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THE ST. LANDRY DEMOCRAT. E. P. GOODWIN, Editor ani Pullisler. Opelousas, - - - Louisiana. Have You a Boy to Spare ? The saloon must have boys or must shut up shop. Can't you furnish one ? It is a grand factory, and unless it can get about two million boys from each generation for raw material some of these factories must close out, and its operation must be thrown on a cold world, and the public revenue will dwindle. "Wanted, 2,000,000 boys," is the notice. One family out of every five must con tribute a boy. Which of your boys will it be ? The Minotaur of Crete had to have a ship load of fair maidens each year ; but the Minotaur of America demands a city full of boys each year. Are you a father ? Have you given your share to keep up the supply for this great public institution that is helping to pay your taxes and kindly electing public officials for you? Have you contributed a boy ? If not, some other family has had to give more than its share. Are you not selfish, voting to keep the saloon open to grind up boys and then doing nothing to keep up the supply your self "?— Courent , East Randolph, N. Y. Arsenic Eating. The habit of arsenic eating is becoming more and more common among the young women of this country, and the physicians say that nothing too harsh can be uttered against this miserable practice. Arsenic preparations of all kinds are advertised, and various preparations of this deadly drug are daily sold for the alleged purpose of beautifying the complexion. They who use it are daily laying the foundation of a disease that will one "day destroy some of their most vital organs. The actual ob ject tobe gained by arsenic eating is that clear, white, almost transparent skin which they so much admire, and which may mean an early death. Again, the result obtained by the use of arsenic show very plainly the hurtful nature of it. The exact state of affairs brought about by arsenic eating is a diminution of the strength of the blood ; the capilary blood vessels are stopped from working ; the ends of the blood vessels are killed ; no blood is supplied to the skin, and the real reason for the white, transparent nature of the skin is that it is practically dead. If the result of arsenic eating is the highly transparent state of the skin, and if this can only result from the killing of blood vessels, the claim that there is no harm in the habit becomes an absurdity. Physi cians are up in arms against the use of the drug. One prominent doctor said : "I hope something will be done, and done soon to stop this abominable traffic. If the destruc tion of the blood vessels was the only thing the arsenic eater succeeded in doing, it would be bad enough ; but that is not all. The arsenic has a bad effect on the kidneys, and is likely to bring on a disease which will end only in death. It has also a bad effect on the digestive organs, and soon destroys their action ; the liver, too, is diseased by the poison, and the nerves be come affected to such an extent that their control becomes impossible. It acts upon the system in such a way that the victim of the habit becomes lost to all sense of morality. The practice of arsenic eating is a vicious one that ought to be stopped immediately before any more harm is done."— The Ottawa (Kan.) Republican. Ignorance and Crime. Ignorance is the keynote or mainspring of crime. The sandbagger, for instance, in nine cases out of ten, an illiterate in dividual of punkheaded order, whose own name if placed before him, would addle his untortured and sparse brain, as al :*• gebra would that of the African ant-eater. In consequence thereof, this low-browed creature of sin has no fear as to the result of any of his dastardly attacks, any more than a slight apprehension of his being detected by local authorities, which to his condensed ideas of the punishment, is a jail or workhouse sentence. The agony of a living death, that daily creates a nervous tremor to the peruser of the casualty columns of the press as he reads of the spasmodic twitchings, the pulsations, and the awful contortions of the dangling hulk, are an everlasting and vivid "photo" of example. Not so with the uneducated criminal, who basks in the sunshine of dire acts, and why 1 They can't read. The result is they will associate with clans of their ilk in ignorance and mental squalor. The dastardly happenings of the world at large is as foreign to him as a thanksgiving to a horned toad. They charge madly on in their tainted careO to a goal where misery and death sardonically grasps them. Myr iads yearly, in all latitudes, unknown to one another, expiate their hellish acts. In building an edifice it is impossible to put on the roof before laying the foundation, or putting the feed-board on the press before laying the frame. So with crime, commence at the foundation, which is education. It will expose the ulcer you have to contend with. After you have drank in mastodonic quantities of filte âd knowledge, you can dispense with your jailopathic physician, and smile with a complacent air. Your enlightened features as you perambulate past the slums of polution where lustless eyes leer at you, a shudder passes through you as you think of your transformation, education did it. It should be made one of the most stringent of laws.— E. W. O., in Peck's Sun. Blunders in Composition. The Printers' Register gives a series of illustrations of bad composition and punc tuation. It is worth a careful thinking over by men and women who wish to be free in what they write from what may be called scandalous mistakes—mistakes, we are sorry to say, which are by no means unknown in what people write for their friends and the press. A man who was suddenly taken sick "hastened home, whila every means for his recovery were resorted to. In spite of all his efforts, he died in the triumphs of the Christian religion." "A man was killed by a railroad car running into Bos ton, supposed to be deaf." A man writes : "We have decided to erect a school house large enough to accommodate 500 scholars five stories high." On a certain railway the following luminous direction was printed : "Hereafter, when trains in an opposite direction are approaching each other on separate lines, conductors and en gineers will be requested to bring their re spective trains to a dead halt before the point of meeting, and b% careful not to proceed until each train has passed