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4 THE COLUMBIA HERALD: FRIDAY, JANUARY 2o. 1S!7. Columbia Herald. Published by the Herald Publishing Co. SUHSCII'KTION RATKS: In the County tl.W. Out of the County 1.25. Entered at the post-office at Columbia. Tei nessee as second-class mall matter. Is Your Blood F. D. LANDER, Editor. A LocAii option bill is before the Tennessee legislature. It provides that every town or city in the State may decide for itself whether or not whisky or other intoxicating; drinks may be sold in its borders. Else where we publish a full text of the bill. The friends of the measure are working earnestly in its behalf, and request all persons in the Btnte who are likewise friendly to its pro visions and wish to assist in sup pressing the saloon, to get up peti tions and send them to their repre sentatives In the legislature. By these petitions every boy or girl, man or woman in Tennessee, town or country, can and should make their wishes known. If the saloon is an evil, it should be abated, and this is the most practical way to get at the question. But whether we think the saloon as nu institution is an evil or not, is not the question now. In supporting this meaure by petitioning our representatives to vote for it in the legislature, we are not expressing an individual opinion as to whether the saloon is right or wrong, whether its influence is for good or bad, whether it should go or stay. That question will be pre sented when the people are called upon to vote. The question now is simply to give the people the right to decide that most important ques tion for themselves. The simple right to say by their votes wheth er or not they want the saloon as their next door neighbor. Certainly there can be no fair and valid objec tion to this. Even those eniraged in the business whether they are or not should be willing to quit if a majority of their fellow townsmen are opposed to their presence or their traffic. That is nothing but fair and just and right. That is how we de cide who shall be our law makers, and certainly it is a fair way to de cide what shall be our law. That is nothing more nor less than a practi cal acknowledgment of the right of the majority to rule, and that is pure Democracy. We do not know how any of our representatives stand up on the question, but we presume they will not refuse to give their constituents tiie opportunity and accord to them the ritfht to decide for themselves whether or not the saloon must go. m MKENNON, ANDERSON i FOSTER. Bids have been asked for and some have been received, for light ing the streets of Columbia. We hope somebody will bid low enough to dissuade the Board from under taking the job themselves. To build an electric light plant, the Board will have to issue- bonds. An issu ance of bonds means a mortgage upon every foot of ground and every building in Columbia. The people don't want any new mortgages put on their homes. The houses they live in are mortgaged high enough by taxation already. They are op posed to increasing their liability. Bather than do this they would be willing to go back to the coal oil lamps. They are opposed to bonds, federal, state or municipal. Let somebody else incur the debt and take the risk. We do not hear of any of the Board mortgaging their own property, and they should be just as conservative and prudent with the property of their con stituents as with their own. . . Tins legislature is acting as if they really intended to accomplish some good. Tfiey have passed sev eral good laws, and are making good headway towards others. However, it is too early to eulogize until we see what becomes of the Constitu tional Convention bill, the Railroad Commission bill, the Local Option bill, and last but not least that de lectable piece of impudent extrava gance, the Nashville Centennial bill. If our legislators are of and for the people, and beyond and above the lobby, these first three measures they will pass, and the last one named they will kill, very, very dead, sans ceremony, sans debate. Mr. it. C. Curcii has had a full and final settlement with the Chan cery Court of his trusteeship of the funds of the Columbia Banking Co., and elsewhere in this issue makes a plain business statement of the re sult. His management of the af fairs of the suspended bank, has been painstaking and prudent, and realized for tlie creditors even moro than was expected, considering the times, when collaterals and endors ers heretofore good, have, by un toward misfortune proved, in many instances, entirely worthless. Lkt Maury County's Representa tives remember that they are in structed, by resolutions adopted in tho convention which nominated