**MARCH 28TH M C

From the Lafayette Gazette of March 28th, 1903:


Death of Walter J. Mouton.

  Walter J. Mouton, a son of John O. Mouton, and a resident of this town since his birth thirty-one years ago, died last Sunday afternoon at 3 o'clock at his residence.

 For several weeks he had been quite ill, and his untimely death did not come unexpectedly.

 Mr. Mouton was born and reared in this community and has made a host of friends by his estimable social qualities.

 The funeral ceremonies were held at the Catholic church Monday afternoon and were attended by a very large number of sympathizing friends and relatives. The deceased was a member of the local fire department and of the Sontag Military Band, which organizations attended the funeral in bodies.

 Mr. Mouton was a graduate of St. Charles College at Grand Coteau, and an eloquent and touching eulogy of him was delivered by one of the Jesuit fathers.

 He leaves a wife and three young children to mourn his death.

 Lafayette Gazette 3/28/1903.






McCoy Guilty Without Capital Punishment.

 Daniel McCoy was for the second time tried on the charge of criminally assaulting Mrs. Mary Alice Spell, a white woman of this parish, last Tuesday and Wednesday. The first trial resulted in a conviction, and McCoy was sentenced to be hanged. His attorney, Mr. J. L. Kennedy, took an appeal and the verdict was reversed. For his second trial, Messrs. Crow Girard and J. L. Kennedy were appointed by the court to defend him. District Attorney Wm. Campbell represented the State.

 The trial began Tuesday morning and was concluded Wednesday night, when a verdict of guilty without capital punishment was returned. The following is a list of the jury in the case: Valery Boudreaux, foreman; Eugene R. Labbe, Felix Bernard, Paul Billeaud, Andre Billeaud, J. T. Breaux, Paul Martin, Ed Brown and A. V. Labbe.
Lafayette Gazette 3/28/1903.




Clean the Streets.
To the Editor of The Gazette:

 Will you kindly allow me space in your valuable paper to make a few remarks on the above question.

 I see by the New Orleans press that among the overwhelming crowds of visitors from the north there are a great many capitalists and tourists looking for Southern homes. Some want farming lands and others want to settle with families in some of our cities and towns. One small group in company of Col. Willis Wood, J. R. Crow, W. S. Bloomfield and D. J. Dean, of Kansas City, recently visited the Crescent City, and Mr. Dean says in an interview:

 "New Orleans is a wonderfully interesting city, but the streets should be improved.

 "It is my first visit to the city, and the first thine that attracted my attention upon leaving the station was the condition of the streets. New Orleans is destined to be one of the greatest cities in the United States in a few year, but one of the first requisites for a great and prosperous city is clean streets, and I hope they will be improved. I have just come from the City of Mexico, which is one of the cleanest and prettiest cities in the world, and there is a striking similarity between the capital and New Orleans in many respects but the streets is not one of them."

 Another distinguished traveler and home seeker, when writing home to his friends, says:  "I left New Orleans for Texas on the S. P. R. R. I can't say that I was very favorably impresses with the country until I got new New Iberia, where the train stops only a few moments, and the town being some distance from the station I can't say much about it. The next stopping place was Lafayette where we stopped twenty minutes for luncheon. The country between New Iberia and Lafayette is perfectly delightful. I think it is one of the finest farming countries I ever saw. Lafayette has the nicest station grounds on the road between New Orleans and Texas. At the left as you go in, there is a lovely garden of three or four acres, where you can see growing (now in February) all kinds of beautiful shrubbery, flowers, and vegetables.

 While waiting for the train I walked a rod or two up the street crossing. I looked up and down the street and the railroad track. I must say that I was very much surprised and disappointed to see such dirty, filthy streets. The ditches on each side of the street were filled with stagnant water from six to eight inches deep, old empty beer kegs, broken bottles, meat and fruit cans, waste-paper and the sweeping from the stores and shops. I looked up the railroad track a short distance, and saw what I supposed to be their regular dumping ground for the garbage out of their back yards. If what I saw was a fair sample of the rest of the town, I could not be hired to settle there with my family."

