The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1904-01-29
THE OLD AND THE NEW.

THE OLD AND THE NEW.
The members OF the old County Couri
are sensitive of any criticism of that
Court. And that it is not unnatural
But they should not be representative
For. while the personnel OF the Court
was not Just what il should have been;
while it had its weak members and dis
creditable members; still, there were
some good men in that Court, as good
men as you will find 10 the county. And
the prejudice az ainst the Court was not
30 much against the members as against
certain methods: and not so much
against the County Court system, as
against the oversupply of agents to work
the system. There is hardly a general
criticism that has ever been made upon
the County Court, that was not endorsed
by respectable number of it's best
members. Hence, we say they should
not be representative that the people
were anxious to reorganize, remodel and
reform the old County Court system.
And now we are at it as people, lets
make good job of it. Lets do our
work thoroughly and well. Lets not
forget the substance and pursue the
shadow. Lets not fall out and fight
over non essentials. and forget the re-
forms we started out to accomplish. AS
a people, that is too often our way of
doing.
1t is fact, so We are informed and
believe, that there existed in the old
Court a courtesy to vote for each other
whenever ctlled upon, regardless. 1t
mattered not how well qualified an ap-
plicant for district road commits
sioner might be- how much expert /
ence be might have had; how we'll rec.
commended be may have been; if one of
the magistrates from that district wanted
the job, regardless of his competency
his brother magistrates, through court
courtesy, voted for him. That was one
of the practices which propagated the
public prejudice against the old court;
and now that we are forming new
court, tt g people should require of all
the candidates public pledges against
such practices as the above, and others
of like character. 4
The old court, some of them, served {
too often as jurors. The new court, for
appearance sake, if for nothing else, !
should avoid inviting that criticism !
upon themselves.
The old court we're extravagant in their
bridge building. They were criticised $
by the public for locating their bridges !.
to suit the personal convienance of a
ew-in some instances-rather thanHthe :
interest OF the many. And
his was made possible by that same T
courtesy" which psrvaded the courts :
which was not in fact courtesy" but y
swap of favor for favor. And there is
10 denying and no question, but that y.
hese bridges cost the county out of all y
proportion to the cost of like bridges :,
uilt by private parties. And, this in !,
tied not only criticism. bnt cast more -
r less of suspicion upon the court .
md will upon the new court, unless the ~
eople, who have the making of that =
ourt, make it up of men who have more
ride, more business sagacity and .
igher conception ofpubIic duty, than
} fall into such, questionable ways of "a
ansacting the public business. IN
Candidates ought to be required to '''
peak out But still this is not the best : "
ct. The cheapest men sometimes w.
, FAX out the loudest. The real test VI
I'D only safe test, is a mans character.
OF what he promises to be, but what 8
, has been, and what he is. The r..
ounty Court of Maury, County occu- -
es relatively the same position towards y
70 tax payers Of M ,ury county as the -
rectors of a bank do towards the =
ockholders Of that bank. And the
ice of magistrate is even more impor- =,
mt, because it's duties are more com
OK and intricate, than the office OF
rector. And just as bank chooses, ~
st from its stockholders its best men
directors, and then from these it's
Fest wlsest, most experienced ones for 49,.
active officers, just so should the
ople choose the best, most intelligent
d honorable men to represent them in A. ~
3 county court.
No system is so perfect that it will "A
rk itself. Incompetent men are as
pansive as dishonest ones. Men who
their own thinking and who are V
pable Of thinking intelligently; men \
o have had enough experience in
sness affairs to know good business
position from bad one; men who
n