GOVERNORS IN GEORGIA

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25089, 22 January 1947, Page 7

GOVERNORS IN GEORGIA

RIVAL SETS OF OFFICIALS

MR TALMADGE STANDS . FIRM

(Rec. 8 p.m.) NEW YORK, Jan. 20. Mr Herman Talmadge continues to stand firm on his claim to Georgia’s disputed Governorship and the Lieu-tenant-Governor (Mr M. E. Thompson) has established rival executive offices on another floor of the State Capitol building. Mr Thompson to-day went before the Georgia Senate and repeated the oath of lieutenant-governor, upon which supporters of Mr Talmadge pushed through both legislative Houses a resolution inviting “His Excellency Governor Talmadge” to address a joint session to-morrow.

In addition to two Governors, Georgia now has rival revertUe commissioners and highway directors. How long this situation will continue is uncertain.

The Attorney-General (Mr Eugene Cook), who announced that he recognised Mr Thompson, said that if an appeal to the Supreme Court to settle the issue were m<ie promptly, a decision might be announced in March. Both Mr Thompson and Mr Talmadge have agreed to accept the Court’s decision, but Mr Cook said that Mr Talmadge had not indicated his desire to expedite the trial of the suit. Students of five Atlanta colleges ahd the University of Georgia at Athens, 70 miles distant, are planning to march on the State Capitol to-mor-row in protest against Mr Talmadge’s assumption of the Governorship. It is now revealed that Mr Thompson took the oath of Governorship as Well as the oath of LieutenantGovernorship of Georgia, which was administered by Judge Townsend. How this occurred is not clear at present. The majority of the Senate was not aware at the time that the double oath was being taken, but when this was revealed there was an angry flood of objections, and Mr Talmadge’s supporters declared that they would move to-morrow to erase Mr Thompsons oath of Governorship from the record.

UNLOADING OF CARGO ON PAMIR DISPUTE IN SYDNEY SETTLED . (Rec. 12.30 a.m.) SYDNEY, Jan. 21. The unloading of 800,000 superficial feet of timber from the New Zealand barque Pamir began to-day following the settlement of the dispute concerning the number of watersiders to man the vessel. The Pamir has been idle for a fortnight. STRIKE IN KUALA LUMPUR TROOPS MAINTAINING SERVICES (Rec. 7.15 p.m.) KUALA LUMPUR, Jah. 20. British troops are maintaining essential services in Kuala Lumpur because of a strike in the district’s only colliery. The strike will have serious repercussions in the tin industry. Tin mines already have been cut to 10 working days a month because of the shortage of electricity.