was admitted to the bar in 1880. He practiced law in Athens, where he served as solicitor-general and judge of the superior court, and later as a trustee of the University of Georgia. 18 He resigned the superior court judgeship position in 1906 to enter the race for governor, in which he ran second to the populist candidate, Hoke Smith. Richard Russell declined to become a candidate in the subsequent election for the Court of Appeals, but his name was placed on the ballot by his friends, as already related. He served on the court for ten years, during the last three of which he was Chief Judge. He resigned to return to the practice of law in 1916 and was elected to the Supreme Court in 1922. He became Chief Justice in 1923, and has the distinction of being the only person to head both courts.19

[Box - QuotationNo man can truly say that Judge Russell, in his judicial work, was ever influenced by any bias or friendship between one suitor or another. If his decisions were ever swayed, and perhaps sometimes they were, from the straight and narrow course of cold judicial logic, it was due to his ideaolgy of mercy, and of sympathy for the poor, the helpless, the unprotected and the underprivileged. . . .20

Judge Russell's eldest son, Richard B. Russell, Jr., attained the prize of the governorship that had eluded his father, and served as United States Senator from Georgia from 1937 until his death in 1971. As chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Dick Russell became one of the leaders of the Free World during the Cold War.

Arthur G. Powell (Powell - Photo) was born and raised in Early County, attended Mercer University for 18 months, studied law and was admitted to the bar at the age of 18. He began the practice of law in Blakely, in partnership with his father.

He became a specialist in litigation involving land law in the unsettled condition of land titles in South Georgia. His services in this field were in demand in courts throughout the southern part of the State, and his success there brought him additional practice. In addition to success in litigation, Judge Powell, at an early age, became a wise counsellor and displayed great ability in conciliating differences arising among contestants, which led to the amicable settlement of many cases. ...21

After his father's death, he practiced alone for several years, and then formed a partnership with Judge J.R. Pottle, who would later succeed him on the Court of Appeals. Court.

Judge Powell's service on the Court of Appeals was characterized by the same success that had attended his private practice, as shown by the statements in his Memorial report in 1952:

He brought to this office the ability of all great lawyers to dispose of cases both quickly and correctly, and to give clear and logical reasons for doing so. . . . He did not feel that he had been especially called on to announce great principles of law which would affect mankind, but rather dealt with the litigants and lawyers as if they stood with him on the same plane. The style of his opinions, if they may be said to have a fixed style, was laconic, at times conversational or homely. He delighted in the use of epigrams and at times, when the occasion justified, jest. The great English judges in the Yearbooks wrote in this style. In most cases, however, his opinions are precise, exact, and always in keeping with dignity of this great Court.

Judge Powell loved literature and studied French. He became friends with Wallace Stephens who was the general counsel for the Hartford Insurance Company, but was also a poet. On a winter vacation to Key West, both man met Ernest Hemingway and thereafter frequently vacationed and wrote together.22

The initial salary of the judges was set at $4,000.00 per annum. For many decades judicial salaries in the State of Georgia were not commensurate with the responsibility of the position or the level of legal ability required to perform them. Many attorneys could earn more in the private practice than on the bench, and, therefore, passed up opportunities for judicial service because of financial considerations. Judge Powell took office at a financial sacrifice supplementing his salary with his property and farming income. With this income failing, Judge Powell resigned from the bench, effective January 15, 1912. He then formed a partnership with John D. Little, an able lawyer and son of a former Supreme Court Justice. Judge Powell enjoyed great success in the practice of law in Atlanta, and was a founding partner in the law firm now known as Powell Goldstein LLP. (Endnote)

During his final year on the court, Judge Powell published his treatise, Actions For Land, dealing with the preparation and trial of cases involving disputed land titles. Resolving land disputes required an understanding of both common law principles, technical procedural requirements, and (as Judge Powell put it in his preface) the "multiformity of estates and of interests, legal and equitable, which so frequently is found in connection with the title to land." After almost a century since the publication of this treatise, it remains a standard and helpful work in this field of law.

Economy, often to the point of frugality, was the common denominator of state governmental operations at that time, and the new Court of Appeals was not excepted from its application. On August 4, 1907, Gov. Hoke Smith signed into law a bill "To Pay Salaries and Expenses of the Court of Appeals for 1907" (Ga. Laws, 1907, p. 22) which appropriated "the following sums of money, or so much thereof as may be necessary," for the following purposes:

For the payment of the salaries of the three judges of the Court of Appeals, four thousand dollars apiece.

For the payment of the salaries of three stenographers to the judges of the Court of Appeals, one thousand five hundred dollars apiece.

For the payment of the salary of the sheriff of the Court of Appeals, one thousand dollars.

For the payment to the clerk of the Court of Appeals his salary, if the costs of the Court of Appeals do not amount to the sum allowed by law for compensation of said clerk, an amount equal to the difference between the actual amount due said clerk and such costs, as provided by law.