the other." A steamboqj captain, advertising an excursion, says : "Tickets, 25 cents ; * children half price to be had at this office." A hotel was thus advertised : "This hotel will be kept by the widow of the former landlord, Mr. Brown, who died last sum mer on a new and improved plan." "Wanted, a saddle horse for a lady weigh ing about 950 pounds." An Iowa editor • says : "We have received a basket of fine C gTapes from our friend W., for which he will please accept our compliments, some of which are nearly two inches in diameter." "Board may be had at No. 4 Pearl street for two gentlemen with gas." Over a bridge at Athens, Ga., is the following : "Any person driving over this bridge in a pace faster than a walk, shall, if a white man, be fined five dollars, and if a negro, receive twenty-five lashes, half the penalty to be bestowed on the informer." A news paper contained this: "We have two school rooms sufficiently large to accom modate 800 pnpils one above another." THE PRESS CONVENTION, Louisiana Newspaper People at Thibodaux. FULL PROCEEDINGS. Addresses of Welcome, Poems, Essays, and Resolutions. Special correspondence to the New Orleans Pic ayune and the New Orleans Times-Democrat. Thibodaux , La., May 13, 1889.—The ninth annual session of the Louisiana Press Association met here at 8:30 p. m to-day. The train which left New Orleans at 11:25 this morning brought quite a number of members from North Louisiana and the East bound train also brought a large con tingent from other parts of the State. The proverbial hospitality of this thriving lit tle city is sustained on this occasion, for everyone with whom the members have come in contact has been unsparing in little courtesies and attentions. Fireman's Hall, where the convention is held, is handsomely decorated with flowers and plants. The ladies of Thibodaux grace the convention by their attendance, and they have also actively attended to a number of the arrangements for the con venience and comfort of visitors. Among those who have taken great in terest in maintaining Thibodaux's hospi tality, and who have materially assisted the committee, are Mis. Lambert, Mrs. Curtis, Miss Binning and other charming ladies. The decoration of the hall was under charge of Hon. I. D. Moore, and he was assisted throughout by the above named ladies. A splendid upright Emerson piano, kindly loaned by Mr. Junius Hart, the music dealer of New Orleans, sets in front of the stage. The committee of arrangements is com posed o: about thirty citizens of the parish, who selected an executive committee of five, composed as follows : S. T. Grisa more, chairman ; I. D. Moore, F. W. Nich ols, H. N. Coulon and J. L. Aucom. Too much praise cannot tfe given the commit tee, especially the indefatigable chairman, foi their zeal and energy in arranging all the details necessary. The members of this committee met the trains at Schriever, furnished visitors with cards to their re spective places of entertainment, then came to Thibodaux, where carriages awaited the guests. Numbers of ladies and gentlemen were at the depot, and when the train ar rived the band struck up a lively air, and there was a general waving of handker chiefs and hats. So perfect were the arrangements that the visitors were soon comfortably quar tered in the hotels and at private houses. The executive committee was ably assisted by Dr. John Gazzo, T. Roger, .Oscar Le pine, L. H. Calflouet and F. Sancan. Arrangements had been made for an excursion forty miles down the bayou on the steamer Lafourch for next Wednesday, but the bayou being too low for her to come in, the steamer Alice LeBlanc, a lighter draught vessel, will take the visi tors a short distance down the bayou, where the day will be spent in a picnic. The afternoon was spent by the visitors strolling around town, taking in the sights and forming the acquaintance of citizens. The clock in the town hall, which the committee claims strikes the hours of day and night in ten languages, was an object of great curiosity. Even the jail was viewed from the outside with great inter est, and the general impression of Thibo daux upon the minds of the visitors is certainly a favorable one. The proceedings this evening opened with music, and the programme included a number of fine vocal selections, rendered by a chorus of twelve or fifteen voices, conducted by Prof. Choi. The large hall was crowded with visitors and citizens who listened attentively to addresses of welcome by J. L. Aucoin, mayor of Thibo daux, and S, T. Grissamore, president of the police jury. The mayor spoke as follows : Ladies and Gentlemen of the Press Con vention—It is my pleasing duty as chief magistrate of Thibodaux to extend to you a welcome to our walls. We deeply ap preciate the compliment involved in the selection of our town as your place of meeting, and we realize the many and gTeat advantages to be derived from the presence in our midst of so influential a body as the Press Convention of the State of Louisiana. We recognize the tremen dous power for good of the pen when wielded by an editor of correct principles and by one who is thoroughly conscien tious in his noble avocation. We know that upon us devolves the duty of enter taining you with genuine Southern hospi tality, and that the good impression which we hope to make on you will depend upon our efforts to please. Preparations have been made to render your stay with us as pleasant as possible, and from yhat I know of the warm-hearted and liberal character of our people, I am safe in prom' ising you every attention to your comfort which a hearty good will and a strong de sire to please can dictate to a people. You will find in Thibodaux no ruins associated with memories of heroiè deeds, no grand and imposing structures, but you will see neat and trim garden spots with every variety of flower and shrub in bloom ; you will find a system of sidewalks second to none in the State, perfect cleanliness in the streets and in the gutters, a church which will compare favorably with that of any other country town in the South, and above all you will become acquainted with a people who know how to dispense hospitality to the stranger within the gates. I again bid you welcome and trust that when the time comes for you to take your departure, you will carry with you none but the pleasantest impressions of our town, our section and our community. [Loud applause.] mb. grisamore's address