them, among other things to vote and work for a mandatory railroad i commission. Had you thought of how important a matter that is? If it is not right you are in danger of la grippe which may lead to serious results. The hlooil is the fountain of life and upon its condition depends the ability of the system to thwart disease. The liver is the great sewer by which ail impurities are elimi nated. One bottle of Dr. Garwood's Warsaparilla will purify the blood and render the liver active thus eradicating the impurities that rankle in the system and invite disease. One box Garwood's nerve and liver pills free with each bottle. None genuine without the signature of Garwood Medicine Company on every bottle. Sold only by RAINS, THE DRUGGIST. Witch Kloth the great cleaner and polisher is selling rapidly. CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION. Reforms Needed for the Proper Ad ministration of Criminal Laws. In our last paper on this question the subject of reform in the administration of our criminal law was discussed, and especial attention was given to our grand jury system. It was urged that this system be abolished, and in its stead we have a comity judge with crimiual jurisdiction, who would hold his court every week, or as often as niiht be necessary for the dispatch of business, ,and before whom persons charged with crtme should bo prose cuted on information without the cumbrous, expensive and dilatory in tervention of agrand jury. We pointed out that this change commended itself to us, not only on account of justice to the defendant, by giving him a speedy public trial, but also on account of economy to the state and counties by the saving of many items of cost which now form the heaviest burdens of the tax payer. But above all it was shown that it would be of great benefit to the state and to the people thereof, to re-ostablish conlidence in the administration of our laws, which could in a great measure be done, by providing a simple, easy, quick system for the dispatch of busi ness and for the trial of offenders, whereby tho state as well as the defend ant would gut justice within a reason able time and at a reasonable cost. Wo are wedded to no particular method of carrying out these sugges tions, and, as stated in the last article) it is not our purpose to go into the details of proposed changes, but only to point out the existing abuses and to suggest, in a general way, the broad lines upon which these abuses may be remedied. Our principal object, let it be remembered, is to show, not that we need reforms, for there are no moss backs so dull as to deny this, but to show that our constitution stands in the way of many desirable reforms; that it is an impediment to our progress and development ; and that no thorough system of reform can be accomplished without constitutional revision. While our Legislature, if it has the virtue, intelligence and patriotism to do so, can abrogate many abuses and inaugurate many reforms, yet they are seriously hampered by constitutional restrictions and inhibitions, ami legis lation, even on those subjects which are clearly within the Legisla tive power, stands iu great danger of failing on account of some technical constitutional objection; and much good work is often undonj because it is found obnoxious to some unimportant provision of our organic law. It is only necessary to mention that live of the Acts of the last Legislature have been declared unconstitutional, to show the constitutional dangers of legislation. But returning to the subject im mediately in hand, that is, reforms in the administration of our criminal law, we stated in tho last issue that there wero some other features of this subject which we desired to touch upon. Our constitution, by Sections II and! of Article 1, guarantees to the citizens of the state the right of trial by jury. A Jury is a body of men selected ac cording to law, cmpanneled and sworn to try a case and a true verdict render according to the law and the evidence. It consists of such number of men as tho law determines. By the common law a jury, that is a petit Jury, as dis tinguished from a grand jury, consists of twelve men, and unless otherwise provided in our constitution, a citizen has the right to demand a jury of twelve mej). Now our present constitution simply guarantees tho right of trial by jury, without specifying the number which shall constitute a jury, and con sequently it means a jury constituted according to the common law, and as it existed at the formation of our present constitution ; therefore the Legislature has no power, aeeonlingto thedeeisions of our courts, to provide for a jury of less than twelve men. Now I am fully