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ThE ST. LanDrY CLARIon "Heroe Sh1 the Pres the People's Rights Maint.ir- Unawed by influence and Unbribed by lGain. V LME XXXI--NO. 54. V -OLUME XXXI-NO. 54. OPELOUSAS, LA., SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 1921. --------------; TWO DOLLARS PER YEAR IN ADVANCWE tr n APT9 nI' T. P~Ta C T rr 1 .r 1 .. .a .a , _ .--.. - ........ ... ... BIG OCTOPUS GETS UNWOUND IN ORDER TO GRAB BIG PAY Presents Formidable Array Of Legal Talent in In .junction Case BUT HOWLS POVERTY UP IN TENNESSEE Says it Will Go Bankrupt if That State Don't Grant >': Raise Monday the federal court in New OrleAns heard arguments of counsel :or the city of Opelousas and the CSrk aberland telephone company on case of making permanent the .gmporary injunction recently grant 4 by the court restraining the may. ..: and board of aldermen of Opelou ass from in any way interfering with jo company collecting Its bills from ieocl subscribers under the increased rite granted by the railroad commis adoi of Louisiana. S"The company had a formidablebr kqay of legal talent to back to side of .he question, while City Attorney P. IL Sandoz of Opelousas represented the a.,yor and board of aldermen in .ite proceedings. That was to be ex psaed on the part of the telephone company, for it can afford to employ the yery best of legal talent in pres - ting its case to the court. The ~Inion is expressed, however, that though the court may perpetuate the Junctlon it will in no wise interfere with Opelousas entering suit against the telephone octopus in testing the -,validity of its extra charges for serv ice under the terms of the contract etered into between it and the city of Opelousas some twenty years ago c and the franchise granted the coni- 1 pany under the terms of that con (aaft, If the court takes this view of he matter, then the case of Opelou has against the telephone company will go to the courts to be fought out ` ..it merits. 'While the company is brazenly fi0ghting its isy through the tangle :a Louisiana, its employes and emis ariew in other states where it oper $ are following suit, either brazen as in Louisiana or howling poverty p~ ossible bankruptcy, as it Is now iug in Tennessee. In this latter N t8ts it applied to the public utlities h (which is the same as our lo~ad commission) for permission ,hke the rates there. It stated that i*ss authority was granted it Ito in- o1 aMee such rates bankruptcy faced A ;j bmpany! A pitiful howl indeed, d, ;hen one stops and considers the t, othods it uses in Louisiana and per- la Ilps in 'Mississsippi and other states re ýºtre its tentacles are spread far and tr it!i ol, The Cumberland is a subsidiary cf e "American Telegraph and Tel. o4ae company, which is the parent cmpany of the entire wire system eating in the United States. For ,year 1920 the American earned ty million dollars and declared 'annual dividend of eight per cent ,.its capital stock, and its d!rectore it could have declared more ' the net earnings. In fact, the did not seem at all satisfied the size of the net earnings but boldly that the .company was Y and truly entitled to more. Of there may be a lot of highly stock represented in the caii of the concern, and if that ite the actual earnings to the e stockholders is really more the paltry eight per cent. Ae American company can not de these exhorbitant dividends un its several subsidiary companies tremendous profits in their re ve territories. The Cumberland of these subsidiaries, is pay 5 prorata into the huge fund Ir sliced up by the parent con Therefore, the howl of poverty by the Cumberland must be in with the program outlined American to dig more and .ore profits out of the milions V* forced through necessity to te service of the subsidiary con like the Cumberland, for in It is up to the people to this matter to a standstill, and +ine of Louisiana propose to such a contest with the arm of the giant ootopus etes under the high-sdinding the American Telegraph and e company. el Barry of Grand Coteau Clarion office a brief call. Duson, Jr., of Crowley. ian the Daily and Weekly SEgnal City, was here between , rains , Sof the week, attendi_- to Itfairs. WELL GOING DOWN DESPITE ALL TAIK STRIKING OF WATER WILL NOT STOP DRILLERS IN PROGRESS ING WITH THEIR WORK It was reported Thursday night that the well being drilled on the Creswell place had spouted wa ter in huge quantites, denoting an artesian flow, and that the pres ence of so much water would ruin the proposition. This rumor was discounted Friday by Driller Dan iel, who, in an interview, made the following statement: "Tell the knockers to go to h-! We are not going to