For the contingent funds of the Court of Appeals in payment for necessary filing cases, printing, stationery, record books, etc., and for such articles and supplies as may be needed by said court in the conduct of its business for which provision is not made elsewhere, the sum of twelve hundred dollars, to be expended as the judges of that court may direct.

For the library of the Court of Appeals for the purchase of books, etc., to be expended by direction of the judges of said court, one thousand dollars.

The Organization of the Court

Offices for the judges and staff members were provided in the Capitol building, and the Court of Appeals shared with the Supreme Court its imposing courtroom in the south wing. (Photo Courtroom in Capitol) The first Clerk of the Court of Appeals was Logan Bleckley, a son of the Chief Justice of the same name and deputy clerk of the Supreme Court of Georgia. 23 (Photo Logan Bleckley Clerk and Pittman Sheriff?) He would serve in the position of Clerk until 1938. James H. Pitman from Troup County served as Sheriff until October at which time P. W. Derrick of Henry County took office. 24 George W. Stephens was appointed the Reporter. 25 John M. Graham of Augusta would later take Stephens's place as Reporter. He had been a private secretary to Alexander H. Stephens, owned and edited the Crawfordsville Democrat, and was one of the unsuccessful candidates for a Court of Appeals judgeship in 1916.26

The first stenographers of the Court were Edward C. Hill of Atlanta serving Judge Benjamin Hill, W. A. Cameron of Sylvester serving Judge Powell and Marion Bloodworth working for Judge Russell. Judge Powell opposed Ms. Bloodworth's employment on the ground that the code stated that females were ineligible to hold a civil office. Judges Hill and Russell prevailed noting that the position also included clerical duties. 27

The Early Court

An example of the cases before the Court in its first few years, illustrates the types of community issues in that era.

In Joe Hammock v. The State, 1 Ga. App. 127 (1907), reversed the trial court's conviction of Mr. Hammock for carrying a concealed weapon, holding that a citizen cannot be summarily searched on suspicion and then the evidence found be used to incriminate that citizen. 28

In another case, Bashinsky v. the City of Macon, 5 Ga. App. 3, (1909), a Mr. Bashinsky was convicted of keeping a "blind tiger" in violation of state prohibition laws In 1885 a Georgia statute gave voters in each county the right to impose prohibition in their county. By 1907, most counties had voted for prohibition and in the same year, the state legislature enacted mandatory statewide prohibition. The race riot of 1906 in Atlanta probably encouraged the enactment of prohibition; whites feared the possibility of violence from drunken African Americans and the organization of mobs by inebriated white citizens in the bars and saloons.29 The new law went into effect in 1908. Mr. Bashinsky had been keeping liquor in a rear room and bedroom downstairs in the same building as his restaurant. Although the Court affirmed the trial court decision, it directed Mr. Bashinsky be re-
sentenced as the sentence exceeded the city charter limits. 30

In Clarence Manning v. The State, 6 Ga. App. 240 (1909), the Court reversed Mr. Manning's conviction for unlawful shooting on Sunday. The rationale for the reversal was explained in the decision written by Judge Russell: " A mad dog is a public enemy and to shoot at a mad dog is not the willful and wanton firing of a weapon, within the terms of the act of 1898, which forbids the shooting of firearms on Sunday." 31

During the first few years, there were also two controversies which were publicized in the Atlanta Constitution. The first involved Judge Augustus W. Fite of the Cherokee Circuit. First, in September, 1911 Judge Fite criticized Judge Russell hinting that Judge Russell had neglected his duties as a judge and had been outspoken in condemning the prohibition law.

In January 1912, the Court of Appeals reversed Judge Fite in Jerry McCullough v. The State, 10 Ga. App. 403 (1912) in an opinion written by Judge Hill. The case involved the conviction of an African American man for attempted assault of a Caucasian woman and a 20 year prison sentence. Judge Hill opined that the evidence did not show felonious intent and that the trial judge, Fite, should have allowed polling of the jury before the sentence was announced.

In a second trip of the case to the Court of Appeals, Judge J. R. Pottle's opinion again reversed the case. Judge Fite fired a letter to the newspaper inferring that the appeals court opinion was responsible for a recent riot and that if the Court refused to reconsider its decision the legislature should give the citizens an opportunity to abolish the Court of Appeals. Thereafter, the Court of Appeals had its Sheriff serve a charge of contempt and a notice of hearing on Judge Fite. After the hearing in October,1912 Judge Fite was found guilty and sentenced to a fine of $500 or 10 days imprisonment. 32

The second controversy, involved W. T. Moyers, an attorney and stenographer discharged by Russell, who made accusations of misconduct against Russell. Following up on the charges, the House of Representatives appointed a committee to investigate. The charges were found to be groundless. 33

