The Prescott daily news., 1914-08-01
PARAGOULD MAYOR. AGAINST
 PUBLICITY
Editorial from Marmaduke Messen-
 D. ger.)

s's ger.)
 The Honorable Herbert M. Jackson is Mayor of the little city of Para gould He is a nice little fellow well met. and is one of the enthusiastic sup porters of the Bond Amendment No II. However, Mayor Jackson is az ! ainst Act No. and says SO This is
 the Publicity Act which provides for publicity of public disbursements and public affairs THAT THE PEOPLE MAY KNOW: and would be the great
 est safeguard to the people in the
 event of the adoption of proposed Bond Amendment No. IA.
 Why is Mayor Jackson opposed to Act No. 3? Other Mayors and pub lie officials are for it and believe in
 taking the people into their conf-
 dence.
 Paragould has only two newspapers --the Daily Press and Weekly Soli- phone. Both are published and edit ! ed by the firm of Herbert M, Jackson and Griffin Smith. Both carry their names in the editorial masthead as editors. Surely newspaper men are. disposed to favor anything that tends to promote the principle of puoli- city. Newspaper men live on puhli- city, on the space they have to sell unless they have other interests or occupations that furnish greater money making opportunities, and in that event they may, of course, use their newspapers. to further those other interests.
 Mayor Jackson does not oppose Act No. because he is a newspaper man, but in spite of it. A recent is sue of his paper the Daily Press, con tains three-column article in which the Mayor sees a dark and hidden motive behind the Publicity Act. ! More than 250 newspaper men of Ark ansas couldn't see that motive; not even Griffin Smith his partner, who ! thought the Act good enough to con- ! tribute substantial list of initiative | petitioners and a fair sum of money to the publicity fund. It remained for the BRIGHTEST young man in Ark | ansas te detect the unseen hand and ! "expose" it. But Act No. 3 will be- ! come a law, and the Press and Soli- ! phone will either get theirs or make | their customary fight on those pub | lie officials who do not see fit to give | them the patronage.
 ! Mayor Jackson apparently has very i little use for publicity in public af- . fairs as long as he is public official. l His editorial says; "We are perfect ! ly frank in making the statement that ! practically everything of public na- | ture that should be placed in print | finds its way into the columns of ! these papers (the Daily Press and ! Weekly Soliphone) and we are not l insisting that one-half the legal rate | be paid for this service"
 l Sure, Everything in municipal af- ! fairs that Mayor Jackson WANTS the | people to know is printed in his news 1 papers, but how about the things that | Mayor Jackson doesn't want the neo- ! pie to know?
 ! Act No. 3 provides that the Coun | eil of every municipality shall cause l to be published one time every six | months full financial report of the | affairs of the municipality, giving a
 detailed statement of all funds re- ceived and from what source; of .all
 money expended, to whom paid and
 for what purpose. If Mayor Jackson
 could control the Council, or see some way to evad4this section of Act No. s ,, he might not oppose the Publicity !, Bill; but he knows that at least some t member of the Council, and doubtless majority, will insist upon full and } frank statement in the public print
 as the law requires, THAT THE PEO-
 PILE MAY KNOW
 While the Press and Soliphone are printing everything of a public na
 ture that the people should know, free s of charge (they say they are), will
 the banks of Paragould please come forth and say how much they were ) required to pay for the publication