lose this hole-by Saturday evening we'll be on bottom, and then look out for developments! We have in this enterprise a drifting rig worth possibly ten thoujlnd dol lars. We will put tfa, -rig up agains a tbet that we Aill bring in a well here." OPELOUSAS MERCHANT TO SELL AT DISCOUNT Elsewhere in this issue appears the display advertisement of Fred L. San doz who announces that begining next MIonday he will sell a large stock of goods at attractive discounts. Buggies and other vehicles, stoves, turniture, hardware of every descrip tion, are among the articles offered at this sale. ' Mr. Sandoz is local agent for the famous Hercules buggies and he has sold more buggies of that make in this trade territory, he claims than his competitors have sold of their brands. He has a very largei ;tock of goods and proposes to un load at such prices that it will pay prospective buyers to investigate. No matter what the lOss,.he says he will "pocket" that loss right now and ad vises the people to take advantage of the many bargains offered by his large establishmenlt. Fred Sandoz is well known throughout St. Landry and has always enjoyed a very lib sral patronage frc 4the people. lie .c a stood"1' thg in the past and gill show his good intentions again )y selling at a great loss: fJOURNUEYS AGAIN TO NATIVE LAND MR. G. H. CRETIN WILL SPEND 5 FOUR MONTHS WITH RELA ir TIVE IN, FRANQE it Mr. G. H. Cretin, r9red hotel man 1- of Opelousas, nativeý-of France but d American citizen, d1eparted Wednes I, day night for New Orleans, Washing S ton and New York, and will leave the last named city ona April 30 for Hav s re, France. vhere he will board a l train for Paris and later go to his old home in Lyons, one of the large i commercial centers of the republic. Mr. Cretin spent last summer in France and returns again this year to I spend the summer mouths with kins r men and will return' to Opelousas I some time in September. He has I been a resident of ,Opelousas for t about twenty years, and before com ing here was a resident of Plaque mine. His numerous friends wish him I "bon voyage" and many expressed a wish to accompany him to the land of real good "vin blanc" and "vin rouge" wehere wild-eyed prohibitionists and illicit "white mule" are unknown. He promised ot think of each and every one of his friends when he quaffed of the' juice of the grape that flows so freely in "La Belle ,France." Bon jours et bon voyago,\Monsieur Cretin, and may your trip . delight fully spent amid relatives and friends in the fair land where you were born! School Board Holds Meeting The parish school board met this t week in adjourned session and can- a vassed the returns of the special elec t tion recently held in the Arnaudvillel school district of the third police jury t; ward. The tax calls for ten thou- s sand dollars bonds to .be issued for the benefit of the school in that vill- e age. The election was iarried by a a good majority. Other tusiness was a transacted, including the receiving of y the report of the building committee d of the new Opelousas school. The e proceedings of the meeting are pub- d lished elsewhere in this issue. tl Dr. S. B. Wolff departed the first ji of the week for New York and will be b absent about a month. While in the t, course in one branch of his plofes- Jr sion. Mrs. Martin 'Bors.i of this city spent a few days the.; jt part of the R, week as the guest oTYr. and Mrs. L. tb A. Andrepont in Crowl y. bi GRAND JURY FILES REPORT AND THEN GETS DISCHARGED Case of State Against R. M. Dufliho Results in No Indictment TRUE BILLS RETURNED ARE REMARKABLY FEW Absence of Crime in Parish Commented on By Inquisitors The grand jury convened Monday and within two days wound up its investigations and made its final re port to the district court Wednesday morning. There were so few cases presented for the jury's investigation that an early adjournment and final discharge were looked for on all sides. There was a small audience pres ent Wednesday when court called to order by Sheriff Thibodeaux, Judge Pavy on the bench. The regular rou tine of the morning hour was quickly disposed of and !:ourt awaited the ap pearance of the jury and district at torney. Within a few minutes there after the jury and prosecuting attor ney came in from the jury room and filed the report and the true bills. The published in another column elsewhere in this issue. The find ings are as follows: True Bills Willie Williams, colored, murder. R. O. Marsh, white, cutting timber on the land of another, two indictments. Jack Wilson, colored boy, burglary. Joseph Guillory, shooting with in tent to murder. Willie Williams, colored, alias "Squirrel," petty -larceny. (This is not the same individual as the above in dicted for murder.) Jules Ned, murder. Joseph Guillory, carrying conicealed weapons. Edgar Papillon, carrying conceal weapons. Not True i!lsU Roger M. Dufilho, murder. The district attorney filed a bill o information against Joeeph Chenier colored charging stabbing with inten' to murder. This is the negro wh< stabbed Mr. I. H. Cain, white farmer at the latter's store on the Bayou Teche, between Opelousas and Leon ville, a few weeks ago. The charge of murder against R. M Dufllho came as a result of the kill ing of Dr. A. M. Haas in this city several months ago. Several witness as were examined by the jury in this particular case. Jack Wilson, colored youth, indict ed for burglary, is about fifteen or six. teen years of age, though he may be older as his appearances are decep tive. He broke into the Lassalle store on Landry street some two months ago and was quickly caught by the officers. Last week he escaped but was quickly caught while hiding under a cistern in the rear of the home of Mrs. L. Dupre, opposite the Clarion Office. He bears every ear mark of the criminal and unless his propensities are curbed now by a long sojourn in the penitentiary may com nit some graver crime later in life. A criminal term of court convenes in h`is city on Monday, May 2, and will aet two weeks, at which term the *ases wherein indictments were re urned will be brought to trial. JUDICIAL DISTRICT NUMBER IS CHANGED WILL BE THIRTEENTH INSTEAD OF 16TH-TERMS OF DISTRICT OFFICERS TO BE SIX YEARS The constitutional convention has practically agreed on the redistricting of the state as to Judicial districts, and under the terms of the article to the new constitution the parishes of St. Landry and Evangeline will form the thirteenth district instead of the sixteenth, as now. Judge and district atorneys will be elected for a term of six years instead of four and the last named officials will receive a flat salary of $2,500 per year and will get no fees. Salaries of district judges have not yet been fix ed and there seems to be a strong disposition to contest any raise above the $3,000 as presently paid the judges. The number of judges in the state has been reduced. There will be twenty-five judicial districts and .twdnty-nine judges outside of New Orleans. This is a reduction of seven Judges. Mesdames F. J. Dietlein and C. W Roy were in Lafayette the first of the week to attend a reception given j by Mrs. J.. A. Roy of t~t city. SECOND INITIATION BY K. OF C. COUNCll MEMBERS WORKING INDUSTRI OUSLY TO SECURE CLASS FOR CEREMONIES LAST OF MAY Opelousas council of the Knights of Columbus is preparing for another initiation which it proposes to stage some time the last half of May. In all probability this will be the last in. itiation until next fall, as, according to members, there will be no activity of that kind during the warm weather of the summer months. The members-especially those who went through in the class of two weeks ago-are working ene/getically to secure applications for the coming event. They propose that the class will be a large one, and the recent ini tiates wish to get their "revenge" by seeing the other fellows "ride th' goat," just as they had to a short time ago. The degree work will be performed in the local council and the class of candidates will receive the tlree de grees at home without having to journiey to some other town. Already quite a number of applications have been, received and nothing will be left undone in order to make the class of candidates one of the larg est initiated. in recent years. Mem bers of the order from various cities and towns in this section of the state are expected to be on hand for the big event. ADDITION TO PLAY GROUNDS IS GREAT ATTRACTION NOW Pupils in Opelousas Institu tion Benefit by the Exercise d FOUR CONTRAPTIONS FURNISH AMUSEMENT Tw-o Merry-Go-Rounds, One Shoot-The-Chute and High Trapeze There is no need for any over r zealous parent to think that hsi or u her child will be lacking in physical I exercise while attending di~ases .n [. the Opelousas high school. Recently 1- several appliances were bought that will add greatly to the facilities of the out-door playgrounds, and that the additions are appreciated by the army of kids was evidenced Thursday whei a newspeper man paid a brief visit to the school to view the new appli ances. Seventy-five or more of the small-. er pupils, in charge of Miss Littell and;' Miss Stagg, were swarming around the two merry-go-rounds, the shoot the-shoot and the trapez i aa, that they were having the time of their! lives was plain to be seen. It would 3 `be difficult to decide which of