was then delivered, as follows : Ladies and Gentlemen of the Louisiana Press Association—The duty of extending to you a welcome in behalf the citizens of Lafourche parish is devolved upon me. It is a source of much pleasure and some thing anusual in the history of this parish to have assembled within its boundaries such an able and talented representation coming from all parts of Louisiana, and the people whom I represent on this occa sion are gratified that an opportunity is given them to extend to you the right hand of friendship, and to greet you as fellow-citizens of one great State. It will afford thempleasure to exhibit to you some of the natural beauties, the vast resources, great capabilities and the outward evi dences of prosperity that the parish of Lafourche possesses. They will be pleased to form your acquaintance and to receive from you valuable information concern ing those parts of our State that you severally represent. In your association are the men who, to a certain extent, mold public opinion, who record the current histories §f your re spective parishes, who proclaim to the world the grandeur and progress of your State in its onward march of prosperity, and who hold the helm that guides our beloved Louisiana down the stream of time with honor undimmed and with ban ners free from spot or stain. To the men of the press is given the task of meeting and discussing the stern realities that active life daily presents, and of disposing of the practical questions of law and government that constantly »rise for adjustment. To the women of the press is assigned the more pleasing duty of increasing the amenities and softening the asperities of the mind by the gentle teachings of mor ality and charity, and of elevating the character of man by illustrating in their own history the practice of those great principles of benevolence and virture, 1 ^ which are the noblest attributes that God above has given to those below. Who that has read the gentle and winning words transcribed in prose or poetry by Vivian and Ella does not rejoice that tbey are native daughters of Louisiana ? W ho that has read the sprightly language of Pansy and the tender songs of Essie does not feel an honest pride in the fact that they have abandoned their native homes and come to dwell with us V Who have sung more eloquently and grandly the name and fame of Louisiana than Pearl Rivers V Wko has not felt that he was a wiser and better man alter reading one of the quaint, unembelished pastorals of Catherine Cole ? The first settlers of this Lafourche coun try were homeless wanderers from the old world, bold pioneers whose love of ad venture carried them down the cur rent of the Mississippi river, and Aca dian exiles, who, driven by the tyrant s oppressions from the snow-dipped hills of the North, sought refuge in the genial climate. The parish of Lafourche extends from the parish of Assumption to the Gulf coast. Bayou Lafourche enters this parish about eight miles above this city whence flowing through and dividing the parish, it empties itself into the Gulf of Mexico. The length of the parish is about eighty miles with a breadth of from fif teen to twenty-five miles. Bayou Lafourche is navigable for large steamboats from eight to ten months an nually and for small crafts at all times. Steamboats transport the crops grown upon the soil into the markets of the world, and bring back them such mer chandise, machinery, etc., as the wants of the inhabitants demand, depositing the same at their doors. Some fifty barges of stone coal are brought annually from the mines in Pennsylvania and landed at the planters' wharves, or to be reshipped from this town by rail into the parishes of Terre bonne and St. Mary for fuel to be con sumed in the manufacture of sugar and for other purposes From the great West comes boats freighted with hoop poles, lime and produce, all of which find a ready market along the bank of this stream. Bayou des Allemands, being the eastern boundary of the parish, is a fine navigable stream, upon which the residents adjacent export their products to market and re ceive such merchandise as their necessities may require, At a point near the mouth of bayou Lafourche a canal crosses that stream, which given in connection with other canals, lakes and bayous water nav igable from Houma in the parish of Terre bonne and the lower part of this parish to New Orleans, through which pass boats carrying the products of the soil, fish and oysters to the market. Four miles below this town the South em Pacific railroad, entering the eastern limit of the parish at bayou des Allemands, crosses the Lafourche. In connection with this road is a branch at Raceland, sixteen miles below, and others are coming to this place. The soil is entirely alluvial and of great fertility. When the pioneers first came here they found the lands densely covered with timber, the live oak and all other species of oak, the magnolia, ash, gum and all varieties of trees indigenous to al luvial lands grown to immense sizes and heights upon the highland, while the swamps were filled with gigantic cypress whose rough branches festooned with moss presented a grand and noble view to the stranger. Sugar cane, rice, potatoes and onions are the staple products but every species of vegetables and truck grow in great pro fusion when properly cultivated. The records of the parish put the num ber of acres in the parish at 370,000 and the cultivated land about 50,000. There are large sections of land in the parish composed of sea marshes undergoing the wpeess of forming into land. These, suffi Gently strong and solid for pastnrage, will, in a generation or two, be ready for the plow. During the last five years the attention of the police jury and the citizens have been directed towards the more thorough drainage of the lowlands and large areas have already been reclaimed in whole or in part. It will require but a few y oars more to recover thousands of acres of land now designated as swamps for culti vation or pasturage. It is safe to say that one-third, or over 100,000 acres of fertile land can be rendered arable within the limits of the parish. The soil of Lafourche is peculiarly adapted to the cultivation of sugar cane, now its principal product, and under the influence of the rapid improvement an nually made in its manufacture, destined to become the only product that will be grown for the markets of the world. The