"rBI ENV L 'DE M ocR SBIENVIL LE DE MOCRAT Capital and surplus do not al S ways denote the strength of a bank. A Bank of real strength has char acter, experience; a record for sound finance and serv ice to its patrons. These are points to be taken into consideration when making your choice of a Bank and it is by these standards that we ask to be judged. TI acter, experience; t axecord / CO nERCIAL BAN . AARCADIA, U. SIf you are without either carlessness, neglect oroyersight. We are trying here to call your atten •; . , Tt A nl K O;*. I. KNO T AN insuoranT e 4ite is . Repirces se i Autok callc yaw ate OF INTERPE ST FROM sAILS AND VICINITY Mr. P. 0. Cole was a business visitor MAcadia Friday. Mrs J. D. Cole apd son, and Mrs. v.. Garett were the guests of Mrs. lartis Baturday. Mr. J. G. Cole was a visitor to Gibs n Friday. Mr f. P .Cole returned home Fri afrom Alexandria, where he has attending the Bead Caap Meet. Sot the W. O. HMr Ford Cole ria sister, Ledna, we visitors to r~elfand Saturda |M. iaf MS& IL :I5.bry, of w t. )non visited Mr. and Mrs. F. L Friday. .re. J. B. Jones Is VtitE her daugh 'Mr~. John . ' g. Irq R. L Cqle, . L. and F. L. Wi, aB M ir.AI Mrs. T'W. Jameks eusrt( Otho BfbDatter and Theo , of Gilband, spent Saturday iuntasy with Mr. and Mr. H. IL Mattle Beard and children, of i, were the o st of UMr. Stew Siunday. L4a44 Mr. J. W. Cole and phildreo, Thiurday ighit with Mr. and J,. 4 Cole. meeting of the boliew i nt and Soft Aradaia adt vi-cinty Pra bere Istt FIdyt bear . ti . of the Bam of A grilture, addresedt U upfd1th of 9prp8ib a stock co0 pany to erfdt'20a000 bshel capacity lotatd ting iad storfug yl^sa J. Ai. nere, farpi " esnostlator at the meetig ' kroll stated that such plants are ad that the teatnes are fldlg tabe that cotton aisWg. enorth *kv Jm 75e per buhel for itatoes delivered at the potato Itorin~j ~ d cing plant. The potatoes noijlable could be profitably used for l feed, thus noth. ing would be waste~ The average costfor erection of a S20,000 capacity plant would be around $8,000.o0'- A comattee composed of Mrs. W. J. McGuire,*, M.'Conger and .J A. Anders was pointed to solicit subscrlptions of tbq amount ot stock required for the pro t. If a potato curim plant in Arcadia will give the farmns a better money crop than cotton, teI it is time for every, one to put th r shoulder to the fwheel and boost t proposition. None of t he w snp.of ftak*l pre are areonventf i and no thouht of the dlplay . uag that women are said to love tbhtebrlde Swho ,all1tm n akla t hbe ra rere attrtibuted &itw n* The w oplmwn br4 e4w aet bave to Ibe coaxed to n the day, ta. et SPortia and OUivia rtl their lover In m~ lt the remay, the latter two i t;l .t -t bdeWegre to )ched wlth a halt thalte amtost U a& seemly; and we b 'th testimony Ot , theuo that did thklae of tti ang. ,' *» ___ -, „ ,„ „ BRING YOV EI8 AN? BUtT. TBmTO, . L.McCf AN. t. Nanal Bank tAd ,"I4, 3Lou3ian Tahe resor~ NtidilBak nk w exceed by. than a Billion Dollars the combined resources of all an, a nks, private ba s, and trus comies of the country. The resources of the Natin BanW • •ofr the Unit4h States at this time exceed the gret resources of the National Banks of issue of Eland S the. Domintion of Cada. ( France, Italy, theNethean s, y Sweden, Jaan and Germany, all combi, R . W, sor btrlastavailablesrO ntso On Novenbe lt, 1918 there was7, 754 Natinal Banks with rau e ..jA2.10i' ,,0s0.00. ahdo onlyone latlonalBankwas c ed during the year, and this was a small bank n ifor Usb!lt~ 51, * nla.