the contraptions furnished the most ' amusement, but if there was any dif ference it was in favor of the shoot- , the-shoot outfit, for the kids ran up the ladder at the high end and came down the smooth incline in a reguiar t stream. The merry-go-rounds are of ' different types. The larger of the two has room for a large number of kids a and when it gets in motion goes for a' s time under its own momentum. Iti whirls in a wave-like motion which is r greatly enjoyed by the youngsters. The other is a hand affair and the!t, kids hang to it as they go swirling around. The trapeze is constructed o of iron piping, the framework support- b ing hand-holds between the up-right u bars, and each end is constructed in ic ladder-like form for access in getting P to the cross bars at the top. After it reaching the top the kids hang by n their hands and work across front tl bar to bar, hanging suspended mean- e: time. I There is nothing violent or dan- it gerous in any of the exercise and it tl will prove not only beneficial to the to physical being but will incidentally! it be of benefit mentally in that the' t youngsters' minds will better appre- is dcate and absorb their lessons during ti school hours. 01 Certainly the Opelousas school, has benefitted by the addition to the play- le ground equipment and the money ex- at pended on this equipment could not a` have 'been spent in a better or more w' beneficial cause. "All work and no e play makes Jack a dull boy," the old se adage says; and the principal and teachers of the as-66s w.ll find that h ji the labors of teaching will be con- tir aiderable lightened by the ability of tM the youngster to learn after the daily m< play and exercise on the new equip- W meat on the grounds. - CONVENTIONS KILLS INCOME TAX AND SAVES THE J P.'S Increase in Burden People Must Bear is Vigorously Opposed PARISH COURT IDEA GOES INTO DISCARD Rosen of Orleans Battles Unsuccessfully to Save Measure It can be safely predicted that the convention will not write into the new constitution a state income tax, and it can also be stated that the leg islature will be inhibited from adopt ing a law based on such a :neory. Tuesday the committee on taxation after hearing eloquent arguments both for and against the proposition, voted overwhelmingly to reject the subject, but one proponent of the idea chbanged his vote in order to move for a reconsideration at a future meeting of the committee. However, it is stated that there is no possible chance of the committee changing its opinion about the levying of an income tax on the people for state purposes. The ghost has been forever laid in the dust. Charles Rosen, gifted and eloquent Orleans attorney, made a strong plea for the income tax but his appeals fell on deaf ears, while Senator 'War ren, who has become quite prominent because of .his favorable attitude on the measure, was absent, though his presence .would not have saved the resolution. Martin Behrman, former mayor of New Orleans, was a vig orous opponent of the entire scheme and aided materially in putting it f. nally to asleep in the junk pile of dea4 resolutions. T'Pncqmmittee on the judiciary al so wenit on record as opposing the abolishment of the justice of the peace system and the establishment of parish courts instead-something which has long been proposed and which was expected to have great weight in the convention. However, the justices .al over the state got bosy ima~a diaetely tbey saw their jobs were -threatened and organized to put up a fight against any such dras tic action on the part of the conven tion. They made a winning contest as is shown by the action of the com mittee in killing the proposition last Tuesday. e Judge Robert R. Reid of Tangipa , ! hoa, who has taken a very prominent part in the entire proceedings of the convention, stated *to the committee i his recollections of the workings of !the old parish judge system, alnd it appeared that he was the only mem ý.ber of the committee who had any j vague recolections of that old court I system. He opposed the abolishment . of the justice of the peace office and t his opposition went a long way Iu convi:ning the members that the • move would be unwise and hence the resolution was given the death blow In quick order. The severance tax, collected from the producers of oil, sulphur, nat uarl gas, lumber, salt, etc., because of the immensity of the fund, is drawing ithe attention of the delegates. The proposition of the governor to turn this sum into the building of a greater agricultural college, while warmly supported by one element in the con vention, is meeting with strong op position by another element. Many of the parishes