The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1897-12-19

gize for on that score. I take nothing
back. It was not many years ago that the
STANDARD Oil company, near the city OF
Buffalo resorted to the use of dynamite
in order to drive rival out of the business.
The Rockefellers were then. as they are
now, at the head of the Standard Oil trust.
To say that they did not know anything
about the use of dynamite would be telling
what was not true. 1 think man should
have to contribute with greater liberality
than has Mr.. Rockefeller to churches to
offset the conduct of the Standard Oil COM
pany in its methods of dealing with rival
business concerns. The Baptist church of
Alabama owes DR.. Hale a debt of gratitude
for the man way in which he stands up
for Mr.. Rockefeller as a generous giver to.
that church.
There seems to be an unusually large
crop of defauting officials in the state of
Alabama this year. Almost every day the
papers print news of some officials being
short in their accounts, The state exam
liner of public accounts and his assistants
appear to be working over time to catch
up with the crooked officeholders. Some of
them are getting off very lightly. 1 think
Examiner Purifoy is too easy with many
of them. He seems to have desire to
apologize too much. Just like he might Of
fend them in the discharge of his duties.
He is inclined to rest the responsibility
with negligence more than anything else
Why should public official be negligent
of his business? If one man employs an
other and he proves to- be negligent of the
I.f.1 IA sp lie
charged. Men when seeking office make
all kinds of promises to render an honest
administration if they are elected. They
seem to have no other desire except to
get their hands on other peoples money.
1 don't imagine man has to have the in
tellect of a Napoleon to make a good sher-
if or good clerk or good probate judge.
Yet many excuses are made for shortages
on the grounds that the officer didn't un-
derstand the law. Any man who has sense
enough to get in out of the rain. ought to
be able to interpret statute defining what
a public officer should do with the public
funds he has in his possession. The ex-
posures that have been made by the ex-
aminer of public accounts is disgrace to
the state of Alabama. Governor Johnston
is doing a good work in having these In
vestigations made thoroughly and prompt
ly. He is bringing money into the public
treasury, and at the same time starting
good many officeholders on the road toward
the penitentiary. If man can't be honest
and hold a public office, the place for him
is where he cannot handle any money but
his own.
I would like to make a suggestion to
Superintendent McClary of the street rail-
way. I merely suggest to him the necessity
of purchasing few brooms Brooms are
cheap. They are mostly made by convicts
in many states, and placed upon the mar
ket much cheaper when measured by the
cost of production than almost any other
kind of necessary articles. Brooms can be
purchased anywhere from 10 to Go cents
and if well cared for will last a long time.
1t would be a good thing to use brooms in
the street cars. What's the matter with
having the cars swept out at the end OF
their runs? The motorman usually stops
anywhere from three to seven minutes
ample time to sweep out the car. If the
motorman cannot do 1t, it would not be a
bad idea to hire boy especially to do it.