- Now there's a reason for all this, every on these NalonaP -Banks are under U. S. Government supr rrv~ 4aandiYoi can ely upon Uncle Sam to see that out Interest Is protected. The First Nationl is oneof the % b mank aa4 we are proud7of ourrecrd which hash to make up WtMIit ^0(FromReorof to Congress Dec. 1918) (pro Reptt of /*r TX L[ECTiON ORDERED An O.n Letter Irm the Parish Board of School \ Directors that Every Citizen should Read The Bienville Parish Board of School Directors have called a Parish-wide school tax election of 5 mills to replace the 45 special district taxes now in force in the parish. The ordinance and resolutions, proclamation, voting places, commissioners and clerks of election appear elsewhere in thjs issue of the pa per. The election will be held Saturday, May 17, 1919. The proposition submitted is a very simple one. If carried it means, that all men, without regard to color, financial standing, or physical location will hereafter pay the same rate of taxation for the support of the public schools of the parish. The man in Arcadia or Gibsland will have to pay the same rate as the man in the Lee District or the Friendship District. If carried it means that all the present high rates of taxation will be abol. ished, except the building taxes, which will be reduced to a point sufficient only to pay out the buildings. The last legislature reduced all the special taxes now existing to five mills. If the district system remains some of the poorer districts will. have very short terms of school, because a five mill tax in some of these districts will produce I a very small amount of money; whereas, if the district is made parish-wide, the poorer schools will get some of the money paid by the richer districts, and at the same time both will pay the same rate of tax. For'instance; there is one district in the parish where a five mill tax will produce $2,250.00, this school hhs two teachers and about 50 pupils. There is another school not far away where a five mill tax will bring in about $225.00. This school needs two and sometimes three teachers. They have about 85 pupils. It can readily be seen that the latter school can never properly educate their children. The parish-wide proposition is to equalize this money between all dis tricts, and give all children more equal educational opportunities. The larger towns and richer districts will of course lose some revenue by the parishBwide method, yet since the towns have been built up largely by the country we feel that it is only just and right that some of the funds of the richer communities should go to them for the education of their children. For instance all the people of Blenville Parish have -for years been paying out their money patronizing the V. S. & P. Ry., have they ever received any re turns in the way of taxes for their money? Only people who live in the districts through which the railroad runs get the benefit. The parish-wide method would give a division of these funds to all the people. S We desire to say that we have given this matter careful consideration and think it the best movement for the betterment of the schools of the parish that we have ever seen. This tax, together with the other sources of revenue, will afford ample funds to pay capable and experienced teachers a reasonable salary for their Sservices, and otherwise provide sufficient means to conduct all the schools of the, parish in a far more satisfactory manner than has been done in the past. Under this plan the high schools will be open, without tuition, t6 all the white children of the parish. S The intention therefore of the election to be held May 17th, is to convert the whole parish into one school district so that the revenue from whatever source Sderived may be so distributed as to give all children more equal educational Sopportunities than at present. This is right and proper and the only argument Sagainst it is one of pure seltishlms. Knowing the deep interest the people of Bienville feel in the proper educa Stton of their children, as heretofore indicated by the special taxes voted on Sthemselves fi thb sdpport' ithe schools, we your representatives entertain no fears on the outcome of this election. The tax will not' prove burdensome, and it i.