Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1914-01-06
THE COMMISSION MOVEMENT
A BUSINESS PROPOSITION
The People Are Aroused And Will No Longer Submit To Be
Boss Ridden.
To The Citizens Of HopkinsvIlle.

Indeed the new year starts well
and we have many reasons to be
happy and thankful, and Imove, Mr..
Chairman, that when we get ready
to retire this night we all humbly
bow and thank the God of us all for
the fact that the New Era has at last
discovered that there is really an
"H. B. M. Al in the beautiful city
of hopkinsville.
When | read the more than a col
umn editorial in the issue of last
Saturday, / fe t like some people |
have seen in an old time revival, I'M
til got to the last part of this edi-
torial in the second column at the
top of the page, then just smiled.
There is an old saying, Whom the
gods would destroy they first make
mad" and, just wondered if some
body was not getting just a little
mad. Of course it was enough to
make some men mad. who had arro-
gated to themselves the sole right to
speak politically for the $500 white
voters in Hopkinsvil e, when over
800 of these voters voluntarily sign
ed petition, in two hours time,
Friday, asking the privilege to speak
for themselves. 1t took lots of
courage for these men who had long
been denied this right to actually
put their names to a petition, not
circulated by any political boss. 1t
was my privilege to ask signatures
to this petition and it did my hear
good to see how anxiously the people
signed it. 1t showed to me clearly
that the people of Hopkinsville are
ready for new declaration of indie
pendence, and that hereafter they
will speak for themselves. One of
the recent candidates for council
man told me that he actually had the
courage to announce publicly that if
he should be elected he would favor
municipal ownership of public utili-
ties and that just as soon as he made
this announcement the Boss" called
him on the carpet" and "razzle
dazzled" him to beat the band, for
daring to make such a statement
without consulting the Boss. Think
of it! How could such thing occur
right here in Hopkinsville? You
would hardly believe it, would you?
This Boss told this candidate that he
must not make such a statement and
that he, the Boss, would give out
only such statements as he thought
wise to divulge to the people. This
Boss further told this candidate that
he must not permit the H. B. M. A.
to influence him in such matters.
What do you think of this? Had
you not supposed that candidates
were privileged to speak for them
selves on all issues before the peo-
pie?
Now / want to revert for a mo-
ment to the H. B. M. A. Twas pres
ent both at its inception and its
birth and had the honor to write the
Constitution and Bylaws.
II is not political organization
and neUer a0iI be. 1t can never par
ticipate in party or partisan politics
and no member desires it to do so.
And every member would resent its
becoming allied with partisan poll
tics. If those who control the New
Era would attend more of the H. b.
M. A. meetings they would not even
suggest that there is the remotest
possibility of this Association get
ting stranded on political rocks.
Political bosses and men who make
politics a business are always advis-
ing business men to stay out of poll
tics, because they know that when
business men become interested in
public questions it means the end of
the professional politicians. Every
Cagliostro and Cataline in politics is
always shocked when men dare OPP
pose their leadership. The idea of
its being "freaky" to want to put
Hopkinsville where the Constitution
prescribes she shall be. is so ludic-
rous that it is not even laughab e (
If the New Era refers more spec
ifcally TO the Commission form of
G11onnaRt. then Il displays an
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