In the teeth of fierce accusations of "racism" and "elitism" by opponents, and with the support of Mayor Shirley Franklin (who is black), the city council of Atlanta has enacted a measure to ban panhandling from a large zone of the city's downtown.

* In the teeth of fierce accusations of "racism" and "elitism" by opponents, and with the support of Mayor Shirley Franklin (who is black), the city council of Atlanta has enacted a measure to ban panhandling from a large zone of the city's downtown. This follows several attempts, across many years, to revivify the city center. All such efforts, including the much-promoted Underground Atlanta, were blighted by legions of bothersome beggars. The rationale for tolerating these unfortunates has now been eliminated by the opening of a large welfare facility that provides free food, clothing, bathrooms, and counseling to all comers. Businesses and residents in the designated zone are delighted with the measure. Those outside it are less enthusiastic, fearing that the beggars will now infest their streets-a problem to which there is a rather obvious solution. And of course, "advocates for the homeless" are furious, a thing that should put a smile on the face of any civic-minded American.