The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1909-10-28
THURSDAY, OCTOBER %, 1909.
Circulation Double That Of Any
Other South Mississippi Paper
A PURELY BUSINESS PROPOSE
TON,


The News favors the referendum
principle; we believe the people ought
to have the right to pass upon all i'm
portant legislation; especially where
the question of taxation is involved.
But there is this objection to it: When
ever a question is submitted to the
people for their ratification there al
ways is logged into the discussion and
consideration of it personal prejudices
and petty politics and demagogy, and
this Interior matter more often than
otherwise obscures the real issue.
Now lets be perfectly fair about it
and consider this proposed tax levy of
fourteen mills from purely business
standpoint. Lets divorce it of all pet
ty, municipal politics. What a little,
mean thing it is to permit small per-
sonal or political differences to creep
in when weightier matters are being
considered. Lets get all the brush out
of the way. All this sentimental talk
about the poor man, when everybody
knows that it is not the poor but the
rich man who will pay this tax. The
Lord knows the poor have troubles
enough of their own, without being
made to bear the brunt of every pub
lie discussion of every kind that comes
up; and to the mind of the stalwart,
Independent, working poor man, all
this commiseration and anxious solicit
tude concerning him and his little
ones, is an insult. God only knows
how he does it, but he takes care of
them somehow, and he does not want
forever to be commiserated and wept
over and his pinching poverty kept in
the lime light. MY. my, what liber-
ties are taken by orators with "the
poor man." and the tears that are
wept In the name of "the poor man."
what scapegoats are made of the poor
man." As Mr.. Dooley would say, "taint
right. Hennessey."
In all fairness to the poor man and
the rich man and all men alike. lets
get away from all this and decide this
question in business way and upon
business principles. THE poor we
must always have with u.s." and most
miserable indeed would be the poor IL
there were no rich. They are COM
plements one to the other. Capital
would be idle, dead and utterly worth
less without Labor to use it and work
it and. make it productive. Labor
would starve without Capital to give It
employment. United they stand, d.
vided they fall" They are absolutely
necessary to each other. They are
absolutely dependent upon each other.
What is good for one is good for the
other. They are interdependent de-
tendencies each upon the other, and
1t is not best for either of them
that anything should be said or done
to array one against the other. 1t is
against the public good to do SO. 1t
is unwise to do so; and in this discus
sion, where there is absolutely no rea-
son for 1t, it is unfair to do so.
This is a business proposition, and
as business proposition let it be con,
sfdered.
Tire mass-meeting accomplished
nothing. The discussion. was simply
the personal views Of few men, and
the argument was not along practical
lines. The Bosrd Of Mayor and Coun-
cilmen have submitted the question to
the people. and there the matter in a
sense rests; and the people do not
really understand II.
II the proposition fails, what effect
WIN that have on the schools? II the
effairs q clfy soverpment have to run
a 4 11-1i1f 1iksFs x11i the cut
- Tho ee1sr1l fuad fell short
- seem that