annual yield of sugar even in this parish varies materially according to the condi tion of the seed that may be planted and the injuries inflicted by early freeze. Some 15,000,000 pounds of sugar are annually manufactured. How much more may be grown is an unknown quantity, but the soil in Lafourche could easily produce from 70,000,000 to 100,000,000 pounds of sugar. Rice follows next to sugar, of which from 30,000 to 60,000 barrels are grown annually. Rice is generally irrigated by water drawn from the bayou, but occasion ally a resort to pumps becomes necessary. There are grown in each year from 50, • 000 to 100,000 barrels of potatoes. This product is adapted to the soil and farmers obtain from fifteen to thirty-five barrels for each barrel planted. Onions do well, and there ere several thousand barrels an nually sent out of the parish. Corn will produce from thirty to sixty bushels per acre. All that is grown here finds a ready sale In the home market. Peaches, plums, apricots, pears and all kinds of fruit ex cept apples do well, and in the lower por tion of the parish the orange grows to great perfection. In the winter months hundreds of the citizens find profitable employment in the hunting of wild ducks in the bays and bayous for the N ew Orleans market. Trapping of otter, mink and other ani mals for their furs has been a profitable industry for many years. The traffic in this business amounts to some $50,000 per annum. Alligators are killed for their hides which are only merchantable when five feet long. Not less than $25,000 per annum is derived from this traffic. In the first two decades of this century the islands near the mouth of bayou Lafourche were the chosen home of the fa mous Lafitte and his bands of roving smug glers. Anchoring their crafts in Timba, lier bay they sought rest from, their voyages whilst their contraband goods in defiance of custom-houses and government officials were transported in luggers and small boats up the Lafourche and other bayous to be exchanged with the inhabi tants for such agricultural products as were necessary for these bold rovers of the deep seas in their maritime voyages. Since that date Timbalier bay has been noted£for its immense beds of oysters that have supplied the people of the Lafourche country with the great luxury, besides furnishing other markets to a certain ex tent. A friend residing in lower Lafourche has supplied me with a statement of the oyster traffic for the season of 1888-9, just closed: 26 boats employed have brought 12,000 barrels of oysters up the Lafourche. Ten boats carried to New Orleans 11,800 bar rels, 16 boats transported to Morgan City 18,000 barrels. Two towboats with two barges each carried to New Orleans 103,000 barrels, making 144,600 barrels, which gave employment to fully 300 men. The lands in lower Lafourche as well as the islands adjacent are noted for the growth of melons of all kinds that are transported to all the surrounding markets, producing a profitable return to the cul tivators. The gathering and preparation of moss that is found in all parts of the parish in large quantities is another industry that occupies the attention of many persons, and also adds very materially to the income of the inhabitants. In the swamp lands the cutting of cross ties for railroads gives employment to a great number of laoorers. Thibodaux is the principal town in the parish, settled about 1817, incorporated in 1838, and with adjoining suburbs contains from 3000 to 3500 inhabitants. Twenty two miles below is the pretty little village of Lockport with the bright and beautiful lake fields in its rear ; its settlement dates back some sixty odd years, and now con tains about 1500 people. Opposite to it is Logueviile, in which reside some 200 or 300 people. Our climate is a healthy one. The sadly remembered epidemics of '53 and '78 did not visit more than one-third of the settled portions of the parish. Few of the chronic diseases that prevail and destroy life else where are known here. The hectic cough of the consumptive is seldom heard. Octo genarians are frequent and nonogenarians often met with, ice is rarely visible, and then only for one or two days at a time. Sunstrokes seldom occur. Ladies and gentlemen of the Louisiana Press Association, 1 have endeavored to give you an idea of the topography and capabilities of the parish of Lafourche. No effort to embelish or prevaricate has been made. We will endeavor to give you an opportunity to see a great partion of the parish during your visit here. Then you can form your own opinion and establish jour own judgment. And now, trusting that you may find your visit pleasant and agreeable and that your session may be harmonious and instructive, I once more, in belialfjof the people of Lafourche, tender you a cordial welcome. Both the addresses of welcome were gratefully received by visitors and cit izens. Music— "Salut a la Preese"—was then sung by the ladies and gentlemen, under direction of Prof. Chof, after which the following poem, written by 'jt mrs. e. M. goode, ! Jie Thibodaux Sentinel, entitled " Wel *t!ome," was read by Hon. .S D. Moore. When Lafourche's sweeping waters Proudly to the ocean glide. Freight of commerce precious burdens Bearing safely on its tide, Stands our honored bayou city. Stamped by busy Progress still, Ari and nature both as wooers Grant tneir graces to her will. Here we greet our sisters, brothers, Though until to-day unknown. Friendly lips will bid you welcome. Kindly hands shall clasp your own. Music, with her power entrancing, Keeps her sweetest notes for you, Roses fragrant round you scattered. Lovelier uashmere never knew. Man is ever seeking pleasures Under far and stranger skies. Scorning fairer flowers beneath him, Climbs for Alpine Eidelweiss. Roams through mediaeval ruins. Scales the peaks of distant shores, Revels in Athenian sculpture, Or a buried city's stores. Let us turn to works around us. Marvels nature lormed alone, For our new world is so wondrous. Grander than the sculptured stone. Here is our fair Louisiana, Beautiful to loving eyes, But to touch her soil responsive Blooms toother paradise. Come and see our quiet bayous Gliding through the forests dim. Hear through nature's vast cathedral Feathered songsters' matin hymn. See where green palmetto rises. And the graceful willows wave. While the moss-hung cypress drooping Bids the strtarn its branches lave. Queen of all our