The Lexington advertiser. [volume] (Lexington, Miss.) 1904-1985, 1961-01-12

controversial. due to Counc
methods used by them.
Phil Mullen, associate editor
Of the Madison County Herald
calls the donations of taxpayers
to the Citizens Councils
"an amazing picture of the sta4e
government. substituting q private
organization" and added: amy
criticism Of this, Governor Bar
nett says, comes only from a
broken down POLITICAL machine'
which he defeated in 1852
Comment unnecessary" Phil
added.
In the same edition of tt
Canton newspaper, jim Lacey,
former managing editor of The
Four County News at Pickens
(Which suspended publication
one year ago. and now the very
capable news editor of the Madi-
son County Herald, commented:
LAS long as all Mississippi
taxpayers have been made in
voluntary members of the Citi-
zens Council). then all offices
in that organization should be
made elective.
If it's going to be made a
state-supported inctitution. it
ought to be run like one.
by any measure of common
sense. though. the organization
should remain a private one.
to stand on its own merits. To
ask for and get state hand
outs is an admission of q weak
ness of popular appeal by the
organization"
Hal C. DeCell, editor of The
Deer Creek Pilot, named last
year as "the best small weekly
newspaper in the United States
by the National Editorial Asso-
citation" is disguised with the
donations to the Citizens Coun-
ellis which he calls a bunch of
pressure group politicians"
Sanity and sensibiiitY have
both deserted us if we con-
tinue to submit meeklY to
such public scalpings." MI.
DeCell believes.
His comment follows: 2
Oh come on now. Just how
much of this sort of thing can
the state of Mississippi stomach
before the majority of us come
to our senses and put a stop to
it? How long will we sit idly by
and see a bunch of politicians
give $780, 900 every two years
from the tax money paid in
by ALL citizens every two
years to a partisan political
organization that is subject to
absolutely no state audit, and
doesn't have to tell any state
official or taxpayer exactly what
they do with all that money?
I um Yelping. of curse.
about the $5.000.o0 each month
that is given TO the Citizens
Council by the State Sover-
eighty Commission. S5.000.00
each month of the taxpayers
hard earned money when the
taxpayer is never told how
much of it goes for salaries.
how big are the expense ac-
counts. or how much is being
and will be used to back what
political candidate.
For gosh sakes, all of us are
for segregation, which we know
to be necessary in our schools
and other public places. But
that doesn't - or shouldn't -
mean that we have to sit quiet
ly by while a bunch of pressure
group politicians pay the pied
piper of such pressure groups
with public funds.
l don't particularly care if
such people want to continue
running from their own shd-
dows - but /. for one at least.
don't want them to run with
MY tax money in their poe
kets. Surely. sanity and SEN
siblifY has deserted us if we
continue to submit meeklY to
such public scalpings.
Editor Holding Carter of The
Delta Democrat-Times at Green
vile says (and most editors will
privately agree) that most reser-
vations held by the average
Mississippi citizen about the
misrepresentation of funds" will
unfortunately not be voiced be-
cause most Mississippians have
learned that you publicly op-
pose the council only at your
own peril"
The second thought that comes
to mind, Editor Carter says, is
that the Citizens Councils may
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