Judge Arthur G. Powell was succeeded on the bench by his former law partner, J. R. Pottle. (Photo Pottle) James Robert Pottle was born and raised in Warrenton, where his father was a superior court judge. He was educated in the public schools and in the Georgia Military College at Milledgeville. He taught school for four years, and in 1896 was admitted to the bar. He became the secretary to Justice Andrew J. Cobb of the Supreme Court, and in 1906 moved to Blakely to form a partnership with Arthur G. Powell. Upon the resignation of Judge Powell from the Court of Appeals in January 1912, Governor John M. Slaton appointed J. R. Pottle to the vacancy until the next election. Pottle ran in the election for the remainder of Judge Powell's term against Nash R. Broyles. Pottle and Broyles tied in the county unit vote, but Pottle had won the popular vote. Under the circumstances, Broyles graciously withdrew from the race.34 Judge Pottle thereafter served until February 1914 when he moved to Albany and continued the practice of law. In his Memorial report in 1933, it is stated:

That he deserves rank as one of the State's great jurists, though he served for only so short a time as two years, the official reports of this court most fully attest. His judicial opinions are clear, thorough and concise, and disclose an accurate grasp of legal principles. He was one of the State's great lawyers.

Chief Judge Hill was the second of the original three judges to resign. In 1913, Judge L.S. Roan (1849-1915) was a native of Henry County and a graduate of Fayetteville High School. According to his Memorial report in 1915, "he never attended a law school, but, after the old-time method, obtained his legal training in Griffin, Georgia, in the offices of Peeples & Stewart, a noted law firm composed of the late Judge Cincinnatus Peeples and Judge John D. Stewart, the latter subsequently the representative from the fifth district in Congress."

Judge Roan was admitted to the bar in 1870, and began his practice in Fairburn, which was then in Campbell County. His Memorial report mentions that, "He was a number of times mayor of his town, and took much interest in the upbuilding thereof, and especially in its schools and educational interests." He was a judge of the Stone Mountain Circuit Superior Court and by a special act of the legislature held the criminal division for the superior court of Fulton County.

He was practical and painstaking in all that he undertook. He was a safe counselor and a strong advocate and a skillful manager of cases. He was unusually successful and never failed to secure for a client all that he was entitled to in a case. He was careful and successful in the training of those who studied for the profession in his office; they in almost every instance becoming successful members of the bar. 35

Judge Roan was the trial judge in the Leo Frank case, a famous murder case concerning the death of a young woman, Mary Phagan, who was a worker in a pencil factory in which Mr. Frank was a supervisor. Leo Frank was Jewish. At the time Judge Roan was appointed to replace Judge Benjamin Hill on the Court of Appeals, he was entertaining a motion for new trial on Leo Frank's behalf. Judge Hill was taking a superior court judgeship newly created by the legislature in Fulton County. 36 After the conclusion of the case, Governor Slaton reviewed the case evidence and requests for clemency including that of Judge Roan who expressed doubt over Frank's guilt. Despite public agitation, Governor Slaton commuted Frank's death sentence within days of the scheduled execution date and the end of his term of office. Governor Slaton had to flee the state after his decision. About two months later, Leo Frank was abducted from jail by a mob and lynched. (Copy of Clemency Order - See Georgia Vault)

In 1914, following the resignation of Judge J. R. Pottle, Governor Slaton appointed a practicing lawyer from Dublin as his successor. Peyton L. Wade (Photo Wade) was a native of Screven County born on January 9, 1865, only weeks after Sherman's army passed through it during the March to the Sea. He received an A.B. degree from the University of Georgia in 1886, where he was a classmate and college roommate of the future Governor Slaton.37 His early career is well summarized in his Memorial report in 1919:

After graduating Judge Wade taught school in Dublin during 1886 and 1887; and during his residence there he edited the Dublin Post until February, 1888. He was one of the founders of the Weekly Press Association of Georgia, which was organized at Milledgeville in 1887. During his residence at the University he was one of the editors of Pandora, the College Annual, published at Athens.

Judge Wade was admitted to the bar in 1888, practiced in Athens one year, and moved the following year to Dublin, where he practiced law until his appointment to the Court of Appeals on February 4, 1914. 38 Suggested to the Governor for appointment to the Court of Appeals bench, Judge Wade's qualifications and character were endorsed by more than twelve city bar associations and hundreds of prominent lawyers.39 He was not only an outstanding lawyer, but a dedicated bibliophile.

He owned one of the largest private libraries in this State, and on leaving Dublin to take a seat on the bench of this court he gave a large number of valuable books to the Carnegie Library of Dublin. In 1918 he gave thirteen hundred volumes to the University of Georgia, and intended to give a number of books to Oglethorpe University. This purpose was carried out by his wife after his death, when she gave 335 volumes from his library to Oglethorpe University. This still left him with a very large private library of the best literature of all lands.

He was a man of stainless integrity and uprightness. In the practice of the law he was never known to do a questionable or shady thing. He spurned all tricks in pursuing his profession.... He was an upright judge as he was an honest man. 40

Apparently because of ill health, Judge Roan chose not to run for the remainder of Judge Ben Hill's term and resigned as of December 31, 1914. He died in a hospital in New York City eight weeks later. (Endnote?) Nash Broyles had announced his decision to oppose Judge Roan for election and took Judge Roan's seat by election. 41

Nash Rose Broyles, took office on January 1, 1915, and would remain with the Court of Appeals until his death more than 32 years later. (Coordinate with other Chapters) Nash Broyles graduated from Boys' High School in Athens in 1885, He received his A.B. degree from University of Georgia in 1888 and graduated from its law school in 1889. He practiced law in Atlanta until 1898, when he was elected City Recorder.