woods, )$£gnolia. Scents the balmy summer air. While a thousand humbler flowers Blush and bloom and wither there. Have we here no ancient wonders. Spots where ancient heroes trod. But the blood of Southern martyrs Sanctified our Southern sod. Honor to your grand profession. Brothers bound by mutual tie. Ceasing discord, be your motto. Good will and fraternity. Speak the truth, the right defending, Magnify your office then. Often proved, shall still be proven Mightier than the sword—the pen. A duet march on trombone and piano, by Misses Clemence and Augusta Layman, followed the reading of the poem, when general leon jastbemski, editor of the Louisiana Review and presi dent of the association, delivered the fol lowing response to the hearty words of welcome : Mr. .Mayor, Mr. President, Ladies and Geutlemen—The warm welcome that the Press Association of your State has re ceived at your hands, and the eloquent words of greeting we have just listened to from those you had commissioned to ex press your sentiments on this occasion, would amply justify me in availing my self of the excuse by which long lines of speakers have sought to cover their em barraâsments where exposed as I am to night to the gaze of so captivating and en lightened an audience ; that is, that the pleasing duty of responding should have fallen to the lot of a gifted orator, and not, as it has, upon a common mortal, privi leged to do his public speaking in the edi torial sanctum and by the medium of cold type. But as the idea is generally preva lent that timidity is not one of the distin guishing traits of the average journalist, and as he is supposed to have been blunted by the shafts of his beloved brethren and the harsh criticisms of the public, I must endeavor to uphold the reputation for recklessness that has been awarded to the craft, and, in the best way I can, express the hearty thanks of the association for the attentions and courtesies you have al ready showered upon them, and besides seek to entertain you briefly upon the ob jects which Ï trust will give it a long life of usefulness to the people for whom it Continuing, he related the history of the association from its origination in Baton Rouge in 1880, down to the present time, and at the close of his remarks he was loudly applauded. An address in French, "La Louisiane dans Vingt Ans," by MR. J. GENTIL, of the Assumption Pioneer, closed the pro ceedings of the day, and the convention adjourned till 9:30 to-morrow morning. the following named ladies and gentlemen of the fourth estate are present at this writing : J. B. Lawton, New Iberia Enterprise ; J. N. Gourdaiu, St. James Courier ; L. S Scott, Welsh Ores'ent ; William Cary, Jen nings Reporter ; W. B. Bailey, Lafayette Advertiser ; LeoJjJ Jastremski, Louisiana Review, J. B. Wilkinson, New Orleans Item ; J. Y. Gilmére and wiie^Sagar Bowl and Farm Jourridl ; L. E. Bently and wife, Donaldson ville Chief-, T. J. Cross and Miss Addie McGrath, Baton Rouge Truth ; J W. Bryan, Lake Charles Echo ; Z. L. Ev erett, Lake Charles American-, Norman Walker, New Orleans Times-Democ/rat ; H. A. Tanner, Bunkie Blade ; William Hall, Marksville Review ; W. F. Milsap, Ouachita Telegraph ; F. Sancon Facquet and Mrs. Ellen Goode, Thibodaux Senti nel ; H. W. Carver, Lafourche Comet ; Leon Seegar, Morehouse Clarion ; Mrs. Julia Rule, Shreveport Times ; J. W. Hyams, West Baton Rouge Sugar Planter ; Charles Kilbourn, Clinton Patriot-Democrat ; H Watson, Trinity Herald -, G. Hewes, Pointe Coupee Banner -, A. R. Burkdall, Crowley Signal ; E. Riverre, Franco- Louisiane ; L P. Bouny, St. Bernard Progress -, John Dymond, Louisiana Planter ; E. E. Good win, Opelousas Democrat ; T. E Davis and L. P. Meyers, New. Orleans Picayune ; J. Gentil, Assumption Pioneer ; E. * H. McCormick, Alexandria Town Talk ; W. F. Gray, Houma Courier-, Mrs. M. L. Garner, East Carroll Banner ; A. Bienvinu and wife, St. Martinsville Messenger ; L. A. and A. Sandoz and Miss Sandoz, Ope lousas Courier ; O. A. Alpha, ht. Review ; J. S. Boatner, Monroe Bulletin ; G. K. Bradford, Rayne Signal ; J. C. \\ ick liffe, New Orleans News; W. C.Anms, Baton Rouge Item-, L. W. Stovall, trank linton New Era ; C. M. McCormick, Lake Charles Commercial-, J. W. Carew, leche Pilot. Second Day's Proceedings. T hibodaux , La., May 14 —This the second day of the Louisiana Press Conven tion, was opened at 9:30 a. m. by 1'resi dent Jastremski calling the convention to order. tue roll of membership was read, and the following applicants were admitted : H. J. Hearsey, New Orleans States ; h. M. Goode, Thibodaux Sentinel ; Jolin B. Taylor, Lafourche Comet-, O. Facque, Thibodaux hentinel ; L P. Bauby. New Orleans Progress-, J. E. Rivoire, Franco Louisiane ; À. T. Naquin, Lafourche Com it ; J. S. Boatner, Monroe Bulletin, ; E. H. McCormick, Alexandria lown l'alk ; H. O. Tanner, Bunkie Blade ; L. W. Stovall, Franklin New Era-, L. S. Scott, Welsh Crescent-, Wm. Cary, Jennings Reporter-, M. G. Hewes, Pointe Coupee Banner ; T. E Davis. New Orleans Picayune-, J. N. Gourdain, St. James Courier ; Z L. Ever ett, Lake Charles American-, Norman Walker, New Orleans Times Democrat ; H. H. Carver, Lafourche Cornet ; John Dymond, Louisiana Planter -, P. H. Lewis, New Orleans Italiano- Americano ; Mrs. Sallie E. Jastremski, Louisiana Review ; W. F. Milsap, Ouachita Tele graph. The applications of Tbos Mclntyre, of New Orleans, and H. N. Sandoz, of Ope lousas, were rejected, as the applicants are not eligible under the constitution. The discussion "The Best Plan For Procuring a Steady and Healthy growth of immigration into Louisiana,'' was entered into. At the request .of the convention, Mr. John Dymond offered suggestions for the accomplishment of immigration. He drew a vivid picture of the scenes recently enacted in Oklahoma, where 50,000 home seekers were scrambling for fertile lands, and in substance said that in his travels through the West, he found that univer sal attention had been attracted to that section. The people believed that it was the promised land, and had taught it to their children. The press is constantly proclaiming it. What is wanted is for the Southern press and the Southern people to do the same thing by their country. This, he said, is the best country in the world and we want to make the world understand it. Other members spoke upon the subject;. Several showed what had already been done in their respective sections by immi gration, which had been induced