Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1899-12-21
JUDGE W. D. JON Es
IGontiDued from page 1.

Advance Is the order of the day. Twenty years ago there was not q wholesale house in Fine Bluff. Today there are a dozen. Suppose the builders should have stepped to cor sider the enormous outlay of money before asy returns could be had? Suppose the original settlers in this community had stood aghast at the prospect of the amount of money to be used in removing the cane and forest from that lands of this county before it could be cultiyated2 What would have been the result? The wild animals would have yet roam ed their native haunts at will, with out fear of the moIesting hand of adyanciLg 2 civilization.
 Cities today own their own water and light plants and they are suc- cessfully operated. When this was attempted many shook their heads and said it would not do. Ex- perienee, however, showed them to be wrong.
 On the opposite side of the river from this city is the bed of a rail- way projected back in the sixties. It stands there today as q reminder of thousands of dollars expended in the attempt to get it in operation. It failed. The promoters could get no further than building the road bed.
 According to your argument one failure was suffiei ent to preclude all future efforts. Had this rule pre- vailed Pine Bluff would not have been the thriving city wi5h her four roads she is today.
 Your suggestion to farm Oil shares as the State does, is subject to less objection than any other idea you advanced But if there is profit to two persons in working these priso- ners, there is double profit to one. Why divide it? My information is, that the improvements made by the State convicts on each place they have worked. has increased the value thereof from 50 10 l50 per cent. for which the State did not receive one cent. The Improvement on county farm would belonged to the county, and would be increasing the value of it's own property. There Is another insuperable objection to this; the law does not extend this authority to counties.
 You ask why the law abiding ele- ment of a county should be taxed to support the criminal classes? l answer because it is the law, and has been the law SD long "that the memory of man runneth not to the contrary"
 You must know that every citizen Of Jefferson county is taxed to pay for convicting every prisoner that goes from Jefferson county to help the State improve the farms of other people, free of cost, and culti- vate these share crops you talk about. Not only this, but the State does not pay back to the county one cent of the money so expended.
 It will not increase the rate of taxation the smallest fraction of mill to carry this plan into execu- tion. The present race of taxation upon the present assessed valuation of the taxable property of the county will raise sufficient funds for this and all other eounsy purposes. In- stead of making separe te appro- priation for road purposes, it will all go under the head ofeounty farm, and the money expended for roads will go into the county farm fund.
 If properly managed, everything in the way of food stuffs, exceI 1t flour, sugar and coffee, will be raised on the farm after the first year.
 Your editorials indicate the belief that the members of the levying court were prompted by motives of sell-interest to vote fer the purchase of farm. A fact not generally known is that sery little, if any bus mess, is done by the constables and jus tices of the peace, except in Vau- zinc, Plum Bayou and Washington townships. An examination of the proceedings of the court will show