No ideologies or intangible philosophies swayed him, nor did power or popular applause swerve him from his judgment. A believer in the enforcement of the law, an opponent of trifling technicalities, an advocate of the punishment of the guilty as a protection to society, the volumes in which he wrote contain many a case where he declared that the evidence did not justify a conviction, and the obscure and unknown defendant secured his freedom.

His strength lay in his faith in the eternal principles of right and wrong. With him a contract entered into fairly was inviolable whether it was that of the weakest person or the most powerful one. He regarded the individual as at the apex of creation, and his rights and obligations were to be so measured....

Courage in every form was his distinguishing characteristic. Fear of nothing except to do wrong was the ideal of his life. His opinions were marked by simplicity and clarity. The words he employed were old-fashioned Anglo Saxon, and unconfused by complex and pedantic abstractions. One who read them found no difficulty in understanding what he thought and what he meant. In every line was found a search for justice and for the true law42

One of the shortest tenures of office in the history of the Court of Appeals besides Judge Roan was that of the successor to Judge Russell upon his resignation in 1916. Robert Hodges was a native of Macon and a graduate of Mercer University in the Class of 1885. He followed the established precedent of teaching school for two years, during which he studied law under the tutelage of the local bar, to which he was admitted in 1887. His service as solicitor-general of the Macon Circuit to which he had been elected was interrupted by the advent of the Spanish-American War. Answering a call of President McKinley in 1898 for volunteers, Robert Hodges enlisted. Upon commissioning as a Captain by Governor W. Y. Atkinson, he organized a company of the Third Georgia Regiment. After service, he resumed his duties as solicitor-general until his term expired on January 1, 1900 43 He subsequently served as Judge of the City Court of Macon until he was appointed by Governor Harris to succeed Judge Russell on June 6, 1916. On June 9, 1916, the press announced that the certain cases heard before Judge Russell would be re-argued so that Judge Hodges could hear the cases he would decide which were pending after Russell resigned. 44

Similar to Judge Wade, Judge Hodges had a significant library and literary interest.

Though Judge Hodges at the time of his death had enjoyed the honor of being a member of this court for only a brief period, he demonstrated conspicuous ability as an appellate judge....

In addition to his splendid legal attainments, Judge Hodges was recognized in a certain sense as a literary authority; his familiarity with the classics of all nations being notable. His library, both legal and literary, was one of the most carefully selected and complete in our State, and while he was unswerving in his loyalty to, and happy in the companionship of his friends, much of his time was given to his best friends, his books.... He was an ardent advocate of the Baconian theory, and wrote a cryptogram of ingenious and intricate construction to demonstrate the fallacy of Shakespearean authorship.45

Judge Hodges fell ill suddenly and was taken to a private hospital in Macon on December 2, 1916 where he fell unconscious. He was never revived, dying on December 12th barely six months since his appointment. Judge Hodges was 48 years old and the cause of death was described in the news as dropsy, fluid accumulation in the tissues which may have been a sign of heart disease.46

Early Expansion

The forces which had led to the creation of the Court of Appeals continued unabated during the first decade of its existence. From 1906 to 1916, seven additional counties and 38 additional city courts were created. The population of the state had increased by almost half a million from 1900 to 1910, and the number of lawyers admitted to practice had almost doubled since 1890. Both industrial and agricultural development had steadily continued, with a resulting increase in civil litigation.

[Box - Resolution Proposed to Georgia Bar Association 1915 by Orville A. Park, Macon

WHEREAS, No Justice of the Supreme Court or Judge of the Court of Appeals has been able to attend this meeting of the Association, and,

WHEREAS, The Justices and Judges have advised the Association that they greatly desired to attend but were prevented from doing so by reason of the crowded condition of the dockets of their courts, and the necessity of deciding the cases at the second term or have them affirmed by operation of law, and,

WHEREAS, Said courts have been forced to remain in continuous session with no opportunity for even the briefest vacation, and without cessation from their onerous and exacting labors, and,

WHEREAS, Said courts are now annually deciding more than sixteen hundred cases, which is a greater number than can be disposed of with satisfaction to the bar or credit to the court, even with the incessant slavish toil to which the Justices and Judges are being subjected, and,

WHEREAS, Some relief from the present intolerable condition is absolutely and manifestly necessary and must be immediately had; therefore, be it

Resolved, That the letter from the Justices of the Supreme Court calling attention to and emphasizing these conditions be referred to the Permanent Commission on Revision of the Judicial System and Procedure with direction to confer with the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals as early as practicable and devise some measure of relief. . . . ]

At the Georgia Bar Association annual meeting in 1916, Court of Appeals Judge Pottle reported on the status of the caseload of the two appellate courts.