~ea nlmuchl lighter than heretofore, and/the tof:i amount of funds to be handled by the Board will only l:e suffileeft to'mailit.atn on ~thoolsdn a parity with the other progressive parithes of the state, and certainly the good people of Bleniille Parish will not be ,:atlifled with anything lest than this. P. F. White, member from Ward 7. ;E. H. Fisher, Secretary. J. W. Sutton, member from Ward 1. J. E. Roden, member from Ward 6. H. N. Hays, member from Ward 5. J. F. Conly, Jr., member from Ward 4. G. R. Boone, member from Ward 3. G, L. Wren, member from Ward 2 RINOGOLD OIL 8 GAS COMPANY ' SELLING STOCK RAPIDLY Dr. C. C. Allum, piesldent of the Ringgold Oil & Gas Company, whose charter appears elsewhere in the Demo crat, was a business visitor to Arcadia Tuesday. He stated to a representa tive of the Democrat that stock was being sold very rapidly, and that drill ing operations would begin in a short time. TAX PURCHASER' NOTICE To Lind Wardlow or any other per son Interested: You are hereby notified that or uly 0th, 918, at the principal front doo* of the Court House in the sowI of Arcadia, Bienville Parish, LaU. I' purchased at Tax Sale the following described property, to-wit: E 142 of NW 1-4, Sec. 24; Tp. 15, ,And the price for which same was sold And the amount of taxes andcost of this notice being $18.80 The dee0d is rdeorded fi Book No. 51, on page 268, and wask recorded on Oct. 24thb, 1918, and the said property wab sold' for taxes of 1917. . iThi the 8rd day of April, 1919. S. A. COOK Arcadia, La., 1000 DOZEN 0tGS WANTED BY, J. L. MCCLLLAN, ARCADIA. '' *** * * * - '** ' i -- : MICKIE SAYS SAy, OULSI WIN vYou wftfire PIECES f8al'Ht 0PAP9, Pta "tt Lo.0% e ImAu, M stN YOVt NMt rl'tM' so *V GT 0oss WO4 '0Vow 'am t ON It LOOR pet M xft - PIC UP. "I SANS AN UNHeOtNO CHnctdc* .*i NEW BAPTIST CHURCH BRWN8 O N 51 INT 61 U M V OWPIT41B1 The citizens of Arcadia were aroused last Frlday night at about 9:30 by the fire aarm, and rushing dowu town found'the beautiful pew Baptist church building a mass of flames. The alarm was given by Mr. and Mrs. Foster Tay lor, but the flames were beyond con trol before a bucket brigade could be formed. The loss was probably felt the more keenly by the people of Arcadia, owing to the fact that the building had just been completed that day, and dedica. tion services were to have been held within two weeks. Preparations for a splendid dedicatory program were un derway, and every one was looking forward with much anticipation to the day when the beautiful edifice would be ready for use. The origin of the blaze is a mystery which will probably never be explain ed. Too much cannot be said in praise of the building comnLittee, who went to work, while the building was wrapped in flames, to make preparations to build another of the'same design. As much as three thousand dollars was subscribed on the grounds, by those who stood witnessing the fire. The building which was erected at a cost of about $10,000.00 was insured for only $5,000.00. Including the insurance 'enough money will soon be subscribed to build another, and the contract has already been let to Mr. Andrews, who had the contract for the other building. Mr. Andrews stated that he would de liver the new building within four months. The same building committee was retained by the church. R ev. J. C. Cox, in his sermon Sunday, referred to the loss of the building, choosing as his text the passage, "All things work together for the good of those who love the Lord." 0 DERRICK ERECTED AT CROSS ROADS, NORTH OF HERE r A derrick has been erected at Mar t sailis, La., 8 1-2 miles due north of Arcadia, and 7 miles east of Athens, by Fuller & Conohan, in Section 6, Tp. 18, R. 5, and drilling will be started Sas soon as the rig arrives, The rig SIs en route to Athens and a car load I of piping is in transit to Arcadia, and Sboth are expected to arrive any day. Fuller & Conohabn have done exten . sive drilling hi Caddo and Oklahoma Sfields, and we understand have been o very successful. a ---- ---, S T TO CHIRCH FUND On learning of the destruction of the Arcadia Baptist church building by fire on last Friday night,. Sen. A. R. Johnson, of Homer, who was here a few days ago, generously contributed $200.00 cash to the rebuilding fund. This contribution is especially appre elated as Senator Johnson was under * no obligation whatever to make such a contribution, and the same was vol untary. NOTICE TO HOLDERS OF PARISH WARRANTS AU parties holding Parish War. rants are requested to send them in to the COMMERCIAL BANK OF ARCADIA, for eollection, A. D. SMITH, President of the Pollee Jury. Honduras At~oative With a population estimated at O.