by the local press and private enterprise. Captain McGrath, of Baton Rouge, and Capt Bryan, of Lake Charles, made interesting addresses, showing the devel opment that had taken place in their respective parts of the State. mrs. m. loui8e garner, of the (Lake Providence) Carroll Banner, read an essay on the "Influence of Woman on Literature." The mental vision, she said, ranges so far afield at the mention of a subject so outreaching, that outlines only must now suffice us. Ghostly figures of almost obso lete authors rise out of purple distances and appear as receding ripples of that subtle essence we call influence, in its bearing on modern thought and sentiment. Successful writers are those who have felt the pulse of their generation and sung in harmony with its beatings. Marie Edgeworth, with her simple tales of virtue suited to boarding-school misses, was as mrch the product of her day as George 7~xtot and Mrs. Humphry Ward of our own. The time was when it was not considered so fine a thing to write as now. A modicum of reserve and desire for approbation has always clung to our sex, and in proportion as it was possessed did the shrinking horror of that genus femme, a ' blue stocking," prevail. En lightenment has brought its calcium radi ance upon this, as upon many other prej udices, which once cumbered that mighty censor—Public Opinion. There is scarce one of us who pur sues the very respectable occupation of writing for newspapers who would not bear up under the opprobrium of " blue stocking " for the sake of the wizzard power of George Eliot or Charlotte Bronte. But this bespectacled ogre no longer frightens timid votaries of either Minerva or the muses. Old ideas, like the goblin stories which chilled the small boy' into •■subjection, have lost theis#virtue and "become submerged in the exigencies of time and circumstances. A prime minister of England once said that a woman should appear on the plat form but once in a lifetime, and that was when she was about to be hung. He was doubtless applauded for his remark. Yet in the face of it we lady editors, by invi tation of our confreres, are her? addressing this honorable body. Though it comes upon us as a kind of annual execution, our audience seems to enjoy the spectacle, and we would die many times daily for the pride that is in us for the profess ion. Truly we have come to the realization of the prophecy of Victor Hugo that the nineteenth century is woman's century, and its greatest discovery has been woman's approach to a consciousness of her own powers. George Eliot, Harriet Beecher Stowe and Mrs. Humphrey Ward have been the three literary Titans of the age. It is our purpose in brief to inquire if they have used their God-given oppor tunities in such a manner as to make us proud that they were women. That Mrs. Stowe was largely instrumental in break ing up a system and inciting a nation to civil war is an incident too fraught with consequences and passion for us to discuss. The lesson of George Eliot's life gives us precepts of sin gleness of purpose in literary work ; her genius is shown in nothing so much as the manner in which she has left her own dwarfed moral nature out of her works. Nothing distressed her more than the restless longing of womankind to b'î up and doing. That their aim was to accomplish noble ends in no way palliated for the attempt to do that for which they were unqualified. She says : "No good can come to women while each aims at doing the highest kind of work which ought to be held in sanctity, as only the few can do well." She thought none should write unless they felt a vocation or call to it ; then, to do good work was the whole of her religion. The injllectual force predominating over the moral sense in George Eliot made her doubt the supreme divinity by which she is to be judged, but she declares that she felt the emptiness of unbelief so keenly that she was conscientious not to unsettle the faith of any by her written word. The author of Robert Elsmere has gone many steps farther than any novelist of her day and has launched the subtlety of j , most attractive style against the grand est system of religion that has ever blessed the world. That one so great as •■»ladstone has exposed the absence of her logic, is a tribute to her power, which arouses awe of a misused influence. Does not every woman feel her loyalty wounded and outraged that one of her sex should so shamefully deny the Savior? Was womaa not last at the cross and first at the tomb ? Christianity is woman's cause. It was the marvelous pity of a divine son which placed the crown of dignity and honor on motherhood and womanhood. Disloyalty to Christ is treachery in woman. Paganism has had its philan thropists and philosophers, which only proved that paying devotions on the altar of an abstract humanity has never regenerated a peopla. It is only since the Christ spirit has operated on the hearts and consciences of men that woman has been recognized as a sentient being, with mind susceptible of improvement. Should not every woman's soul, then, be both the altar and the offering to a divine source of Christianity ? That Mrs. Ward recognized tbe ideal beauty of such a woman we-have evidence in the character of Katherine Elsmere, the one stern, denying fact which Mrs. Ward evolved from her inner consciousness to stand in confutation to her own spurious logic. If woman is to be the novelist of the future, let her if she please be bold in in vention, but she may well tremble before the conséquence of reaching out, an icono clastic wand, to wave into the mysticism of doubt those sacred things which are | the very salt of honor of our sex. Ladies of the press of Louisiana, who | are called to be the handmaidens of cur- j rent literature, have each of us in our j small way power to uphold the dignity of womanly influence by directing it to the j dissemination of infinite goodness. Let j our dedication be as vestals at the shrine j of truth and virtue in the sacred temple i of journalism, so that our messages in the j people's daily open page shall be as pure i as a letter from home, having let home- j spirit and the Christ-spirit come-and take possession of our daily press, and that i growing demoralizing greed for sensation alism will soon be exercised. By united resolution we can very surely turu the current of woman's influence on literature. To use a homely quotation of Sojourner Truth. "If tbe first