In 1906 the Supreme Court was about a term behind. Since that time the Court of Appeals has been created and has been disposing of nearly 800 cases a year which formerly went to the Supreme Court. Litigation has been constantly increasing. The population of the State has grown. Let us see how stands the situation today .... Since the establishment of the Court of Appeals the average annual return to that court has been 780 cases, and the present average return to the Supreme Court is 660 cases; the average annual return to the two courts being 1,440 cases. At this time the Supreme Court is still about a term behind. It has on hand 446 cases undisposed of, which have been argued and assigned to the justices, eight criminal and 438 civil cases. The Court of Appeals has on hand 67 criminal and 233 civil cases.

Upon review of the situation by members of the bench and bar, legislation to increase the number of judges on the court from three to six was enacted on August 19, 1916. The Act also provided the judges shall sit in two divisions of three judges each and shall elect a Chief Judge who shall make the assignments of judges to the divisions. The Chief Judge was designated the presiding judge of the first division. It also provided that all criminal cases would be assigned to one division.

The election process for the three new judgeships in 1916 was an exercise in the art of politics. Fourteen candidates from around the state qualified to run in the September Democratic primary. Under the county unit system then in effect, the official nomination of the three candidates whose names would be placed on the ballot in the November general election was to be made at the state Democratic convention. The number of delegates to the convention was fixed at six for the three most populous counties in the state, four for the twelve next most populous counties, and two for each of the remaining counties. The leading candidate in each county election received all its votes in the convention as a unit, thus giving the system its name. If no candidate in the popular election received a majority of the unit votes, each county would vote on the first ballot as the election results dictated, and was thereafter free to make its own choice. That is exactly what happened in the 1916 race.

The fourteen candidates and their unit votes in the September primary were: O.H.B. Bloodworth of Forsyth, 160; Alex Stephens of Atlanta, 142; Walter F. George of Vienna, 138; W. Frank Jenkins of Eatonton, 134; John B. Hutcheson of Ashburn, 120; Roscoe Luke of Thomasville, 94; Henry J. Fullbright of Waynesboro, 66; John J. Kimsey of Cornelia, 44; M.J. Yeomans of Dawson , 42; A.W. Cozart of Columbus, 34; Henry S. Jones of Augusta, 24; George C. Grogan of Elberton, 14; John M. Graham of Marietta, 10; L.P. Skeen of Tifton, 2.

At the convention which met in Macon on September 25, Walter F. George, W. Frank Jenkins and Roscoe Luke were nominated as the three Democratic candidates to run unopposed in the November election. The terse report in the Atlanta Constitution gave no indication of the political turmoil which had produced this result:

In no instance, save in the nomination of appellate court judges, was there any appearance of a contest; and that was short-lived. After the initial ballot in which the name of each of the fourteen original candidates figured, Candidates Grogan and Jones withdrew from the race. Upon the second ballot Judge George was nominated, and Graham, Kimsey, Yeomans and Cozart dropped out of the contest voluntarily. The third ballot resulted in filling the remaining two places on the ticket.

After the death of Judge Hodges the Governor received over 300 applications for the vacant judgeship. The Governor offered the appointment to Ellsworth Hall of Macon and Samuel H. Sibley of Union Point who both declined, before contacting Judge Oliver Hazzard Bartow Bloodworth to fill the unexpired term. 47 Thus, by the untimely demise of Judge Hodges, the Governor had the opportunity to reward the winning candidate in the September primary. (Photo Bloodworth) Judge Bloodworth's early career is well stated in his Memorial report in 1933:

Judge Bloodworth was born during the most unsettled period of American history, and in consequence of the economic disaster which overwhelmed the South during the Reconstruction period following the War Between the States, his father suffered financial ruin; but in spite of this disaster he determined to acquire the sound education for which he was distinguished. He attended the grammar school at Milner, later entering Gordon Institute at Barnesville, from which he was graduated in 1878, and immediately matriculated at the University of Georgia, from which he received his liberal arts degree in 1880, at which time he was awarded the golden Phi Beta Kappa key as evidence of his high class standing, he being the first-honor man of his class. . . . After his graduation he took up his residence in Forsyth, the county seat, and began the study of the law in a local law office, and was admitted to the practice of the law in Monroe Superior Court on October 1, 1881. He immediately "hung out his shingle" in Forsyth, ... where he was an active practitioner until the time of his elevation to the bench of this court.48

He served as mayor of Forsyth, representative from Monroe County, solicitor-general of the Flint Judicial Circuit, and as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Bessie Tift College. His Memorial report paints a revealing portrait of his life and career:

Undoubtedly Judge Bloodworth was wedded to the law. It was his only business or professional endeavor. He cherished the highest concepts of its ethics, and applied his vast energy to its study as a science comprising the noblest field of the intellectual faculties. He was never known to stoop to any act of sharp practice, or to allow his own pecuniary interest to dominate his clients' welfare. He believed that respect for and obedience to the law is the foundation-stone of our civilization, and sincerely championed the cause of popular liberty,.... 49

