It Can Happen Again

CHAPTER XXV

IT CAN HAPPEN AGAIN

WHAT HAPPENED IN PHENIX CITY could take place— and has to lesser degrees— in other American cities.

When the few Phenixians who had guts enough to face the evil and fight it woke up to the realization of the true state of affairs in their city, the government was no longer theirs. The government belonged to the racketeers and the crooked politicians.

What this meant to the average, honest. God-fearing, hard-working, family-loving citizen is difficult for a stranger to grasp. Most strangers wouldn't be concerned enough to understand it anyway because it requires thinking, and workings and worrying about a matter too far removed— in miles—from home.

But it meant this:

John Doe had no law protection. Sure, there were cops. but the cops weren't concerned with the problems of Mr. Doe. John did not get the city services for which he paid. The streets were run-down; the sewer system was in foul condition; the water system was inadequate and garbage collection set no examples.

Mr. Doe couldn't expect equal and exact justice to all regardless of race, creed or color. If he went to court he could expect that the decision would go in favor of the mob, no matter what the evidence.

It is easy to imagine what it was like when he had a legal entanglement. In the first place, the Sheriff would have to serve the legal papers on Mr. Doe's opponent, and maybe the Sheriff never would find time for that.

If the case got into court, he might find himself hamstrung immediately by adverse rulings that would keep him from ever getting to present testimony before a jury.

When Mr. Doe got into court he could find that his witnesses suddenly had lost interest in testifying, or their memories of facts had become hazy or confused.

When the case got to the jury, it was considered by twelve men, several of whom were either members of the machine or owed allegiance to it. Others were often afraid to have it known that they voted in opposition to a matter of interest to the racket bosses.

There were many unprincipled people in Phenix City. Families passed the heritage of illegality from generation to generation. In some families, sons turned against fathers and brother against brother as one chose the mob and the other picked the righteous.

Many good people simply turned their heads in an attempt to ignore that which surrounded them,

That which happened in Phenix City should prove that democracy is not an inalienable right which protects itself by its very being. It can be usurped. It can be stolen. It is more difficult to regain than it is to lose, and there always are those, both at home and abroad, ready to take it and change it into a device for their own gain and to satisfy their own greed for power or profit.

The authors of PHENIX CITY do not wish to preach.

Yet preach they must for they have seen the greatness and the majesty and the beauty and the glory that is Democracy trampled and disgraced and defiled. To see freedom lost is to see slavery triumph. There is no middle point. Either you have liberty or you have chains.

In today's fast-moving society, few people pause long enough to examine carefully and with insight the health of their government at home. When they find, as did the people of Phenix, that their precious liberties have been snatched from them and that their properties and very lives are in danger, they panic.

Stop for a few minutes now, Mr. and Mrs. America, and apply to your own city or county the few simple tests which will show you whether your own city might be slipping into the quagmire of crime and political corruption.

If it does not pass the test to your complete satisfaction, do something about it before it is too late. A little effort and civic fervor on your part now can save you much grief and injury later.

Here are the tests. Together they form a yardstick by which you will be able to measure accurately the state of your city's political health.

1. Look at your jury rolls. Is sufficient diligence used in the selection of jurors to insure that good men and true will try the cases that come into your courts? Are there known criminals or racket figures on the juries? That is a danger sign.

2. Are your registration lists purged at regular intervals, and kept free from "tombstone voters*' and persons who have long since moved from your community? An unpurged voters' list offers excellent opportunity for criminals or political fixers to vote their own people under the names of those inactive registrants.

3. Does your government award contracts for materials and services on the basis of competitive bids or by political favoritism? Watch this closely. It offers a fertile field for official corruption, which in turn leads to open disregard for law.

4. Are municipal meetings and all court proceedings open to the public, and are public records made available on request? When politicians make decisions behind closed doors, and when records are kept hidden from public view, you are well on your way toward losing your personal freedoms and control of your local government.

5. Look closely at the personal habits of the people you elect to serve you. See whether law enforcement officers live within, or beyond, their means. When a cop makes $400 a month and spends twice that amount on fine automobiles, homes, clothes and high living, you may have in your midst a hoodlum in uniform— by far the most dangerous of the breed. If law enforcement officers or public officials receive warm support and campaign contributions from racketeers, be safe— throw the rascals out! Close social contacts between your elected officials and unsavory elements— regardless of position or income— should be a danger signal to you.

Your rights and liberties were hard earned by those who passed to you a sacred trust to keep. Lose them, and you have betrayed that trust and betrayed your children who will step into your place.

When you have carefully read this book, take a tour around your City Hall and Courthouse. Talk to your elected officials and your law enforcement officers. Attend municipal meetings. Look over your jury list at the next term of court. Ask your Board of Registrars when the voters' list has been purged. Then keep in mind that what happened in Phenix City can happen in your town— indeed, it may already be later than you think.