woman God made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, all of us to gedder ought to git it right side up again." Messrs. Wilkinson, Burkdall and Cross were appointed a committee on resolutions. THE REPORT OF THE TREASURER, Mies McGrath, was read and adopted. It shows that the amount, on hand at the last report was $20 ; amount collected last ses sion, $72 ; total, $92 ; disbursements, $79.50, Tbe treasurer called attention to the fact that at the last meeting of the National Press Association the sum of $25 was assessed against the Louisiana Asso ciation as her per capita tax. This was upon the names on the rolls, while the pajing members were only fifty-one. A motion was adopted that the executive committee examine the roll of membership and erase such as are now actually en gaged in journalism and have not paid their dues. Mr. Hyams was appointed assistant sec retary. J. C. Wickliffe, of New Orleans News, and George K. Bradford, of the Kayne Signal, were elected members of the as sociation. THE ELECTION OF OFFICERS for the ensuing year was next in order, and all the officers were re-elected by ac clamation. They are as follows : General Leon Jastremski, president ; Mrs. L. E. Bentley, Donaldsonville Chief and A. J. Lafargue, Marksville Bulletin, vice presidents ; Miss Addie McGrath, Baton Rouge Truth, secretary and treas urer ; J. W. Hyams, assistant secretary; S. T. Grisamore, of the Thibodaux Sen tinel, J. B. Wilkinson, Jr., of the City Item, and L. E. Bentley, of the Donald sonville Chief, executive committee. A motion was made to selec the next place of meeting. Captain McOrath placed tbe city of Baton Rouge in nomination. This was seconded by Messrs. Dymond, Bentley. Cross and Bailey in appropriate addresses, showing that the city of Baton Rouge would not be lacking in hospitality if selected as the next^lace of meeting. President Jastremksi announced that as the town of Natchitoches was not repre sented in this association he desired to read a communication from President Boyd of the Normal School in which he was re quested to invite the association to meet there in 1890, at the time of tbe commence ment exercises. The communication was read, and the President asked the convention to express its wish as to how a selection between the two places should be made, and it was de cided by rising vote. Baton Rouge was then selected bv a large majority. The communication of President Boyd of the Normal School at Natchitoches was, upon motion of Captain McGrath, spread upon the minutes. The convention then adjourned to meet at 8:30 p. m. The committee of arrangements pro vided carriages and placed them at the disposal of the members of the association at 4 o'clock tbis afternoon, when the town and surrounding country were viewed. evening session. The convention reassembled at 8:30 p. in., and the auditorium of the hall was crowded with citizens. a delightful conceht under the direction of Prof. Choi was given, and the following was the pro gramme : Morceaux, by the Thiodaux band. "I Lombardi," Miles. Clmence and Gussie Layman. "Marguerite," song, Hon. E. O'Sullivan. "Chant du Rossignol," Miss Celine Al be rti. "Last Hope Reverie," piano and violin, E. Choi, Mlle. G. Layman and Hon. E. O'Sullivan. "Ain't I Sweet?" Miss F. Malhiot. "Poet and Peasant," Miles. Marie and Emillie Riviere. "Scene de la Caus* Perdue," bamboula, by male and female voices. Symphony, Thibodaux band. Overture, two pianos, Miles. Lucille Leblanc, Pauline and B. A. Choi, Messrs. B. Blake and E. Choi and Mile. Marce Thiviere. "La Radieuse," grande valse de concert, Mlles. Clemence and Gussie Layman. "La Fete en Mer," duo, Mlles. Pauline Choi and Celine Alberti. "Danse Andalouse, ' Mlle. L. LeBlanc. "Cavatme de Robert, Mlle. Celine Al berti. "Grand Galop de Concert," Mlle. Alice Malhiot and E. Chol. "Fantaisie Sur Tromb la Ca:sar," by the Club de L'Harmonie Orchestra. All the participants in this splendid con cert acquitted themselves admirably, and the visitors particularly were highly de lighted with tbe entertainment. Mile. Celeni Alberti, a bewitchingly handsome young lady and the acknowl edged belle of the town, accord a triumph ant success in singing the several num bers for which she was cast. She the for tunate possessor of a rich soprano voice which has beep, accurately trained, and her appearance^each time this evening was sufficient to bring down thundering applause. She was literally showered wi-k bouquets at The conclusion of her de lightful rendition of the nightingale song in the first part and bore off the honors of the evening. Interspersed in the above programme was a poem written and recited by Miss Addie McGrath, of Baton Rouge, and an essay by Mrs. Bentley, of Donaldsonville. Miss McGrath's poem was as follows : rntNTEK JIM. It wasn't much to look at him, A half-grown lad, pale and sum We never knew just how be came (He walked, perhaps), he said his name Was Printer Jim . We oft recall the cheery way 9 , TTft said "Well, how s work to -ctaj . 5, e saia J lnnkinz down. Then*added genïïy, looking down . 4,1 hear th S oftheÄ Jim i y° urt °w indeed we walked abreast with Death, The fever raged— i t s fateful breath Had borne our bravest and our beat That dav! unto his last, long rest We warned young Jim ! And bade him haste to leave the town. Else he, too, might be stricken down, He shook his head and softly said, '•The living must replace the dead " Brave hearted Jim : We never questioned how he stood, Or if his "Union card'' was good It mattered very little then. Great was our need, we wanted men And here was Jim : His coat was frayed, his shoes were worn His shirt was soiled, his hat was torn Other men. deeds less brave h;tve done And everlasting laurels won, Than did our Jim : For who but he -when pale despair Walked hand in hand with bitter ea: Across our hearts-made things seem right And worked by day and watched by nicht But laithful Jim? He nursed the sick, worked at his case With hopeful eyes and brave, white face, And. as the fever seized our meu. He tried to do the work of ten. Hard working Jim : The dead were borne adown the street. The living, languishing in the heat. And breaking hearts gave out the cry : "in pestilence, oh, God ! we die Not cheery Jim : He it was, that praised the dead, And words of cheer to the living said. At length the summer passed away. And Hope resumed her wonted sway ! But what of Jim : He held out to the very