 The streets are an index to the progress of a town, and are the first things that a stranger looks at. I cannot understand why our Council should allow our streets to get in such a horrid and filthy state, especially around the station when so many strangers are traveling through in search of Southern homes.

 We have laws to prohibit the people from throwing any kind of rubbish in the street. If we have not, we ought to have. Why don't the Council see that the laws are enforced? There are four of them living within a stone's throw of the filthiest streets in town. There is no excuse for any town that has as good drainage as this has for having stagnant water standing in the ditches breeding contagion for two or three months or until the sun drys it up. There is a good drainage from the railroad down to the Parkerson ditch and if the ditches are properly cleaned out and kept clean the water would never stand in them.
                  (Signed) CLERICUS.
Lafayette Gazette 3/28/1903.    




Gordon in New Iberia. - Gen. Jno. B. Gordon will make his last appearance on the lecture platform at New Iberia, next Monday night, March 30. The Confederate Veterans are expected to march in a body to the train and give him a grand reception. Excursion rates are given on all trains, and this will be the last opportunity to hear this grand old patriot. 
Lafayette Gazette 3/28/1903. 





Simms Acquitted.
 Mr. S. S. Simms, who last summer shot and killed Walter H. Williams, a negro school-teacher, was tried Thursday on a charge of manslaughter and acquitted.

 Mr. Simms and Williams had a difficulty relative to some business transaction and blows were exchanged. Williams became violent and applied a vile epithet to Mrs. Simms and after striking Simms, made a motion to draw a weapon, whereupon Simms shot him. The following jury was impaneled in the case: Alcide Judice, foreman; Edmond Couret, Frank Foreman, Geo. Hall, Felix Bernard, Paul Billeaud, Ernest Crouchet, Valery Boudreaux,m Hilaire David, Felix Mouton, Felix Meaux and Arthur LeBlanc. 
Lafayette Gazette 3/28/1903.



Died. - Just as The Gazette is about to go to press, the sad news comes of the sudden death of Mr. J. Numa Judice, an old resident of this town. Mr. Judice was Confederate forces in Virginia. He leaves four children to mourn his death. Lafayette Gazette 3/28/1903.




At the Primary School.
 The arrival of the new desks for the Lafayette Primary school was celebrated with appropriate exercises on the 20th instant. It was a red letter day in the lives of the school children and the praises of the new desks were sounded in song, recitation and debate.

 Superintendent Alleman spoke words of congratulation and encouragement to the teachers and their pupils, and to the parents who were present on the occasion. He said that the town of Lafayette had poorer and more meager accommodations for school children than any other town of its size in the State, but that all this would be remedied as soon as the special school tax would be voted and Lafayette would then take rank among the foremost communities of the land in relation to advanced school work. 
Lafayette Gazette 3/28/1903. 






Generous Appropriation.
 The Gazette had the pleasure last week of informing its readers of the generous appropriation of one thousand dollars made by the General Education Board on the condition that an equal amount be duplicated by the people of the parish, both sums to be used in the equipment of the public schools. It was through the personal recommendation of Dr. Wallace Buttrick, secretary and executive officer of the Board that the schools of this parish were made the beneficiaries of this generosity. But only the well-directed and untiring efforts of Superintendent Alleman could have won recognition of our claims, and to him praise is justly due. In a personal letter written by Dr. Buttrick relative to the Board's action, that gentleman says it was his esteem of Mr. Alleman and an appreciation of his efforts and ability as a superintendent that prompted his recommendation. Dr. Buttrick also recognizes the devotion of Dr. N. P. Moss and Mr. Alcide Judice to the cause of public education in Lafayette parish. Superintendent Alleman has shown commendable zeal in the performance of his duties, and especially zealous has he been in the efforts to obtain assistance from the Education Board in order to equip properly the school rooms, and The Gazette is happy to see such a substantial proof that his work was not in vain. Lafayette Gazette 3/28/1903.     





