The Durant news. (Durant, Miss.) 1882-1985, 1939-08-10

Morehouse Enterprise: " just another example
OF what happens when secrecy is allowed in public
office, and no attempt is made to publish an accounting
of how public funds are being handled.
."What a joke that turned out to be-.protectins
the faith and credit of the State and preventing its i'm
pairment by unfavorable and misleading publicity
'The citizens of the state should demand repeal
of this vicious legislation and demand not only that
every public office be open for inspection but that every
public body that handles funds from the school and
city on up to the state BOARDS, be required to publish
their proceedings and financial statement"
Bunkie Record: People are wondering if
there might not be other places in the state government
that it would be well to take a peek at where the mil
lions of dollars going unto the state treasury in tax
money is going I'd and what it is being used for"
Bossier Banner: {" They have passed laws hid
ing from the gaze of the very people who pay the tax
burden the record of their stewardship Of our money.
They have been most liberal with our money and have
s~teadfastly refused to give us an accounting"
Madison Journal: " One of these (evils) is the
hiding of public accounts from the inspection of tax
payers. Had the records of the collection and disburse-
ment of public funds and bond accounts been available
to the public, especially the newspapers, it is most like
ly that the acts of Smith-and who knows who else
would have been made public years ago"
The Neshoba Democrat in commenting on the Lou
isana scandal says:
Never should public records and public monies
be kept from inspection by the very people who make
them possible.
Further than that, there should be required a pc
riodic publication through newspapers of such records.
The s~earchlight of publicity is sometimes more eff
fective than law itself.
Public thought and opinion are powerful factors.
They are vital cornerstones in the safety and well
fare of this state and this nation.
Louisiana will forever serve as a stencil bomb of
all that is rotten in government.
1t should also serve as a stern warning to Mississippi
and to other states never to surrender the land to die
tators and machine politics."
There is a law on the statute books of the State Of
Mississippi requiring city officials to publish an account
of how every dollar of the city's money is spent, where
it gees to.
For some time this newspaper has been trying to
get the Mayor and Board of Aldermen of Durant to
comply with that law by publishing the allowances paid
out by the city.
We feel that the people of Durant have a right to
know where their money is going and why. We believe
that any amount of money caused to be spent by such
publication is negligible compared to cleared atmos-
phere it will create.
The City Attorney has called the attention of the
Board to this law which has already been interpreted
by the Attorney General of the State of Mississippi.
We respectfully ask the honorable Mayor and
Board of Aldermen to give the citizens of Durant some
action on the matter.
This matter is not an issue between this newspaper
and the governing body of the City of Durant.
1t is the peoples business and should be treated
as such. 1t is bigger than personal feelings and pre-
JUDGES.
We do not believe that the Mayor and Board OF
Aldermen of Durant are the kind Of officials who WOULD
deliberately evade the duties and responsibilities of their
jobs prescribed by law.
We would be glad to hear from them at their ear