On January 1, 1917, the court was reorganized into the First Division consisting of Chief Judge Peyton Wade and Judges Walter George and Roscoe Luke, and the Second Division consisting of Presiding Judge Nash Broyles and Judges W. Frank Jenkins and Oliver Bloodworth, the latter being the division to which all criminal cases were assigned. Unfortunately for the judges they would not be paid a salary until July when a special provision for pay could be passed by the legislature.50

Walter Franklin George (Photo George) the first judge to be nominated in 1916, was born on a farm in Webster County, educated in the public schools, and graduated from Mercer University with the Bachelor of Science degree in 1900 and the Bachelor of Laws degree in 1901. He began his law practice in Vienna and on January 1, 1907, entered upon a career of public service that would continue almost uninterrupted for over half a century. He was solicitor-general of the Cordele circuit and was serving as its judge at the time of his election to the Court of Appeals in 1916. After only nine months of service on that bench, he was appointed by Governor Hugh M. Dorsey to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court created by the resignation of Justice Beverly D. Evans. He served on the Supreme Court until December 31, 1921, when he resigned to return to Vienna and resume his law practice.

The break in Judge George's public service lasted only one year, for he was elected to the United States Senate in 1922 to fill the unexpired term of Senator Tom Watson, who had died during that summer. Senator George rose to be a leader in world affairs as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from the days of World War II until his retirement from the Senate on January 5, 1957, after which he served as special representative of the President of the United States to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) until his death on August 4, 1957. The Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University was named in his honor in 1947.

The second winner in the election of 1916 was William Franklin Jenkins. (Photo Jenkins) W. Frank Jenkins was born on September 7, 1876 in Webster County, but was raised and educated in the public schools at Eatonton in Putnam County His matriculation at the University of Virginia was interrupted by a prolonged attack of typhoid fever which caused him to return to Georgia. Upon recovering, he entered the School of Law at the University of Georgia, from which he graduated in 1896. He practiced law in Eatonton in partnership with his father, W.F. Jenkins the elder, who died in 1909, and thereafter continued the practice until his election to the Court of Appeals in 1916. He had also been the Mayor of Eatonton, Chairman of the Board of Education of Putnam, and a member of the legislature. At the time of his appointment he was the Vice-Chair of the State Democratic Committee. 51 The nature of his practice is well stated in his Memorial report:

General practitioners of that day did not specialize. They were lawyers. They tried civil cases, criminal cases, suits at law, bills in equity, and whatever else came to hand. In his twenty years at the bar, Judge Jenkins defended more than a hundred murder cases – and it was not a lawless community. It is said that the worst verdict ever returned against one of these clients was for voluntary manslaughter. 52

Judge Jenkins served on the Court of Appeals for 20 years, during which time he twice declined opportunities to be appointed to the Supreme Court. In 1936 he ran without opposition for the vacant seat left by the retirement of the Justice Price Gilbert. He served for 12 years on the Supreme Court, and was Chief Justice from 1946 until he retired in 1948.

(Box - He had but one rule about his own style: that every headnote, and every division of an opinion, must embody a complete statement of law – one that could be lifted out of all context without impairment.

He had but one rule about his own consideration of a case: that every point, however trivial it might seem, should be considered and decided.

He had but one rule about the result to be reached in any case: that which truth, justice and the law required.

It never occurred to him that a case could be "loaded," or that a judge could be "on a spot."

He never hesitated to grant a rehearing if he felt that his opinion might be wrong, or even that it was not clear to the losing lawyer. He attributed good faith to every member of the bar, and often said that a lawyer who made a point in good faith, however erroneously, was entitled to know that it had been considered.

We may sum up . . . by saying that he met, in full measure, the high standards of ability, integrity and diligence established by the faith of the people of Georgia in the judiciary of this State.] 53

The third successful candidate in the 1916 election was Roscoe Luke. A veteran of the Spanish-American War, he was born and raised in Thomasville, where he practiced law, served as solicitor of two local courts and as mayor. His service on the Court of Appeals would last for almost 16 years.

Seldom have the wrestling of the judicial conscience been more clearly displayed than in an opinion written by Judge Luke in 1931. The plaintiff filed suit for defamation of character against the estate of the testatrix, the provisions of whose will had implied that he was the illegitimate son of her former daughter-in-law. The defendant executor raised as a defense the common-law maxim Actio personalis moritur cum persona (A personal right of action dies with the person). Under this doctrine the suit would have been dismissed, but the plaintiff argued that the common-law maxim was not applicable under the reasoning in recent decisions of courts in Pennsylvania and Tennessee. Judge Luke's opinion adopted the plaintiff's argument and allowed the lawsuit to proceed. His opinion, which was concurred in by Chief Judge Broyles, stated:

