The Kemper herald. (Scooba, Miss.) 1875-1908, 1905-03-02

property ISdTucu IIOLu Tie IcudulS IHdi
the health and police officers had paid
official visits inspecting the buildings,
and two Of them called on me. They
wanted to know the cause of the in
spections and frankly admitted that
the buildings were in poor repair and
mot worth living in"
"But people do live in Them" l said,
land they pay rent"
"That is true" cheerfully responded
one of the agents, "and they are the
only kind of people who will live in
such broken-down buildings. But what
are you going to do-drive those
women into districts where respectable
people live; force them to take rooms
on your street,"
"In this case" l said. chose build
ings will have to come down, not be-
cause they are a menace to public NOR
ais, but because they are a peril to
public health" A few hours later I
was handed ar injunction, issued by
a court, restraining me from even con-
demning the buildings. Lawyers rep
resenting the owners of the properties
called on me and 1t was not until I
threatened to call the newspapers to
my aid by publishing the police depart
ment's report of the whole matter that
this effort by the property n to
prevent me from doing my plain duty
ceased.
met this kind of opposition all
through my term of Office whenever the
police department ran counter to law
breaking saloonkeepers, gamblers and
women of the town.
This antagonism was cumulative; 1t
piled up until it became formidable.
An ordinary piece of police routine was
sufficint to raise a storm of opposition
which magniied a trivial incident al
most to the Importance of a municipal
issue. 1t did not take me long to learn
that some time before I was elected
mayor many men of business promi-
hence had bought what they believed
to be IN insurance policy against the
city "meddling with their private af-
fairs" by contributing to the campaign
fund of my party.
had not solicited a penny from any
man; my w assessment, a large one,
was paid out of my own pocket. l knew
that some of my personal friends had
sent their checks to the treasurer OF
the committee, but / knew nothing OF
the other contributions. / secured a
list of the donors, with the amounts OF
their contributions, and was struck by
the fact that many of the largest con-
tributors were men who owned prop
erty rented for base purposes. Nor was
| permitted to forget that they had ma
terially helped me toward my election,
for whenever my official duty brought
me in conflict with their interests
their appeals or protests invariably
were prefaced with: Il paid so much
money into your campaign fund"
Because they had given money into
the campaign treasury of u party
they claimed a proprietary interest in
me; they seemed to have regarded me
in the nature of an investment. part
of the investment they had made in
real estate and buildings which gave
them an abnormal income because OF
the base uses to which such property
was put. Because | refused to view the
situation as they did they used their
business, personal and political infu-
to harass me and embarrass my
administration.
Now in the calmness which ~environs
an ex-mayor / can understand why
many great, earnest and well-managed
reform or purity campaigns either
have failed or If successful have been
followed by a revulsion. 1t is
because most of the influential and
leading men Of large cities prefer q
liberal" city administration; one
which will not too strictly hold to the|
And back of them is q large and
powerful following OF voters who
openly favor a wide open" town.
sNoTBLFor obvious reasons the writer
prefers that his Identity remain unknown.
Icopyright, 1904. BY Joseph B. Bowies.l
Origin OF Petroleum.
Until recently it was almost univer.
sally believed that petroleum was, like
coal. derived from fossil vegetation, Of
frnrn nfm6 80 achnr -fI