Atlanta Daily World

REVIEWING THE NEWS
BY WILLIAM GORDON
Managing Editor, Atlanta Daily World

We Must Keep Out Of Politics
The Evil Influence Of Money

The place was a semi-smoke-filled room with people running around whispering in a low tone.

There were names being put down on paper and money being passed in many directions.

It was a feverous and nervous sort of atmosphere.

They were trying to pick a candidate to run for political office, and the biggest issue here, was not the candidate, his platform or the issues involved. It was money, the fruits of an evil, long bitten by those who invade the "garden of politics."

William T. Polk was right. In his book "Southern Accent,"

he writes:

"Something happened to Southern politics and politicians between 1776 and the present." To clarify his statement, Polk cites the story of a railroad worker testifying in the case of the death of a fellow worker, who had been run over by a train:

"I walked down the track," he said, "and came across one of Jim's arms.

Then I went on and came across one of Jim's legs and a little later I came across his head." "What did you think then?" the lawyer asked, "Well I thought to myself," he said,

"something serious has happened to Jim."

Yes, something serious has happened to Southern politics, but more so to the leadership back of politics. The ballot, which is perhaps one of man's most valuable weapons in a democratic society, is being misused and exploited for political self-interest.

A vote is a precious item in that it affects and helps to guide the destinies of the lives of many people. Many of these people are uneducated, but hard working and God-fearing law abiding citizens who put their faith in community leadership. Such leadership should be honest, morally decent and unselfish. Like Thomas Jefferson who said: "We hold these truths to be self evident."

And like George Washington who followed Jefferson in 1787:

"Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest can aspire."

Politics should be a serious and sacred business, just as sacred as the church, for both institutions deal with the destinies of peoples' souls. Political leadership from the community level up, should be decent, unquestionable and morally sound. The cheap, the money-crazed, like the bigots, have no place in helping to shape the destinies of innocent people. There should be some way to weed out these people who, out of selfish interest, work to confuse, distort and take advantage of the average voter.

There should be some means by which the semi-smoke-filled room could be eliminated from the institution of politics. Moreover, there should be some way of getting the right kind of leadership to pick and back the candidates running for public office.

Almost since the time of Jefferson, with some few exceptions, we have had to contend with the untrained, the money-crazed and the political ambitious, all eyeing the almighty-dollar and not the real issues at stake.

This remains one of the great tragedies of our generation.