Upon consideration of the question we find ourselves squarely facing a choice between two courses: on the one hand, the orthodox course of adhering strictly to the rigid rule of the common law, which in any case of the character of that before us would do violence to our innate sense of what is fair and right; or, on the other hand, falling in line with the constantly changing concepts of the law and its administration by conforming with what appears to be a modern doctrine, "pure drawn from the fountains of justice." In the instant case, notwithstanding our natural aversion to do anything in the nature of "judicial legislation," we are impelled, in good conscience, to adopt the latter alternative. Though the doctrine that we have decided to follow, it is true, does not seem to be derived from any ancient legal lore, it has the merit, in our judgment, of being deep rooted in a moral source, and at least appears to have become an established theory of the law of this country. 54

Judge Luke's judicial career had yet another chapter. In November 1932 he resigned his seat on the Court of Appeals. Governor Richard B. Russell, Jr. immediately appointed Hugh James MacIntyre, Judge of the City Court of Thomasville, to fill the vacancy, and appointed Judge Luke as judge of the city court to succeed Judge MacIntyre. It was a neat arrangement by which the two judges simply exchanged benches.55

By the time the three new judges were elected office space in the State Capitol was limited as indicated by a news article that a mezzanine would be created for the Court records room.56 In fact, the Governor later ordered the state military department to vacate quarters on the first floor of the Capitol for the offices of the new second division of the Court of Appeals.57

As well as enlarging the bench of the Court, the 1916 constitutional amendment also enlarged the jurisdiction of the court. Initially the Court of Appeals handled cases from the city courts and felonies other than capital cases. This amendment provided that the court would have jurisdiction of a significant number of civil cases from the Supreme Court. There was also a change in that a constitutional issue would no longer need to be certified to the Supreme Court from the Court of Appeals. The case could be appealed directly to the Supreme Court of Georgia. 58

A Changing Georgia

In the year 1916, Georgia citizens witnessed an event the full effects of which would not be felt for decades to come. On August 19th Governor Nathaniel E.Harris signed legislation providing that "female citizens shall be admitted to the practice of law in this State upon the same terms and qualifications as now applied to male citizens." This legislation required a six year effort and prior to the vote there was still opposition by the bar. Immediately prior to the passage of the act, out of the existing forty-eight states, Georgia was one of 3 states that still prohibited women from law practice. 59 Missouri and West Virginia were the other two states that barred women from practicing law.

In 1921 Viola Ross Napier and Aline Hardin of the Macon bar became the first female attorneys to defend a murder case.

[Box - The news story published in the Atlanta Constitution was indicative of the attitudes of both the press and the bar of that day toward women in the law practice.

Women Attorneys

Will Defend Man

At Murder Trial

Fair Lawyers to Plead the

Case of Former Macon

Policeman.

Macon, Ga., February 5. (Special.) – For the first time in the history of Bibb County women lawyers will, on Monday, defend a man charged with murder, when Mrs. Viola Napier, widow of Hendley V. Napier, one of Macon's leading attorneys, and Miss Aline Hardin, cousin of Judge Charles L. Bartlett, will be associated with the defense of a former city detective, W.C. Swift, who, with four other former city detectives, is charged with murdering in April, 1919, Abram Kimbrell and Phillip Lamar.

It is generally believed that it will be the first time in the history of the State of Georgia that women lawyers have participated in trials where the death penalty is applicable. Other lawyers in the case are W.A. McClellan, leading counsel for the defense, who has associated with Attorney John R. Cooper, T.A. Jacobs and Walter Defore. . . .]

Viola Ross Napier later became the first woman to be admitted to practice before the Court of Appeals. Her portrait hangs in a place of honor at the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University. Napier was born in Macon and was a school teacher. After her husband died during the flu epidemic of 1919 she became a lawyer to better support her family of four children. She attended a night school and passed the bar exam in 1920. She had her own practice representing primarily women and the indigent. 60

The Last Judges in the World War I Era

In the spring of 1917, Congress, at the strong insistence of President Woodrow Wilson, declared war on the Central Powers, as Germany and its allies were known. The conflict which Wilson said was intended "to make the world safe for democracy" lasted until the Armistice of November 11, 1918. By then, the world which the Edwardian Era had known no longer existed. (tie in with Georgia and Court?)

The vacancy created by the appointment of Judge Walter F. George to the Supreme Court in October 1917 was quickly filled by Governor Dorsey's appointment of Frank Harwell. (Photo Harwell) He was born in Troup County and educated in the public schools of West Point. He was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Georgia with a Master of Arts degree in 1891. After studying law in LaGrange for two years, he was admitted to the bar in 1893. He practiced in LaGrange and served as judge of the local city court. He did not offer for reelection to the Court of Appeals in 1918.

