Madison times. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1884-1???, 1884-11-01
THE PROMINENT CITIZEN.
Breezy Discussion of q Character
which Everybody will Recognise.

The prominent citizen"- that indi-
vidaal of negative virtues, so mindful of
mis- own personality on public occasions !;
whose main object in life is to ride in
the wake of popular characters, or to
officiate as vice-president at every local
assembly, or to perch, like an owl,
solemn and dull, upon the PROV of every
enterprise set going in the community of
which he is simply an ornamental men,
ber-should be suppressed. He is an
ancient and honorable" humbug. The
objection to him is decidedly serious.
He stands in the way of more useful, but
less presumptuous men. 1t is not putting
it too strongly TO say that people, living
at distance from any of the great cities,
obtain the idea from the papers of those
cities that about a score of families in
each comprise all there may be of social
respectability, culture. wealth, intelli-
gence and solidity in them.
These personages figure conspicuously
in watering-places gossip, in the per-
sonal columns of their home papers, and
form part of the reporters stock-in-
trade. When the stranger visits any one
of the cities referred to, he is astonished
to find upon the front of great, substan-
tial, prosperous looking mercantile
houses and manufactures signs bearing
names whicn he has never seen in the
papers of the town, and he naturally
wonders if their owners are regarded as
of no especial account in the makeup of
the city. He then inquiries as to those
prominent citizens" only to find they
have never done anything in particular
to shed glory upon the city, that the
wealth they may possess is employed
simply for their own comfort, and that.
while their names are so frequently OBJ
served in lists of reception committees
and "among the notable people present."
they rarely lead III charity subscriptions.
His amazement, thereupon, naturally
grows to see the very men who seem to
own the great factories and mercantile
houses -iOr instance: down III that
wholesale quarter where everything is
so solemn, SO substantial and so form
idable- e-looking-sho be so entirely
disregarded. Verify, he must speedily
reach the conclusion that the substantial
citizen does not belong to the delectable
prominent" coterie, and his conclusion
would be in line with absolute truth.
The prominent citizen" has no mis-
sion upon earth except TO maintain his
own notoriety as such, and he should
therefore be easily dispensed with. His
presence is a encouragement to the
young and ambitious men of this COM
munity who are eager for opportunities
to do something for the public good.
He is constantly seeking and getting the
best seat in the boat to the discomfort of
those who have greater reason to he SIM
ilarly favored. He always secures the
most desirable positions on the stage of q
to show himself, while men deeply in
terested are forced to clamor for admis-
sion to remote corners Of the galleries.
He is the most striking specimen of the
American tufthunter. He is always ag
gressively selfish. He never proposes,
anything, but always seeks to get along
side ofthose who do. He is ever ready
to sign petitions and to contribute his
name, but he signs few checks and con-
tributes little money. Altogether, he is
an excrescence that should be cut off.
He fattens too much off the vitality of
others. and, although he goes through
life as general make weight, his useful
ness in that respect is easily dispensable
for there are others who would be of
greater value even in that capacity. Let
these prominent citizens" be sent into
retirement. Their room is much more
desirable than Their company. Chicago