St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1886-11-13
Too Long a Lease of Power,

Very few persons can stand prosperity :;
very few hired people do as we'll after
six months service as they did at first !;
very few rulers, or public officials, do
as we'll after the first year of office
holding as they did during the first.
Frequent changes are beneficial. One
OF the main causes of strikes is that
the same set OF hands are employed too
1ong-they have time to organize against
their employers; and the employers
thinking they can keep them always,
often become domineering. When Off
Gals are kept in Office too long, they
often become domineering, or set to
work to contrive plans to keep them
selves in power at the expense OF the
public. Changes are necessary for the
common good. Ia those countries
where there is a perpetual summer,
where there are vegetation and harvest
all the time, one would think there
would be more happiness, more pros
perity, and more progress in human
life; but Che facts show just the contra
ry. In the temperate zone, where there
is continual change of seasons, hannah
life is at its best.
The doctrine of " rotation in Office"
is not for the purpose of enabling many
to feed at the pablo crib, as some
imagine for even if that was the pur-
pose, life is not long enough for ali
citizens to hold office in turns-the OBJ
ject is to turn one set of men out of
Office before they become corrupt, and
put in another set fresh from the ranks
of the people. In this way only, can
there be good government, government
by the people, and for the benefit of the
people. When the same men, or men
of the same faction hold Office too long,
the tendency is too build up an oligar-
chy that threatens to destroy democrat
lc government.
When officials are elected they fire.
1uently show by their acts that they
misrepresent the people, and having
long term before them serve their own
interest and not that of their constitu-
ents. For instance, when the Demo-
cratic convention of this parish nomi-
mated representatives for the legisla- |
ture previous to the last State election,
they were instructed by that conven-
ton as to how they should act ON GER
tain questions; they violated these in
strnctions, and therefore did not repre- |
sent their constituents. Ii elections
were held at shorter intervals this evil
of Misrepresentation could be partially, |
if not wholly remedied. In late
communication to the Monroe Bulletin,
Mr.. Thos. A. Garrett of that place
touches upon this subject as follows:
Did it ever strike You, what a traves-
ty of Democracy is our present system
of electing representatives in the
Legisatnre2 Can single instance
be pointed out in history where Demo
cracy has instructed its affairs tn its
representatives for four yearsP What
have our sister States done in this re-
their House of Representatives every
two years, the other nine annually. To
alone was reserved the honor
of the dangerous experiment of four
years term for representatives. We
have tried the long term experiment.
I i0 not intend to say any thing about
Us past success. But | do say it is
dangerous to persist in it. The wisest
men of all ages have recognized the
danger. Rome elected her cOnsuls for
only one year; Athens her archons for
only one year. No State in the Union
but ours viii! intrust her sovereign
power, without accountability, for more
than two years. Are we so wise or 50
that we can afford to despise
the warnings, the precepts, the prece-
dents of all antiquity and of all our