PUBLIC SCHOOL NOTES.
 A few months ago an order was given for one hundred and sixty desks for the Lafayette schools. Last week the consignment was received, unpacked and mounted. Notwithstanding the fact that the order was given on the basis of attendance only two months ago, the increase in the attendance since them has been so great that forty additional desks are now needed. The children of the schools are delighted and they have reason to be, as a number of them sat on benches without backs and used dry-goods boxes for desks.

 At the Primary school the congestion is unbearable. There we find forty and fifty children literally packed into rooms 15 x30 and 12 x 30 - rooms which in a modern jail, like the one in Lafayette for instance, would be assigned to about three or four criminals. The available air per child is 90 cubic feet, but there should be at least 270 feet per child. And what is the result? In every breath a child takes he inhales 1/2 and 1/2 of polluted air. In a semi-tropical climate such a condition is dangerous, and unless the children are placed in the hands of intelligent teachers who understand the laws of hygiene the pupils become stupid and indolent and the weaker ones become invalids.

 The education and the health of our children are at stake. No one is responsible for these conditions; but it is in the power of the people to remedy the evil and the people are anxiously looking forward to the day when the town of Lafayette will have a modern school building large enough to comfortably accomodate the children who are knocking for admission to the school. Lafayette has a strong corps of teachers; let us have an ample building.

 The Burke school-house near Ridge is ready for the painter. The desks are ready to be put in place and the building will be ready for occupying in a week or so. President Caldwell will deliver a rousing school address at the dedication of the building about April 12.

 An assistant has been employed for Scott. This teacher is the fiftieth on the list. The growth of the schools of the parish has been phenomenal, necessitating the employment of fifteen teachers in addition to the corps employed last year. All of our schools, with two or three exceptions, are overcrowded - in fact most of them were last year. It is high time for the people to act.

 Mr. Davis at Duson is still at work on the subscription list for the Duson school-house. He sent in $35 to the treasurer yesterday.

 The people of the fourth ward living near Bayou Vermilion are actively engaged in organizing their forces for a school-building. The Theall school is about a mile away is supported almost entirely by the children from the bayou, and The Gazette is informed that these citizens are willing to go to some expense in order to get a school. The Theall school is the only one in the parish which has failed to make the required average of 16 pupils per month. 
Lafayette Gazette 3/28/1903.         

 From the Lafayette Advertiser of March 28th, 1903:


To Help Public Schools.


 The contribution of one thousand dollars by the General Education Board to aid public school work in Lafayette parish, is one of the results of the conference of public school Superintendents of Louisiana with Dr. Wallace Buttrick, the secretary of the Board, at New Orleans, last November.

It will be remembered that at this conference our parish was represented by Supt. Alleman, Mr. Alcide Judice, Dr. Moss and President Stephens, of the Industrial Institute; and it was through the efforts of those gentlemen, and by their invitation, that Prof. Cloyd, the field agent of the General Education Board to cooperate with the school officers and friends of education in pushing forward school work to the greater advantage of the people, and he made his recommendations accordingly, to the General Education Board.

As is well known, the General Education Board is composed of patriotic and philanthropic Americans, north and south, who are devoting their time and their means toward improving the condition of the masses, by extending the benefits of education throughout the length and health of our land. It is the purpose of the Board to (unreadable words) measures intended to produce positive results toward elevating the moral and intellectual plane of the American citizen. It is a noble purpose, and the high-minded and usefulness motives of the General Education Board are meeting with a proper appreciation on the part of the American public.