persuaded that twelve men are altogether unnecessary, especially in cases where death is not tho penalty. It might be that, out of the abundance of caution and regard to deeply rooted prejudices, a jury of twelve good and lawful men might be still conceded to a man who is on trial for his life. Hut for all other crimes (Continued to Second Page.) Important Announcement to Our Lady Customers : pa HAVE arranged with tho PRINCESS OF WALES CO., ww p V. w of London and New York, manufacturers of the justly celebrated HER MAJESTY'S CORSET, to have their noted Fitter and Demonstrator, Miss WITTS, at our store for one week, Beginning Next MONDAY, FEBRUARY FIRST. great pleasure in explaining HER MAJESTY'S CORSET, information that you may de understood, that you incur no after a fitting has been made, have had a suitable fitting nery Department. Miss WATTS will take the many strong points of and in giving you any corset sire, and we want it clearly obligation to buy a corset unless you so desire. We room prepared in our Milli- To - morrow, SATUR our census, and every odd being brought to light. We 41 i-'&rfo&& "tr-Jt-1 it' ' -f - .- -fl.JJ DAY NIGHT, we'll take piece of goods in our store is want to make the stock-taking as easy as possible, and from now until Saturday night, we'll take a quick loss on lots of stuff that you may be needing this minute. F"03R I -m" mi, WJh a3W iMblMi Bf'Hrfa mm ALL WOOL BLANKETS. Eleven pairs of strictly All Wool Blankets, 10-4 size, good $4.00 qualities, Saturday night, $2.50 the pair. Just a few pairs of Fine California Blankets, 11-4 size, and good $6.50 value, Saturday night, at $4.00 the pair. ONLY ONE $5.00 Eiderdown quilt, $3.50. WOOL DRESS GOODS. To be sure these Dress Goods would bring full prices next fall, but that's not our notion of the way a store ought to be run. So we'll take about half oft' the price and put the "nimble sixpence" at work at something else. BLACK DRESS GOODS. Read this item carefully. Ten pieces Fine Black Goods, in figucred novelties and plain Henriettas. The lowest priced piece in this lot was 75c the yard, and some of them were $1.00 and $1.25. Until Sat urday night and for next Monday, we say 60c the yard. TWELVE PIECES Fancy All Wool Dress Goods that have been 45c and 50c. Until Saturday night, and for next Monday, 23c the yard. TEN PIECES All Wool and half wool Fancy Dress Goods, from 30c down, until Saturday night and for next Monday, 13c the yard. FIFTEEN PIECES Light and Dark Outings, soft and tlannely, and good 10c value, until Saturday night and for next Monday, 7 i-2c the yard. ANNEX. MEN'S WOOL SOX. Fifteen dozen pairs Men's 23c and 33c wool sox, Saturday night,. 20c. the pair. Until Saturday night and for next Monday, Men's $7.50 sack suits, at $4. 3. Men's $10.00 and $12.50 suits, $6.yS. Men's $16.50 suits at $9.73. Ownership of these clothes should change quickly at these prices. And for Next Monday, a February Feast that will attract attention wherever this paper is read, and you'll be doing your paper less neighbors a good turn to tell them of it. ONE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED Yards of the best ioc, yard wide Bleached Domestic, Monday, 6 i-2c the yard. TWO THOUSAND Yards of a nice, smooth 6c yard wide brown domestic, Monday, 4 I-2C the yard. HERE'S An accident in white Quilts, a fortunate acci dent for you and a trade accident r:ith its. Sixty large size white crochet quilts, $1.25 would be the usual stores price, and they would have been counted low enough even here at $1.00. This accident makes us say for next Monday, 73c each. There's no hurt about them, but its just as if you had a bag full of oranges, and one more, you'd cat the extra one. UVve plenty of quilts :ithout these. LADIES' MUSSED HANDKERCHIEFS. Fifteen dozen Ladies'' Embroidered Handkerchiefs, have been mussed in the show window, but that's no permanent hurt. Before we put them in the window they were 20c each. Monday 10c each. If you see it in our ad. it's so. HAMBURG EDGINGS. At 3c the yard. Pretty edges that you'd guess ioc. At ioc the yard. A dozen patterns of usual 15c edgings. And these are only random shots. There has never been shown in Columbia such a range of Dainty Cambric and Nainsook Edging and Insertions as we are showing this season. STAMPED ELXEXS AT HALF. About twice a year we hand you the remnant of our Stamped Linen stock at an average ot half price. XEXT MONDAY, ioc stamped linen Doyliesatjc each; 15c and 20c stamped linen doylies at 10c each; 25c and 30c stamped linen Doylies at 13c each. All of our stamped linen Center Pieces at Just Half. Beldings Filo and Twisted P2mbroideries at 2c a skein or 20c dozen. McJT&ensawai, fllMlcison JFostea