The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1914-05-16
Are Our Little Legislatures Inefficient!

In combating Tie Idui|oi FiOWS
of the Amerlcan-Press on the
subject of a commission form OF
government for the parishes,
Bro. Goodwin of Colfax Chron-
icle says:
v"Onr contemporary does not explain
in what way the commission form can
rreatly change and better coruiIiViis IA. |
the expenture of parish funds; and we
very sericuly doubt If any considerable |
number of people are asking Tor such
d change. The parish police juries are
aminiature duplicate Of the State legisla-
ture. Every parish is entitled to its
representative. Just so every ward
feels entitled to its member of the
police jury, and thus to have voice in
the administration of public affairs.
Bro. Goodwyn's comparison is
apt and striking. The State leg
isiatures are the most inefficient
public bodies on earth; the most
wasteful, the most productive of
useless laws, the most laggard
when something useful is 10 be
done. All the States endure them
with loud complaints and many
cuss words; but the fault is not
with the members who are often
painstaking and watchful Of the
peoples interests. The fault lies
il the system, just as our faults
of parish government lie in an
inefficient system. A system
that keeps the members of a
public body pulling and hauling
against each other and eternally
striving to gain some little adj
vantage is bound to make such a
body inefficient. no matter how
high class the individual mem
bers may be. Lake Charles
American.
Confrere w. E. Krebs, editor
of the Lake Charles American
Press, is a trenchant writer and
a keen observer of men and
things, but like a great many
would be reformers, he overlooks
the egotism and self assertive-
ness of the ordinary free-born
American citizen. There is no
more occasion to abolish the police
juries than there is to abolish the
parish representatives in the leg
islature. We live under a gov
eminent in which every individ-
ual and every community is en-
titled to have representation and
a voice in the management of its
own affairs. From the very in.
ception of our nation, under the
Confederation, the cry was, nc
government without representa-
tion," and, when the Union was
effected, the same spirit and idea
pervaded all of our institutions
National, State, county and MUM
cipal. The idea was to get away
from the one-man power, thu
centralized government, as fal
as possible.
And there were giants in those
days, men of mind, well inform
ed, strong in intellect, and of un
swerving patriotism and integri
ty. They builded structure
that is the admiration of tn,
world, and we have very littl'
patience with those who seek t.
tear down their structure, or in
troduce innovations barking bacl
to the centralized form that GU
forefathers labored so hard t
avoid.
1t is very true that our Stat
legislatures, and our little count
and parish legislatures, the NINA
ture counterpart, are frequentl
wasteful, productive of useles
laws, and most laggard whe
something useful is to be done.
We deny, however, that they ar
1.-The most inefficient public Doc
les on earth" That is a slande
on our American institutions; an
Editor Krebs admits the lamenes
of his argument when he say
But the fault is not with tt
members, who are often pain
taking and watchful of the PEE
pies interest. The fault lies
the system.