Hattiesburg daily progress. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 18??-1909, 1902-10-18


amendment to section 273 is to elimi-
nate the barnacles from the old ship
Of state, and in the determination of
whether change in the organic law
has or has not been ratified only those
ballots will be considered which show
direct affirmative or negative vote.
The next proposed amendment to
the constitution so far modifies section
I83 as to permit counties, cities,
towns or magistrates districts of
county to become stockholders in a
railroad company, or TO secure the
construction of railway. The pres
ent constitution, adopted when the
fight against all corporations led the
people to lose the sence Of distinction
between these channels of transpOrta-
tiOn and other less essential corporate
bodies, unwiscly tied the hands of our
communities; and many people are
now hauling their products over weary
miles of bad roads who, for the un-
wise iCstrictiOn clause in the cOnstitu-
tion, might have had all the benefits
of railway transportation. Our state
papers have for some months past
been II gent III their demands for good
roads, The Carthaginian now
raises the cry for railroads - That
the gods help those who help them
selves was never truer than it is to-
day. Those who build railways do so
with less hesitation when the people |
along the proposed line take stock in
the enterprise. Leake county has had
an experience which should have4
taught us a lesson. Twenty years or
so ago General John B. Gordon had
the money and the wish to build
road through our territory At his
instance Mr. Fl. c. MtC&be came to |
our county to ask the county to take
stock in the road. Public sentiment
was so adverse TO this that the propC-
sitiOn was withdrawn and the road
was never built. We would have done
better to have made an absolute dona- |
tion of $3.50, 600 to that enterprise than |
to have let it pass us by as it did.
Another thing: Under the present
plan for consolidating the great rail
way systems competition in freight |
rates is fast disappearing Tt may,
in the near future become necessary
Tor the cities, the counties and the |
towns to provide competition by them
selves building and operating lines of
failway. We are now prohibited |
from doing this, but the proposed |
amendments would remove the shack
les.
The third and last amendment pro-
vides for a regular session of the leg
islature every two years, instead of
one regular session every four yea1s
and special session each second year
after the regular session. as is now
the case. The main objection to the
present law is, that it clothes the
chief executive i'll too much power
The legislature at special session
CdIluOi CO1IslNiCI VI ttCt u pun luGttS-
ure, whateverin the judgement of the
members it Importance may be, unless
the governor i'll his message shall di-
rect them so to do. While he may
not abuse this power, the fact re-
mains that it places him in a position
to suppress legislation that might be
needed, stave off Investigations that
might be unwelcOme to himself
though necessary to the welfare of the
state, and furnishes him with a lever
age which, if the occupant of the
gubernatorial chair should chance to be
a corrupt man, will enable him to ad
vance his own personal ambition to
the detriment of the commonwealth
and its people.
No such power should be lodged in
the hands of any one man, and this
amendment like the other two, should
be promptly ratified by the voters on
November 4th. Carthaginian.