In recognition of the high value of the services of the Board in hastening universal education, the great palladium of mankind, the school authorities of Lafayette Parish were pleased to invite the co-operation of the Board along certain lines, for a more rapid up-building the public school system of the parish that take place under ordinary circumstances. The donation of one thousand dollars, is evidence of the good will of the Board toward us, and Dr. Buttrick, the able and zealous executive officers of the General Education Board, gave encouraging assurance to Supt. Alleman in connection with the friendly relationship that has been established between the Lafayette parish school authorities and the General Education Board, and in a newspaper interview upon his arrival at New Orleans recently, he commended the people of Lafayette for their earnestness in the cause of education.
 Lafayette Advertiser 3/28/1903.





Semi-Annual Examination. - The examination of applicants for certificates to teach in the Public schools of Louisiana will be held at the Industrial Institute on Thursday and Friday, April 16th and 17th, beginning at 9 a. m.
     L. J. ALLEMAN,
            Parish Supt.
Lafayette Advertiser 3/28/1903. 




Death of Mr. Walter J. Mouton.
 Mr. Walter J. Mouton died Sunday, March 22, 1903, at 3 p. m., Mr. Walter J. Mouton. Funeral services were held at St. John's Catholic church on Monday at 4 p. m. Interment took place in the Catholic cemetery.

Mr. Mouton was raised here in Lafayette and was well known and liked by everybody. He had an amiable disposition and by his pleasant unassuming manners won the warm regard of numerous friends. He was a musician of considerable ability and was one of the strong members of the Sontag Military Band, which organization accompanied his remains from his home to their last resting place, thus paying a sad tribute to the loss of an esteemed member. Mr. Mouton was also a member of the Fire Department in which body he was held in high regard. The Department assisted at his funeral as a mark of respect to their departed brother.

Mr. Mouton's funeral was one of the largest ever held in Lafayette, thus testifying to the universal esteem in which he was held.

He leaves a wife and three children to whom the Advertiser and their numerous friends extend their deepest sympathy. Lafayette Advertiser 3/28/1903.




Walter J. Mouton.
Music Hall, Lafayette, La. March 28, 1903.

 To the officers and Members of the Sontag Military Brass Band. The undersigned, your committee appointed to draft resolutions for the death of our Brother member W. J. Mouton (solo cornet) submit the following:

Whereas it has been the will of the Almighty to remove from our rank our Brother member Walter J. Mouton, therefore,

Be it resolved by the Sontag Military Band of Lafayette, La., that by his death we lose a good and true member ever ready for the call of duty, the community a worthy citizen and his family a devoted husband and father.

Resolved that in toxen of our regret for his departure we wear a badge of mourning for 30 days; that these resolutions be spread upon the minute and that a copy be sent to the Family of the deceased.

Resolved further that the Lafayette Advertiser and Gazette be requested to publish this memorial.

Respectfully Submitted.

F. SONTAG,
DR. F. E. GIRARD,
GEO. A. DEBLANC.
Lafayette Advertiser 3/28/1903.




Simms Acquitted. - The Jury in the Simms case rendered a verdict of not guilty after a few minutes deliberation. S. S. Simms was being tried for man slaughter for killing of W. Williams in this town some time last year. The defense was represented by Judge O. C. Mouton and the state by Mr. Campbell. A plea of self defense was made by Simms and the jury rendered their verdict in accordance with the facts.
Lafayette Advertiser 3/28/1903.



The McCoy Trial. - The second trial of the negro Daniel McCoy charged with criminal assault occupied the attention of the court Tuesday and Wednesday. McCoy was tried at the December term and found guilty ; but an appeal having been taken, the supreme court granted another trial. The State was ably represented by District Attorney Campbell, and the accused Messrs. Jno. L, Kennedy and Crow Girard. The case was closely tested on both sides, and that with the intense interest excited by the case throughout the parish, filled the court house with a large crowd each day. About 6 o'clock p. m. Wednesday the case was presented to the jury, which after being out about an hour, returned a verdict of guilty without capital punishment, which consigns McCoy to the penitentiary for life. The verdict, as far as we are able to learn has given general satisfaction.
Lafayette Advertiser 3/28/1903.