la^-t. -, Like shipwrecked sailor to the mast. when those he nursed were getting well, Sick with the fatal fever fell', Poor, tired Jim ! It may not seem so sad to you, His lying there ; but then we knew How steadfast was the soul he had A mighty hero, poorly clad. Was Printer Jim. We know that at the golden gate The angels did not make him well, But threw the shilling portals wide And felt aithrill of holy pride To welcome Jim : ' * And on that morn we buried him * E'en eyes unused to tears grew dim, We planted roses at his head, Shed tears upon his grave and said : "Sleep well, brave Jim." We knew him by no other name Save that he gave the day he came. Upon the stone we carved the same. And added : "Deathless was the fame of Printer Jim !" Mrs. Bentlv's (of Donaldsonville) essay was read bv her husband and is as follows: THE GENIE OF TO-DAY, AN ALLEGORY. Once upon a time many years ago, when this gray old world was younger and brighter and fresher than to-day, the earth was ruled by imps and gnomes, who de cided mortal destinies, and against whose fiat, for help or hinderance, t aere was no appeal. Even crowned heads bent in hom age to some wonderful ogre capable of turning the most powerful scepter into a beggar's ttaff, and happy indeed was the ruler who was looked upon with lenient eyes by the controlling spirit of the place. Good and bad fairies contended for the mas tery, swaying each wight by their potent influences, and genii, those gigantic mon sters, were invoked to earth, and made to wield their fearful power over mankind, disappearing only at the command of the terrible necromancer by whose magic they sprang into existance. In the calcium light which intelligence throws on those far off days of yore, dim with the mist of ages, we look doubtingly upon the sweet j traditions of the past and scoff at them as myths and idle tales. Once having laid aside the garb of Lilliput we let the struggle of the present, the noises of commerce, the roar of trade, the vibrant voice of progress, dull our senses to the lovely beliefs of youth, when every litt}» stream posessed a language of its own, flowers nodded and whispered to each other in sylvan converse and all nature broke forth in melodious expression, speaking a thousand tongues untranslatable to man. Foreseeing the rise of unbelievers, know ing wiHt the^ wondrous insight into the future that powers were at work révolu-^ tionizing the world—powers against whic ) even their arts would be unavailing—the mystic beings in conclave assembled for the purpose of selecting some one to whom the others should yield their influence, and who, posessing the entire combination of wonderful attiibutes, could withstand the ravages of time and innovation, living for ever a monument to their pristine glory and power. Rhetoric would be called upon for her most flowery and prismatic tributes to de pict the scene that ensued while the ballot ing for a candidate was in progress, and long and loud were the arguments pro and con, as the patterns were being marked out in the web of fate. At last a great giant arose and laid before his audience the neces sity of selecting «ne who would make their names imperishable by some other than oral history, immortalizing them so that ages hence their memories would still ex ist, triumphing over oblivion. Already a simple mortal, a native of Mentz,Germany, Johnn Gutenberg by name, had attracted the attention of the mystics, being a student of "secret and wonderful arts," who sought in the seclusion of his closet the perfection of a scheme by which his constant companions, tradition, story and legend might be perpetual forever. Him they selected as the instrument through whose agency their object could be accomplished, and their powers for good or evil handed down to unborn gen#r-^ ations, detailing three of their most re nowned members, science, genius and invention to assist him in his labors. From storied East to frozen North, fiotn sea to sea, from mountain top to mountain top, trooped all the inhabitants of the elfin realm, dwarf and giant, brownie and fay, goblin and gnome, and swarming into the secret workshop of the toiler in mysteries, one by one yielded up their magical be ings, until from the infusion of all these wonderful elements there arose before the triumphant Gutenberg a crude but shapely mass, the slave of the lamp of education, the last, the greatest, the most powerful mystic of them all, that genie of to-day— the printing press, the honor and pride of every land over which intelligence reigns supreme. . , During the hundreds of years which have elapsed since the birth of this enno bling art, practiced at first in secret and under great difficulties, we can steadily trace the influence of that triple sisterhood whose immortality has survived their humble coadjutor, and in the newspaper, that social balance wherein a community s standing* can be accurate*/ weighed, we see the mystic power of the primeval fairies ever displaying itself. The old struggle for supremacy of goD lin and gnome, elf and sprite, goes on un ceasingly, which is why we often fand among the wheat of our journals such chaff as spring poetry, gray -headed jokes, moss grown chestnuts, and other m tuai bar -sinisters which distinguish many pilgrims on the road to Parnassus. Notwith standing nature takes scores of qu'ils to make a goose, a writer can make a gotfce of himself with only one. • The tiny wires which band our glonou continent like sensitive nerves of steel bridging space, the wondrous cords thr/ deep beneath unfathomable seas, those twin progeny of invention, the telegiapL and cable, are but the servants of the great press genie to do his bidding, and from the remotest confines of the earth flash an endless chain of events which after being laid within the embrace of his mighty arm, emerge f herefrom a magic mirror reflecting light and shadow, joy and suf fering, and all the annals of the passing da, rhus the life work of the inventor Gut enberg has offspring in each smiling ham let and great city of the world, and every where that science has set its signature i there enshrined, commanding, be its abod ii a 6 nificent or humble, scores of attends imps, reporters, printers, yea, even th devil, who do homage to his mighty an invincible power. We sleep, but the spirit of the près never rests ; the pattern which was weav ing when we sank to slumber is wea^vrn still when we arise at morn, ana