The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1911-03-16

severely criticises the Legislature as
a whole for not keeping the pledges
made by the party TO the people. II
charges that every good and import
ant measure TO protect the people
against monopoiIes and trusts was
defeated in two ways: First, because
there were too many corporation
and trust attorneys in the Legisla-
ture, and, next because the trusts
and corporations keep a powerful
lobby at Raleigh TO defeat every i'm
portant and just measure.
The editor of that paper then pro-
ceeds to apologize for the conduct
of these Democratic trust lawyers in
the Legislature by saying that these
men are good men, that they are not
personally dishonest, but that their
employment for many years as trust
and corporation attorneys has so
biased their minds that they are in
fuenced unconsciously when they
vote in the interest of the corpora
lions and against the interest of the
public.
In another editorial the editor of
that paper attempts to give a rem
edy, in an editorial headed IAN Ex-
ample to be Followed" 1t is as
follows:
when Hon. Chas. M. Sted-
man was nominated as Lieuten-
ant Governor, ne resigned his
position as attorney of three
railroads, and had no string tied
to his resignation. That ex-
ample ought to be followed by
every public officer, particularly
by every legislator and every
presiding officer. If they do not
follow that precedent of their
own motion, the people in their
conventions or by statute must
end the unseemly spectacle of
railroad lawyers and agents in
the Legislature voting for their
employers and against the in
terests Of the people. Every
piece of progressive or good
legislation offered in the Gener-
al Assembly this year affecting
public service corporations was
killed, manned or strangled,
and the attempt to give control
of the coming power and light
company died a-bornin''"
1t will be seen that the remedy
herein suggested is that wherever a
railroad, trust or corporation attor-
ney, who is elected a member of the
Legislature, or Lieutenant Governor,
or to other State office, he should at
once resign as such attorney after
being elected. If the editor of the
Raleigh News and Observer was cor
rect when apologizing for railroad
attorneys voting for the corpora
tions and against the people on
every occasion on the ground that
they were honest but unconsciously
biased, then how can they remove
that honest bias from their minds
by simply resigning as trust and cor
poration attorneys after they are
elected?
1t will be seen that the editor oil
the Raleigh News and Observer
points to Governor Stedman as g
corporation attorney who did not re-
sign ''as attorney of three railroads
until after he had been elected Lieu
tenant Governor, and yet holds hin
up as model. If man is honestl,
biased, and must have the confidence
and praise of everybody as Intending
to do what is right, but unconscious
ly voting against what is right, the1
it is more dangerous for such an at
torney to resign his position as at
torney than to hold such position
because he is thereby making a pre-
tense at virtue while thoroughly in
capacitated to act as a just Judge O
legislator.
If the editor Of the Raleigh New
and Observer wanted to inaugural
reform that would be effectiv
along this line, why does he not TAX
the position that no man shall be eli
gible to election to any office of pub
lie trust if he is a corporation O
trust attorney at the time, or ha
been, say, for two years past, an
then why does not the editor of tina
paper also contend for law tina
would make it unlawful for a publ
officer to accept position as attol