The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1909-11-03
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 3 1909.
Circulation Double That of Any
Other South Mississippi Paper
ELECTION TOMORROW.

Tomorrow the voters of 'Hustlins |
Hattiesburg" will show their mettle /
to the world; whether they propose
to still hustle, to still keep up with the
PROCESSION and to lead the way for
South Mississippi towns, or whether
they will rest upon their oars and go
the slow and easy way that grown-up
towns sometimes have a way of doing.
The News is perhaps as little con-
cerned directly as to the outcome OF
the election, as any citizen of Hatties-
burg. We have no interest in the
Park, per Sc, or any land contiguous
to the Park, nor does The News own a
single share of stock in the Traction
Co, nor does any stakeholder in The
News own any stock in the Traction
Company. The present management
of The News have not been here long
enough to know enough concerning To-
cal politics to be either for the admins
tration or "agin" the administration.
That has not entered into our discus
sion of the question, and should not
have entered into the discussion at all.
1t is pity that purely business propo-
sition cannot be considered without
personal jealousies and political rival
ries obtruding themselves.
Putting all other matters out of it.
the question is simply this: Tomor-
row is the day for the election. There
are 114e qualified voters; under the
law it requires majority, not merely
of the votes cast, but a majority of the
qualified voters of the city, to carry
the proposition. 1t will require, there
fore, 571 affirmative votes to pass the
ordinance. Therein lies the danger
For with all the talk there has been
about 1t, the great body of the people
are not much concerned, and the prob
abilities are that the stay-at-homes
will defeat the measure.
The proposed raise, for all purposes
is TWO DOLLARS on the thousand
That is not much. If the man
owns thousand dollars worth OF
property he ought to be able to stand
a raise of So for a year. If he owns
$4,000 worth of property the raise will
cost him $40 per year. If he is tina
well off he wastes, the chances are
more than that much every year
TIE three-quarter of one mill part O
It for Park purposes is for one yea
only. That means that for ON
YEAR ONLY, the tax payer must pa.
70 cents on the thousand dollar
worth of property for the purpose 0
building and identifying a Park whicl
has already beer donated by a publ
spirited citizen to the city of Hatties
burg. Just Is cents on the thousan
dollars for one year. Some peopl
talk about it as though it was seventy
five dollars year for the balance o
their natural lives. Really, it seem
to this tax raise. are worse scared tha
they would be hurt. They would no
feel it near so much as they think
and when it came to the hurting par
1t wouldn't hurt them at all; It woul
help them.
We have been waiting for some G
the directors to tell the public no,
they would build Hattiesburg. withon
any money to do it with. Do the
expect strangers to come here an
build Park for them? Do they e,
pect foreign capital to come here an
extend their streets and pavement
for them? Do not those who have n
streets and pavements pay taxes o
the bonds that built the streets an
pavements AUDITING upon the propert
Of others? Now that you have bull
streets and pavements in front of tn