Sword and shield. (Clinton, Miss.) 1885-1888, 1888-01-14
BUSINESS MEN WANTED.

The railroad commissioners are al
ready By law the penitentiary bolrd of
control, and now bill his been intro
duced to make them, together with the
Auditor OF Public accounts, au equali-
zation board, whose duty it shall be to
see that the asse sment and the taxes
of each county are in proportion to the
value Of the property.
tits probable also that tho State will
cancel the lease Of the convicts to the
Gulf and Ship Island Railroad Com
pany and work the convicts under the
direct guidance Of the board Of con-
troll.
Such large additions Of du!y to those
already demanded OF the railroad com
missioners, will IN Ike thes. off ;ers the
most important, from strict commercial
stand plint of view, of ali whl have to
attend 70 the affairs of state. More
business capacity. more sound, practi-
Cal common sense will b. neeled in
This Office, than in any oth3r public
office. NJ mere knowledge of law, no
simple faculty OF inyratiatiag oaes sell
in the favor Of voters. nor relly AMI
witty flow o. enthrallins eloqlenee, will
come up to the requirements needed
in this office.
There ough;, herefore, u b.aC 'lst
one man who unlerstand, business,
whoknogs how to make contracts for
public works, wh IS business knowledge
has bee demonstrated o. his business
success.
We would therefore Suggest as ole
member for the board, merchant or
banker or some ether sil.ilar business
man.
Of course there yh1uld be a lawyer,
who will keep his brother officers in the
straight and narrow path Of the consti
tuition, that is if anybody except the
Supreme Judges kown where that path
is. Then perhaps there might be a
practical railroad man. True, he might
be over partial to the rail
roads, Most likely he would be
But on the other hand, The
merchant, who has doubtless suffered
from the vcxations of unjust freight
rates, and who has been angered by the
arrogance andimpoliteness which which
the ordinary three-dolllr aweek railroad
official loves to trick out his parvepu
character, viii be inclined to be unjdst
to the railroads. Thus he aud the rail
road mau will elualizc each other, an
tagohistlc, tendencies and bring about
the golden medium that highest justice
and the go d SWORD Il SHIELD SO
dearly love. Besides the railroad man
would bring fund ol practical inlor
nation dilhcult otherwise to obtain.
But above all hings let this board be
business, and not a political, machine
Let no legislator choose man to act on
it, whom he would unwilingly entrust
with important private Interests his Of
own.
This Is business age. The priuc.
pies Of our government have passed
from the arena Of discussion into that
ul practice We need men who know
how TO 10 rather than who know how to
argue. The reas n that public
works cost 81 much and the
State is $, frequently cheated
by corenous contractors is becauseit
c4oses uaprasticll lawyers, aud
takers t. attend to its public
works. These men know law perhaps
but they don know the value oil com
mercial articles and the price cf labor.
Yet, these men are pitted against the
shrewdest business men ofthe country.
The inevitable consequence is that they
are overreached. Tne State suffers
and justly 50, for the folly of choosing
incompetent officers
We urge that the Legislature
therefore, recognize the business tren
of the age in their selection of railroad
commissioners.