Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1916-06-27
OH6ceHOlders w no
Birdie People With
Their OaUm Money
By BISHOP WARREN A. GAMBLER.

6x BASAOE WAH6EN "A. CANoAEAs
1t is bad policy to encourage the peo-
pie to look to the OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
ly the federal government-to do for
them what they can Better do for them
selves. Such a policy proceeds on the
idea that the government has funds
which it did not get from the people, and
that the people can make something off
their government by getting some of it's
money for their own use.
Now, the truth is that neither the
state government nor the federal gov
eminent has any money which was not
taken from the people themselves. More
over, the processes of collecting the
money from the people cost something
and the process of sending it back to
them costs something. Hence when the
people get money out of the public
treasury they simply get back their own
funds diminished by whatever it may
cost to get it from them to the treasury
and back to them from the treasury.
They have not made any money by col
Letting it from themselves and paying
IL back to themselves; they have only
furnished salaries for men who have
collected il and dusbursed it. On the
way to the treasury and back again a
considerable part of the peoples money
always drops into private pockets.
Why then do the people clamor so
often for the appropriation of public
funds to objects which they could better
secure for themselves and at far less
cost? Partly because Office holders, who
live on the public treasury, delude the
people with the idea that when money
is gotten out of the public treasury
son. ething is gotten for nothing. 1t is
to the interest of office holders to de-
ceive the people in this way. Then
there are those who pay little into the
treasury who want to get their hands
into. the pockets of their neighbors by
indirection, and get out more than they
put into the treasury. They are not
willing to rob their neighbors openly.
Or beg from them candidly; and, hence,
they favor schemes to get the money Of
their neighbors by help of the collecting
anG disbursing agencies of the govern
ment. Thus, under the disguise of APP
prOpriations, they seek to get what they
would not obtain by undisguised rob-
bling or begging.
Such methods always debauch both the
people and their public servants. And
once the habit of going to the public
treasury is established, it tends to run
to riotous excuses. In ancient Rome
the evil grew so enormously that the
populace at length demanded OF the gov
eminent bread and games" and dema-
gogues sought office by promising to
have such demands granted. Thus, the
politicians polluted the people with
brides drawn from the money of the
people, and in turn the people bribed the
politicians with the salaries of public Of
fees. Both the people and their public
servants were thereby corrupted to the
destruction of the Roman government.
We have seen in our own country
something of the same evil. The "Riv-
ers and Harbors Bill in the federal con-
gress has become a national scandal. IL
IL is an annual raid on the treasury OF
the vilest sort. Congressman vie with
one another in securing needless and ex-
travagant appropriations, and having
conspired thus to loot the treasury, they
return to the people and ask reelection
on the ground of what they have done
for their respective districts. In this
way the people are bought with their
own money.
And now, as if the people had not been
deceived and defrauded sufficiently by
wasteful appropriations to impossible
waterways. a huge scheme of federal ap-
preparations to highways is proposed.
One of the ablest newspapers in the
country has recently exposed the true
inwa rdness'' of this scheme as follows:
I'VE are All IdnlilldI Win liC mia
NOUS rivers and harbors bill 1t is
matter of great Importance that We
properly develop rivers and harbors, but
in order to do this necessary work votes
from districts where any money spent
on rivers and harbors is worse than
wasted, are secured by lavish local
local favors.
Congress is now asked to consider an
elaborate system of federal aid to state
roads 1t ought not to be given. 1t
ought not to be asked. These roads are
primarily local roads. Their national in
terests. are small. The benefits are
chiefly to local interests. local property
owners and local transportation
IF the Federal government needs
roads for military purposes or roads
through it's own property, let 1t build
them with it's own money.
THE proposition to have government
aid for state and county roads is allur-
ing to the contractors, to the politicians
and to men who want roads without
paying for them; but no system could
be worse for the development and main
tenance of good roads.
"To get good roads and TO Keep them
good we must have among the resi-
dents of cities and counties a recogni-
ton of the fact that, through these