The Marietta journal. (Marietta, Ga.) 1918-1944, 1920-01-23
Business and Corrupt Politics

n GREAT many people say the word politics
( without meaning corrupt politics, but want to
make the assertion that clean politics and corrupt politics
just wide apart the codes of morals entertained
by the most honorable citizen and meanest and most
dishonorable thief.
However it the corrupt side of politics and its rela
ton present business conditions that wish speak
of here
Nearly all big businesses looking for the
government establish for them sound and profitable
basis upon which they may continue business The rail
roads, the wire lines the meat packers the manufacur
ers and of others looking to Uncle Sam to
straighten it all out for them.
And since government in all it's branches is
honeycombed with politicians who put into office by
corrupt practices in many instances the hope of getting
honorable and unbiased legislation small So many
of lawmaking bodies put there corpora
ton antcorporaton advocates and because they
fitted in any for the place. that would
almost miracle for them to produce laws based upon
equity and justice to all.
This situation however has arisen largely from the
practice of big business in the past of corrupng politics
to what they wanted and could otherwise OBJ
tain. The railroads. who today the front seat of
the bench, perhaps the first and biggest
offenders 1t is of earliest recoectons of youth
full extravaganza to have met young man. whose father
railroad attorney and in attendance upon the
sions of a state legislature who given spending
allowance of ten dollars per day to entertain certain
young members of the said legislature. Can there be
rupted though the railroads have secured the
special legislation they after? Ten dollars of that
time about the hundred dollars is
Such practices as this made young to forget
all earlier training of the home Sunday school,
them loose from all principles of right and honor, and
taught them to organize and seek office for the plumber
that might be had first in passing desired legislation for
corporations and later to kill undesirable legislation.
The famous legislative band in the New York legisa
ture of few years ago. known the 'Back Horse
honor 1t might be we'll to recall that this Black Horse
Cavalry composed of small majority of members
of the Legislature who to act together in all
matters under the leadership of shrewd and corrupt
politician They pooled the bride moneys received and
whenever bill of any character passed this gang must
first get its pay. AS time went on, they enlarged their
operations to the point of having bills introduced which
would either wreck greatly harm all sorts of business
businesses which had used corrupt politics and had
interest in iforcng them to pay to have these bills
killed
So strong this gang that it almost took revou-
ton to uproo it, and who shall say that many such
binations not yet operating discreet lines?
In the state of Missouri also similar band operated led
by the Lieutenant Governor of that state. He was q
democrat while the leader Of the New York bunch
republican, but neither of them considered party lines
a republican and democrat looked just alike to them
plumber and spoils what they AFTER and they
generally got it.
We don't know the answer-there is no moral to this
editoral-uness it be to against every form of
corruption in politics elsewhere Probably no man
now connected with the management of the railroads
responsible in any degree for the original sins of
ton spoken oft dates away back-but we can at least
see it the visiting the niqu of the fathers upon the
children unto the third and fourth generation