The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1913-02-27
John Crafts Speech

Mr.. semmes; They did improve the
property?
Mr.. Craft: No, the city government
did.
Mr.. semmes: When was it paid
for?
! Mr.. Craft: OF course, it was fol-
lowed up later by them.
| Mr.. Semmes: They did the work?
! No, my friends, we have heard so
much of the things that were said by
! those men, but it was only to fool the
Leopie
Now, coming along to the paving
| the commission form Of government
agftators and advocators in the be-
clouding and deceivtng of the people
| or Mobile, who said. when we have the
commission form of government it will
not cost you anything for paving tax,
II will all be free. Now, my friends,
| that was purely impossible under our
| constitution. / helped put that bill
/ through. We have a direct frontage
| tax on the property, but ! know some
| good citizens, merchants, that believed
| that, however. When they went to
; improving their property at eight dol
; to fight the commission form of gov
eminent for doing it. 7 don't mean to
/ say but that Mr.. Pillans, Mr.. Schwartz
and Mr. Lyons are three fine gentle
! men and citizens, but they are not
running the government of Mobile as
! cheap as the aldermen run it, as I
/ have pointed out to you these different
items. True, they have been CONSOLE
| dating few offices, but in the aggre-
! gate the expense is more. About two
years and a half ago was delegate
to the National Good Roads Associa-
| ton at Niagara Falls, of which asso-
! citation l am vice president for Ala
! bana, and there heard SO much of
Des Moines ;about the cheap taxation,
| ideal government free from politics,
/ run absolutely on a business admins
! tration, and at my own expense spent
| four days in that city and while there
found 1t cost more per capita to run
| that government than 1t does in Mo-
bile. found more politics there, and
| the ive commissioners were seeking
the Job for what was in II. They were
reforming the town and there was an
undesirable woman no got into good
| neighborhod and a lady went into the
| courts to eject the condition but be-
cause Of the chief of police and others
protecting her she couldn't get up the
| twenty per cent recall and she was left
! In the soup. If she had had an alder
man from her ward, or a representa-
| tive from her ward, she would have
had someone to speak for her and
would have been protected. That oc-
CURED while I was there, and those
! are facts. All this on paper is all right,
but will tell you, my friends, it's dan
! gerous to centraliZe your liberties, and
your rights, because the highest rights
left to the citizenship Of community
| is the police power-the police power
| guards your liberties, your health, and
| good morals, and it should not be di-
| vested, that is, centralized in three
men, because some poor man, or some
| poor woman, or some gentleman, or
lady, that don't want to get entangled
and can't afford to hire lawyers. The
commissioners have paid attorneys,
who tell you, "if you don't like It, go
on How are they going to get any
| relief? The commissioners set their
foot down on them, and is this gentle
man or lady going to hire lawyers try
| ing to get up this twenty per cent for
recall? They tried to do that in Mo-
bile after they had the commission
form Of government, but they couldn't
| get up enough votes-got UP six or
| seven hundred votes. When the COM
mission fellows got in they promised
| they would recall the chief of police
| and all firemen, and the different fell
| lows, If necessary and these fellows
| wouldn't make good and they tried to
get up recall, but they got up only
| five or six hundred votes and 1t fell
| through. These things are easy to put
down on paper, but it is not practical
absolutely not practical. It is al right
| for rich corporations that have plenty
| of money and can afford to hire peo-
| pie to circulate these petitions but
show me the average citizen in Pen
sacola or Mobile, or anywhere else,
who will try to go around and get up
| twenty per cent of the votes to put
somebody out of office. One man says,
Il can't sign that for business rea-
sons" Another fellow says ct am not
going to do that" No, my friends, I
am giving you the experience of my
own observation. 1 have seen some
| things put through in Mobile, sup
posed to be for the interest Of the
people, that If there hadn't been
strong free men there, the people of
| Mobile would have been in the power
| of the interests. have seen them
| hire lawyers; seen them hire doctors,
and go to the different fellows and buy
goods from them-for what purpose
| to substitute them, or as the fellow
says, "to get them in that environ
ment" or that way of thinking. Just
| like the two commissioners in Biz
mingha mthat voted to give the Bell
Telephone Company two dollars a
month more, but they didn't give it to
| them until they got rid Of the Compel
ling company. You tell me about not
| trusting the people! My friends, don't
give up your birthright. don't you do 1t.
! When I was in Washington last
/ week, being summoned there to appear
before a joint committee of congress,
composed Of five senator's and five
congressman, and by the way, plead
! ing for national aid, at my own ex-
| pense, and while in that committee I
| think I did some good for the great