New Store. - Mr. A. J. Leblanc will soon erect a two-story building near his butcher shop for Prejean & Leblanc, dealers in Clothing and Gent's Furnishing Goods. The store will be 30 x 60 feet, and will have a plate glass front, galvanized iron will be used for facing and the roof will be covered with slate.   Lafayette Advertiser 3/28/1903.






 Selected News Notes (Advertiser) 3/28/1903.
 The case of Marquis Mouton which was set for Monday, was again postponed on account of the sickness of one of the principal witnesses, and was reset for for April 13, 1903.

 Mr. Raoul Jeanmard last Monday sold his plantation near Lafayette, consisting of 400 acres, with all improvements to Mr. Eugene Trahan, for $15,750. The sale was made through the enterprising real estate man Mr. J. C. Nickerson.

 Master Workman and Recorder, Jno. T. Allingham of Ideal Lodge 25, A. O. U. W., paid Mrs. Ambroise Mouton on the 18th, $1,000 insurance in the above order, on the life of her son.

 Paul Beaurepaire, the Tailor and dyeing man will soon leave Lafayette. He requests all those who have suits in his shop to pay for same without delay; whereafter all of the suits will be disposed of.

 Mr. J. P. Holt, representing the Crowley Brick Co., was in Lafayette last Tuesday, on business.

 Easter Egg Hunt. - Easter Monday, April 13th at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, Parkerson Park. The Episcopal ladies solicit attendance.

 Morgan's Louisiana & Texas Railroad and Steamship Co. will sell tickets from Lafayette to New Iberia and return March 30 1903, with return limit March 31 1903, at a rate of 75 cts on account of Lecture of Gen. J. B. Gordon. 
Lafayette Advertiser 3/28/1903.






 From the Lafayette Advertiser of March 28th, 1896:


IT WAS UNANIMOUS!!!

 No Opposition to the Five Mill Tax.
Water Works and Electric Lights For Lafayette Assured!!!

March 23rd, 1896 will always be a memorable day for the town of Lafayette. It was the day appointed for submitting to the property taxpayers the special tax proposition of 5 mills for ten years to defray the cost of procuring and constructing an elaborate and reliable water works and electric light plant. The particular importance the question bore to the future development of the town caused all classes of citizens to feel a live interest in the occasion and the voting began early and earnest throughout the day. It appeared to be the wish of every one that the special tax measure should be unanimously carried, and how well the energy was directed to that end is best attested by the sworn returns of the commissioners showing not one dissenting vote. The vote polled could scarcely have been more full and the day's doing was remarkable for the general good feeling that prevailed among the people.

Lafayette did itself proud on the 23rd instant and the result of the election does credit to the taxpayers and is a compliment to the people composing the community. The citizens of Lafayette have put themselves on record as being unequivocally in favor of progress and improved methods in matters that concern their well being, and Lafayette had served a formal notice to the outside world that hereafter it purposes to occupy a position in the front rank of "up-to-date" towns on the American continent.

The work of construction will begin as soon as the necessary legal formalities are carried out that govern transactions of this character, which will be not later than April 15th. Once begun the work will be rapidly pushed forward until final completion. All material and machinery entering into the construction of the plant is to be of the highest standard, making it certain that the money of the people shall not be injudiciously expended, and once in possession and full enjoyment of the substantial benefits that attend improvements of the kind contemplated, we will all bless the day that made their realization possible.

In common with the rest The Advertiser feels highly elated over the new order of things in course of development for Lafayette, the little prairie town that is destined to become the queen city of Southwest Louisiana. The ice is broken and water works and electric lights will pave the way to other valuable improvements. It is better late than never to claim the attention of the capitalist and prospector, and with the natural advantages it possesses in the way of climate, soil and location we may confidently look forward to a boom, not of the ephemeral or mushroom genus, but a solid and enduring boom that cannot retrogress.