[ Put in Box?]His opinions have been called "crisp and concise." In an appeal from Laurens County in 1917, Judge Harwell wrote:

The defendant was charged, jointly with one Wynn, of dynamiting fish, and was found guilty. The evidence shows that the defendant suggested to Wynn that they go down to Turkey Creek and get a mess of fish, and together they went to the creek. Defendant was not seen to have any fishing tackle of any kind when he went to the creek. A large explosion was heard at the creek, and when witnesses who heard it arrived at its source they found the water muddy, dead fish floating on its surface, and saw the defendant and Wynn gathering in the fish. Wynn was in the water picking up fish, and the defendant on the bank with a dip-net dipping them up. The defendant was afterward seen on his way home with the fish; and when asked if they were fit to eat, he replied that they were. We think the evidence amply supports the verdict . . ." (Bracewell v. State, 21 Ga. App. 133, 134).

Judge Frank Harwell's successor was Alexander William Stephens, a prominent Atlanta attorney who had finished second in the 1916 Democratic primary. He was the great grandson of John L. Stephens who was the brother of Alexander H. Stephens, who had served both as Governor of Georgia and as Vice-President of the Confederacy.61 He grew up in Taliaferro and Wilkes Counties. He was a fourth-generation lawyer who had graduated from Boys' High School in Atlanta and the University of Georgia. He studied law at Harvard. 62 Stephens was admitted to the practice of law after examination in open court. He practiced in Atlanta until 1918, when he was elected to the Court of Appeals. He was described as "a man of very strong and independent views."

While in his legal opinions Judge Stephens was inclined to the liberal side, somewhat after the manner of the late Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, in his political and economic views he was strictly conservative and a consistent opponent of all fads and innovations. These for the most part he held to be un-
American . . . .63

The death of Chief Judge Peyton L. Wade on August 29, 1919 created a vacancy on the court to which Governor Dorsey appointed his friend, Charles Whiteford Smith. (Photo Smith) A native of South Carolina, Judge Smith had moved with his family to Atlanta. He attended the local public schools and Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C. His Memorial reports on his early career:

After leaving Wofford College Judge Smith studied law in the office of Gartrell and Stephens of Atlanta, and was admitted to the practice of law on April 20, 1876, when he lacked a day of being twenty years old. He practiced the profession alone until about 1883, when he formed the first and only partnership of his career, with Captain John Milledge, who was the first captain of the Governor's Horse Guards. 64

In 1892 -1893, Judge Smith served as a State senator from the thirty-
fourth district. His home was in the suburb of Atlanta known as Edgewood, which community he helped to found and build. He served as its first mayor, holding that office for six consecutive terms. After Edgewood was merged into the City of Atlanta, Judge Smith represented the ward as a Atlanta City Council member until his appointment in 1915 as a judge of the Stone Mountain Circuit. 65

Judge Smith was very active in the Georgia State militia, serving eighteen years and reaching the rank of captain. He was for many years senior Captain of the Governor's Horse Guards Association of Georgia.66

Judge Smith's Memorial report contains a litany of those qualities of character, mind, and temperament which every judge may aspire to emulate.

By nature and training he was judicial in temperament and possessed of qualities of mind and soul that inspired confidence and respect. He was not what would be termed a showy, but rather a substantial and solid character. He was of the earnest, tireless manner of man. His habits were good, his purposes were lofty and pure, his devotion to duty unquestionable. 67

There was therefore little surprise when he was appointed by Governor Dorsey a judge of the Court of Appeals.

Judge Smith sat on the Court of Appeals bench for only 14 months. He did not offer for election in 1920, possibly because of the disadvantages of a statewide race under the county unit system by a judge who was little known outside Atlanta. He was succeeded by the winner of the 1920 election, former Chief Judge Benjamin H. Hill, who re-assumed his seat on this bench on November 15, 1920 and served until his death on July 19, 1922. 68

Conclusion

In the first 14 years of its existence, 15 judges had filled the six judgeships on the Court of Appeals. It entered the decade of the 1920's with a stable bench and an efficient operation, but the state and nation in which it sat, and the world of which they were a part, were about to undergo a period of ominous change.

In the year 1919, America entered its first post-war era in more than half a century. The Armistice of November 11, 1918, had ended the fighting in what was then called "The World War," but the victorious Allies did not dictate the terms of peace to a prostrate Germany until the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919. Its harsh terms and stringent reparations insured that the German economy would never recover its former strength and that political chaos would be its inevitable result.

Opposition to the treaty would ultimately culminate in the election of Adolf Hitler, a former corporal in the German army, as Chancellor. After the bloodiest war in history a quarter-century later, the mistakes made at Versailles would finally be rectified by two U.S. Army veterans, Captain Harry S. Truman and Colonel George C. Marshall.

In 1919, the great redeeming feature of the Treaty of Versailles was seen by President Woodrow Wilson as the establishment of a League of Nations strong enough to guarantee the political independence and territorial integrity of its member states. When serious opposition to the treaty was manifested in the Senate, Wilson undertook a cross-country speaking tour in support of ratification. He suffered a debilitating stroke in October 1919 which effectively ended any chance that the treaty would be ratified.

All this had little effect on Georgia, where a new threat known as the boll weevil had begun to threaten the future of the state's premier crop -- cotton. New strains on the economy in the coming decades would put both Georgia's fiscal and judicial stability to the test.

(Tie in to Georgia History and Court of previous paragraph?)