that contribute to this tax are setting up a howl that the tax be prorated among them for their own use. Others state the tax should be placed in the general fund for the use of the entire state. The upshot of the matter is, the governo.'s pro position to use twelve million dol lars of the tax for the college will not be accepted but a fourth or a third of the amount named by the executive may be set aside for the purpose. There is another element 4 In the state and in the convention that believe the entire fund should be a turned into the state schools or using I it for the establishment of agricu: tural high schools, one in every par ish. They back their arguments with 1 such facts that there are thousands e of children who would never be bene fitted by a greater agricultural col- t lege as they would never be able to 1 attend; whereas, with an agricultur al school in their home parish t ay l would meet with no difficulty what- S ever in attending. The argument seems incontrovertible. o The convention is scheduled to at* journ on May 14. whichh marks the i time limit of sventy-five days set by the legialative act calling the body to meet. It is plain now that the work e will not be well completed by that date and as a natural result the state is due to have a makeshift organic a PARISH TOWNS ELECT OFFICERS PRIMARIES IN WASHINGTON, GRAND COTEAU, PORT BARRE AND ARNAUDVILLE TUESDAY Three St. Landry towns held mun! cipal primary elections Tuesday to select nominees for town officials to serve each place the next two years, namely, Washington, Grand Coteau, Port Barre and Arnaudville. There was no contest whatever either in Grand Coteau and Washingtowhile at Port Barre there was a warm right only for mayor and marshal, while at Arnaudville four men contested for three places on the board of alder men. At Washington the folowing were chosen: Mayor, A. J. Muller; alder men, H. J. Brigamr, - C. August Elter, Gantt Nicholson, John ,L. Voltz and Frank Winkler, marshal, B. C. Wood ruff. At Port Barre the fight for mayor centered around J. L. Domeaq4 d Os car Bordelon, and the lattek 6bn by a alight majority. Many of -.ie vot ers were disfranchised because they had failed to register. J. C. Guidrot was elected marshal over A. V. Lang lois, while J. M. Caillouet, A. L. Mouillie and A. E. Resweber were chosen on the board of aldermen. Alcee Arnaud was elected mayor of Arnaudville and J. P. Rivette for marshaL Felix Darby, J. A. Guidroz, L. A. Quebedeaux and Oscar Roy were candidates for three places on the town council. We were unable to learn the three winners. At Grand Coteau the following were chosen without oposition: MayQr, E. V. Barry; marshal, Edwin Simth; al dermen, Walter A. Barry, John M. Oge and Jno. L. Smith. CHARLES LAFLEUR CROSSES DIVIDE it VILLE PLATTE CITIZEN DIES g SUDDENLY IN BATON ROUGE; d INTERRED IN OPELOUSAS r, Charles Lafleur, native of the Bay it ou Boeuf section and for many years re a resident of Ville Platte, died sud o denly at the Baton Rouge sanitarium a- last Wednesday morning at 5:10 t- o'elork, aged 66 years, 9 months and t 2 days. The remains were brought to - Opelousas Thursday on the 1:09 Gulf t Coast Lines train and interred in the Catholic cemetery after services at L- the Catholic church. t Mr. Lafleur was one of the well Imown citizens of St. Landry and Evangeline and took a leading part f in politics of both parishes. He held t various offices of trust and neveir failed his constituents. At the time of his death he was justice of the peace in Ville Platte and the" 4ay be-Ii fore his death was re-elected a menr ber of the board of aldermen of that 1 town. While residing on Bayou ] Boeuf, years ago, he was elected Jus tice of the peace and held the posi tion several terms. He was one of the solid, substan tial and reliable citizens of this part i of the state. Everyone knew Carfle Lafleur to be a splendid man and his place will inded he hard to fill.7. He was twtce married, bot.i wivY s having preceded him to the grave. f His first wife was a Miss 'Lase be of a Washington and to that sta6l - eight a children were born, all of W..dm sur- 4 vive. These children are Paul W. La- ' fleur, mayor of Melville; OCI C. t. Lafleur, one rf the leading mer- b chants of Kinder; Lorenzo I&-flear, cashier of the bank at Gonzales, As- a cension parish; Fenelon Lte ofr o Kinder; Cletus Lafleur, railroad ai agent at Bunkie; Mrs. Armand Co reil and Miss Hilda Lafletrr of Villeq Platte and Miss Gladys Lanet of Thibodeaux, who is a nun in one of the convents, but whose religious name we were unable to obtain. * The deceased was a member of one of the large Creole families of thi9' and ajoining