The Advertiser predicts that with the advent of water works and electric lights Lafayette is going to begin making history. Watch us. 
Lafayette Advertiser 3/28/1896.





GRAND DEMOCRATIC MEETING.
  
2000 People on the Grounds.


 As announced the democratic meeting took place at Beau-Sejour Park on Thursday on Thursday, and was a great success.


 Early in the day people from all over the parish began to throng our streets eager to receive and welcome his Excellency Gov. Foster who was to arrive on the noon train from Opelousas. The numbers were enthusiasm increasing as the time sped on, had swelled into a grand host of zealous welcomers by the time the Governor's train arrived.


 Hundreds of people had assembled at the depot to escort the Governor and his party to the reception grounds, located about one mile from town in the beautiful Beau-Sejour Park, on the banks of the Vermilion.

 Considerable uneasiness was felt when it was announced that Gov. Foster was ill at Opelousas, but all apprehensions where soon succeeded by shouts of joy when the Governor alighted from the train, looking as robust and vigorous as ever. The party drove immediately to the grounds where a grand barbecue was served, and the speech making began. The speakers stand had been beautifully decorated by the ladies with flowers and garlands.

 There were a number of speeches delivered, and the meeting was a grand success. The attendance at the grounds was fully 2000.

 Although the Governor was still suffering considerable prostration from his recent attack of illness, he displayed an ardor and forcible conviction in his address that was remarkable; and did not fail of its telling effects upon the audience.


 The Carencro brass band discoursed their martial strains beneath the gay streaming of banners, and "all went merry as a marriage morn."

 The crowd dispersed late in the afternoon, to assemble again at the Crescent News Hotel in the evening, where the spacious dining hall had been cleared and seats arranged to receive the guests eager to (unreadable word) more to the Governor's forcible arguments and to tender their presence, their farewell greeting.


 Numerous speeches were delivered on the chief political questions of the day and the meeting closed amid enthusiasm and confidence that the grand banner of the old democracy would continue to float proudly in the breezes, proclaiming victory and prosperity all over the land.
Lafayette Advertiser 3/28/1896.





HOT SHOTS

THE PEOPLE'S TICKET ENDORSED BY 300 DEMOCRATIC VOTERS.
 The largest ward meeting ever held in the parish, took place at Royville to-day with an audience of over 300 good reliable white Democrats. - The meeting throughout was one of harmony, one that demonstrates clearly that the people were tired of the one sided harangues preached by the Mouton-Broussard "gang" and that they would have a change of local administration, and by supporting the People's Candidates they knew that an impartial and just administration of parochial affairs would be the result. So popular has become the Candidates of the People, that the good voters of this section need not "special trains" to convey them to their places of meetings; the honest farmers are satisfied with their little fakies and two-seat road carts. In a very few words, one can surmise the political situation exactly as it exists. The Campbell-Debaillon function is "still on top," whilst the Mouton-Broussard "crew" is "shaky and rocky" and all the Southern Pacific specials, Pullman cars, through vestibule trains and all included, will not save them from the blind defeat now staring them in the face, and the eternal burying of their political aspirations for ever and ever.

