The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1908-04-23
Devoted 70 the Isdssial Cennereal and Agricultural
Development Of the Weadefd Resources Of The State
Items Of Interest from III Quarters s.: -:
b H. I. BLAKEsLEE, -: Jaekssa, Mississippi
By II. I. BLAKEsLEE,

1.s-sn.nn.-U-a@-0 -
II IL cent cotton at least, before
this season closes. If the use Of this
letter and such arguments as / have
used in dealing with the cotton oil sit
uation will help you and your cause,
you are at liberty to use them in any
way you may see fit
The views Of the writer with ref
erence to life insurance and the char.
acter of company that should furnish
it to the people of Mississippi, is very
well known to majority of our peo-
pie. Three years ago a campaign was
made for the organization of a mu
tual company to be located in the
state and owned and organized by cit
liens of the state. The laws Of the
state were such that the effort to or,
ganize a mutual company failed, but
regular stock company was perfect
ed and is doing an excellent BUSINESS.
1t is gratifying to note the success Of
Mississippi's first life insurance com
pany, It's success making it less diff
cult to organize the second one.
! The ideal company is one that is
mutual in every sense Of the word
the policy holders being the power
that selects the management and die
tates the policy to be pursued. One in
which the people who pay their pre-
miums and thereby furnish the sinews
of war, have the sole right to say how
its affairs shall be conducted. A great
majority of the companies doing bust
ness are purely stock affairs whereby
the owners of the stock are the sole
dictators Of the conditions on which
policies shall be issued and the plans
for payment Of so-called dividends.
Ten men may own the capital stock
Of one hundred thousand dollars and
ten thousand men who hold insurance
in the concern and pay into it more
than 100000 per annum have to
depend upon the ten stock holders
to say how it shall be managed and
Cow much of the profits are to be
returned to them. When any amount
IS returned to policy holders it means
just that much less for the stock
holders. Admitting that the stock
holders are good business men all
right as the world sees them, at the
same time it might go against the
grain to considerable extent for
them to say that we have participated
in the profits long enough and we viii
now let the policy holders participate
for a while. When will they do
that?
1t is imperative that the press, the
pulpit and good citizenship of our
state take a decided stand for the en-
forcement Of law and punishment of
its violators. The greatest compli-
ment that could be paid any state or
community, is, that its people are God
fearing and law abiding. Let's have it
said that Mississippi is the most law
abiding state of the Union. The Far
mers Union has an organization in al
most every community Of the state,
and it is In their power to exert
powerful influence for good along the
line of strict enforcement of the law.
It is founded upon equity, justice and
the golden rule, and its members are
of the best people in our state. They
are law abiding themselves and it is
their duty as citizens to see that the
laws are strictly enforced. Some
friend has said: ono country without
respect for its laws, can rise above
the savage, who knows no form of
government and has no conscience to
prick him for his sins; and unless
our laws are respected and upheld by
the people, our country is unsafe, our
homes in peril and the foundation up
on which the government stands as
"a guarantee Of equal rights to all, is
tottering upon the brink Of destruc-
ton. Anarchy will follow where our
laws are disregarded, And this is all
too true. Mississippi must be the ban
ner state for enforcement of the law
in the Union and the citizenship can
easily make it that.
The citizens Of Boonville and Prem
tiss county have raised $4,000 for the
purpose of inaugurating a county fair.
and propose to hold the first event
this fall. There is already a fair
held annually at Baldwin, which is
half in Prentiss, and the fair spirit
seems to have pretty strong hold on
the good people of that section. Moth
ing will do more to build up the COM
munity, and the spread Of the fair
enthusiasm throughout Mississippi au-