parishes and he leaves, a large circle of relatives as well aaý friends to mourn his passing. Mayor Paul W. Lafleur of Melville ly was here Thursday to attend the-fun- tl eral of his father, Charles Latleur. st WF. T. Stewart, recently appointed e traveling representative of the print- 1 inf a'''l stationery firm of C'rrke & St Co...ts of 4alvrpston, Texas, arrived cA 'here the first of the week to spend { ti several days at home. d4 Former ;uperintendent A. C. Jones of the municipal power plant, Was re here several days this week visiting to friends. in th law that will require constant and er expensive amending in order to per- as feet its imperfections. ,Many dele- el gates state that the work is a bungl , w and an expensive one at that. 13 *r~rrr~r· I'4 TEXAS AND PACIFIC SEEKS TRAIN CUT ON LOUISIANA LINES Asks Commission to Let it Discontinue Ten Passen-. ger Trains AIMS HARD BLOW AT' SEVERAL BRANCHES: Opelousas and Eunice Divi sions Would Have Only Mixed Service. The Texas and Pacific railway. hbis requested the railroad comnmission for authority to cancel ten passenger trains operating over. its lines it Louisiana, according to a dispatchi from 'Baton Rouge, and the lnattefi will be fought out before the rail body at its April meeting which will be held in Baton Rouge on next Tues day, April 26. The railway compny, if granted rthe authority, would discontinue traina Nos. 29 and 30 operating over the Port AllennNew Roads branch; Noa.I 48 an 49, operating over the old main - line between Cypress and brevepert Nos. 448 and 499, running Bver the Opelousas division between dMelville and Crowley; and Nos. 240, 241, 242. 243, 244 and 245, running betweea, Eunice, Bunkie and Melville~ Same.,. of these trains are alread¶ mimned service, while others do only pasan' er service. They would be repladed, by mixed service entirely, as it oIs in derstood that on the Opelousas and Eunice branch lines there would be but one mixed train each day each~' way. This would prove a serious handicp to many cities, towns adtd. communities affected by the order, it - the commission grants it, and pattro. of the road living in these comumunli ties should prepare for action at once, - as they can rest assured the railroad; company will present a strong arg t-.I ment why it should, get the permsnli sion of the rail board. Crowley and Church Point, on the_. Opelousas division, have already lai i plans to fight the company bore.o. the commission anq will have rep, resentatives on hand at the meeting.. Tuesday to present to that body tagi-i ble reasons why the companly shouldHi not be granted the authority tb cºran eel the trains operating over the Ope Lousas division. The people of Opelousas have tak: en no definite steps to contest the railroad company's request to diBf continue the trains over the O~eiiG and if they leave the matter enthiy in the hands of the Crowley .*ed Church Point people the railroal com-. pany stands a fair chance of secur ing the permission of the rail board to cancel the .trains in question. The Southern Pacific so far bes made no move to cancel the "Bumble Bee' tnain running over the laayette. Alexandria branch through Opelousas,. though it was reported someim time ago that it, too, would apply to the com mission for authority to cancel this train. It may make such. application later on, if the Texas and Pacific wins out in its fight to cancel ten or a doz en trains operating on its branch lines in Louisiana. The Southern Pacific has always strongly opposed, a doable daily service over the Alex andria branch, but every time it ate. tempted to have one train cancelled'.. it met with such vigorous oppositi¢n that it lost the fight before the raif board, and maybe its previous lu~ck: ip such contests has made it leery ei again attempting to curtail service over the most important branch that it operates in the state. TEN WANT STREEF COMMISSIONERSHIP CITY CAUNCIL WILL SELECT SUC 'CESSOR TO LATE OCTAVE DU RIO ON TUESDAY, MAY 8 There promises to be quite a live ly scrap before the city copuncl for the position of street comiseloner to succeed the late Octave Durio. The council will hold its meetint.. for.the month of May on Tuesday the 3d in stant, and the board will then de ide which of the ten candidatee will fill the vacancy caused by Mr. Durio's death. 'Several of the candidates have al ready gotten busy securing signatures to petitions addressed to the council in behalf of their candidacies, and in this conneuion it is stated that sev - eral of the aforesaid petitions have assumed formidable lengths. Wheth er this fact will have any weight with the board of aldermen is not known. g~k I~rrr~lll ., " .,..rsw*~