The north Mississippi herald., 1921-01-21
TIME TO CUT OUT
EXTRAVACANCE
Hon. T. c. Bradford, Prominent
Citizen of Oakland, Gives
Some Sound Advice to Coun-
ty Supervisors.

ticle in last weeks paper. If there was
ever a time in the history of the coun-
try when it was necessary to- curtail
some of the useless expenditure of the
country, that time is now.
In the face of all this it seems there
is determined effort on the part of
the parties in authority to spend mon
ey for every thing possible. In Yal-
obusha county the condition is bad
and getting worse every day. A GER
tain element is insisting that we pay
a big salary for officers to go over
the county and inspect the school
children. These officers find out
what is wrong, but please tell me
where the parent will get the funds
to treat the child.
We have a Demonstration Agent
who ships cattle and hogs, buys fer
tilizer, seeds, ETC., for the farmers.
You understand that in practically
every case the farmer must pay cash
or give bankable paper. 1t this farm
er or any st of them would go to any
of the supply houses in Water Valley,
Coffeeville, Oakland, or any other
town in this county and offer to pay
cash for car load of fertilizer
reasonably sure that supply house
would be willing to sell as cheaply as
the Agent now buys.
My Great Grandmother picked ber-
ries and canned them before there
was Home Economic Agent. Gen.
erations to come will do the same
thing years after the myth of the
Home Economics Agent has passed.
OF course it is figured that it costs us
only a few cents to maintain these a.
gents yet this counts towards extrav-
agance. The Demonstration agent
ships cattle, yet the local buyed near
ly always pays more for the same
stuff at home. AS an illustration an
effort was made to ship chickens and
eggs on the cooperative plan here.
This plan was abandoned because the
local buyers paid more for produce
cash, than the shipping agent could
realize.
It seems to me that these agents
could see the condition and be willing
to get out and work for living one
year. This would cut the expense of
the county about one mill.
The road situation is deplorable.
Men who in private life are honest
and honorable seem to think nothing
of presenting bills and demanding pay
from the county on road work when
they know chat this work was never
half done. And yet in our little town
and in the county we find bills after
bills piled up when in instance after
instance these men who present the
bills would not be willing to make an
affidavit that they had done an hon.
est days work. Privately they would
not be willing to pay an individual
to work for them and do the work
that they do for the county.
The county officers are drawing a
better salary than they could make at
; anything else in the world, yet one
will dabble in real estate, another dab
Bile with farm, and another do
something else while a. deputy does
all the work. OF course this deputy is
paid by the people, not by the Off
Ger. l t the Water Valley Bank would
employ as many deputies and officers
as we do in this county in proportion
to the work done, the bank would go
broke paying salaries.
We are constantly hearing about
the underpaid teacher, yet have long
since reached the conclusion that the
teacher gets excellent pay for what
he does. Can you imagine the Bank
of Water Valley or the Bank of Oak
land paying a salary Of $2400.O0 for
a clerk spending most of his time
walking up and down.the streets leav-
ing the work to be done by others?
Could you imagine the I. c. r. r. pay
ing clerk a salary Of $1500.OO for
four years and yet that clerk study
ing medicine out Of the county? Yet
Yalobusha County has done this in
the name Of the school. We are tax
ed to maintain an Agricultural
High School. This School
will get about $11,0O0.00 from all
sources this year. The school will
not average over 100 in attendance
for the 8 months Of school. This
means an average Of over $4,000
per pupil or nearly $500 per month
Tor the school year, How long can we