* 000 and aa area approximately equal to that of Pennsylvania, Honduras has abundant rooam for development. It Shas a tropical climate withb few: of the sual dlwadvantages. The Interior Hi amountainous and salubrious, with con* siderable rich land suitable for diver sifed farming and fruit growing, while Ill of' the remainder, eyen the deep moeatate slopes, Is used for pasturage Can You Beat It? To prevent misuse of automobiles i device has been Invented ,that prints Swithin a locked box a record of the * time and duration of every stop made by a car to which it Is attached and the distance and speed between stops. Subscribe for the DEMOCRBAT. It only cost you $1.50-per year. Sp I i Special Low Prices! for Easter on Dress Goods, Dry Goods, Shoes, Hosery, Corsets I and other Furnishings. New Hart, Schaffner & Marx and other reliable makes of Clothes for men. New arrivals in men's and boys' Oxfords, Underwear, Hose, Shirts and Neckwear. Come to our Store for your Spring Mer chandise. Jos. Dawidoft & Co. Arcadia, Louisiana Free Silverware! We are offering to our customers for a limited time a coupon with each 80 cent cash purchase which will be redeemed by the Silverware Re demption Bureau with Rogers Silverware. Call and let us explain the proposition to you as it will cost absolutely nothind extra. This is your chmnce to get a cemplte set oI H lGrde Silverware absoltely, Itre. t ItIs you for the asking. STHE PEOPES hARDWARE 'otc" . "Get it where they've got ft" TEST WELL TO BE DRILLED FEW MILES SOUTH OF ARCADIA Mr. E. W. Bagley, who is connected with the Consolidated Progressive Oil Company, completed arrangements Monday for the drilling of a test well on the J. P. White tract, five miles South of Arcadia. It Is agreed by the company that they will begin actual drilling within 30 days. The Consolidated Progressive Oil Corporation, has as it's president, Mr. R. L. Smith, who is well known in oil circles. It was this company which brought in the first producing well In the Homer field. Mr. Bagley was in charge of the company's business at Homer during the time the well was being drilled. Here's hoping that the Democrat will soo be able to announce that the same company who brought in the first well at Homer has brought in a producing well at Arcadia. - -.----~~ NOTICE MONEY TO LOAN on improved farm land through the Federal Land Bank. Apply to I. E. SUTTON, Sec. Treas., Bryceland, La. 52-b 4t. J. W. BODDIE APPOINTED CI ,MA IWAL At a call meeting held by the KlMor and Town Council of Arcadia, J. W. Boddie was appointed to fl the tuex* pired term of J. II. Houston, who reo signed a short time ago. Mr. Boddie 'has been deputy sherif, of Blenvlle Parish under Sheriff J. E. ('urrie for several month, during which time he has provenl himself a most et. ficient officer, and will no doubt mako a splendid marshal. He tsmumed his doties as maptbal Tuesday, April 1st. Plants Affeeteo by ui . Some remarkable variations Il plei structure and color from ezposure to the sue at different hours of thb day have been brought to the notie of the Itoyal itcroecoplel Society of Eng. laad by Ool R. B. Rawso. In lowers )f the common nMatrtluro-tPropaeolI majus-the low mn of the ary morn lag developed yellow colorig matter, the middle st of nmiday stimulated he violets, blues and purples The colt or of the follae and lobtl of thl leaves als changed. -0-------'. MARKET PRICE PAID FOR F(C$ AND BUTER.-J. L. McCLELLAN.