 The meeting was called to order at 12 p. m. by Mr. J. R. Domengeaux, with the following well-known democrats as officers: L. S. Broussard, Pres. P. R. Roy, Sect'y and Messrs. Antoine Boudreaux; P. B. Roy; Bienvenu Langlinais; Belonie Trahan; Clement Romero; Dupres Huline as Vice President. The first speaker introduced was Hon. Robert Martin, candidate for State Senator. Mr. Martin, after thoroughly giving his audience a full explanation of the money question, dwelt at length on questions concerning the interests of agriculturists; he discussed the infamous "suffrage amendment" thoroughly he poured "grape shot" into those members of congress who so unceremoniously killed the sugar, cotton and rice industries of S. W. Louisiana. Mr. Martin's speech was well received, and although he is a stranger in this section of his district, he may rest assured that he will carry Lafayette by a handsome majority. Judge Debaillon was the next speaker and let me tell you he handled it so badly. The Judge gave his people a satisfactory reason why he had resigned once before, and notwithstanding the other side of the house blames him for having done so his audience to-day plainly said that DeBaillon was the man, and not Mouton, of amendment fame. The next speaker was that true Democrat, that fearless ex-sheriff, Hon. Wm. Campbell who never hides behind a curtain to say what he means. - Campbell made one of his popular speeches; he denied in full the lying and false rumors that he had been bulldozed at Carencro, and the people present felt satisfied that the author of that rumor with the Mouton-Broussard faction combined could not scare a hair of Bill Campbell's head. Hurrah for Campbell was all one could hear after he had finished his speech. The next speaker was old Chargois, "the chat bois des bois," the friend of the creole, the man who so faithfully served his people for 12 years, and who will again do it after April 21st. next. Mr. Chargois made one of his "hot tamale" speeches. It was a true explanation of the little "black" tricks that Mouton and his gang of "white supremacists" are so noted for. He said plainly that to be a "White Supremacist" a man should have a white record and the large audience demonstrated by their applause that he was correct. Should Chargois be elected (as he likely will) the people are satisfied that he will not combine the sheriff's office with the District Attorney's, and that means more than words can explain, especially to the citizens of Vermilion. Dr. Scranton, owing to indisposition, made a short speech that took well with the audience. Scranton is poplar and whether he speaks or not, it will be but an easy task to defeat the great 7th. ward Statesman. Doctor Gladu, the old reliable, made one of the wittiest speeches of the evening. The Doctor kept his audience in continued laughter, and the great applause that he received, said plainly that Gladu will again be coroner for four years. Dr. Gladu was followed by Mr. W. B. Bailey, who in a short speech, demanded the suffrage of his audience. Mr. Bailey, being an old confederate veteran, a journalist of reputation, one of the best Clerk of Courts we ever had, makes him very popular with the people. Mr. Bailey was appointed 3 years ago by Gov. Foster. He was highly endorsed for the office by the Hon. Overton Cade, and we presume through Mr. Cade's great popularity and influence throughout the parish, Mr. Bailey will have a walk-over. Resolutions were introduced endorsing Hon. Robert Martin and the "People's Ticket" in full. All pledged their support to Democracy and white supremacy, and feel satisfied and positive that they are just as good white men and better democrats than the "Regulars-saints-amendment-B. and M. gang" of principled politicians.
A Cadien.   Lafayette Advertiser 3/28/1896.





White Supremacist Rally.

(communicated-ie. letter to editor)
Scott, La. March 25th, 1896.

A "white supremacist" rally at Carencro, made up largely of an important audience. Three car loads of Democrats listened to the same old sickening talk of "negro domination" last Sunday at the above place, the audience being made up principally of persons attracted tither by the free ride from Lafayette to Carencro and back.

In the number and intelligence of its hearers, the meeting was beyond a doubt, quite a success, no less than 700 persons being present.

It looks unfair to say of a white man that, because he will not submit to white Democratic primaries, neither vote for the Democratic candidate for Governor, that he is sailing under the black or African flag, yet, such we understand to have been the impression made upon his hearers, by J. O. Broussard Esq. during his speech at the above meeting, when with a theatrical flourish he exhibited a white and a black handkerchief.

Now, don't you know friend Omere that, though we differ with you in politics, still we are as much opposed to having a negro in office as ever you were?

Better qualify that ungenerous language, or you may find out you have been playing with a two edged Sword.
B. T. P.
Published in the Lafayette Advertiser of March 28, 1896.

Vote Against It. - The suffrage amendment may do away with ballot box stuffing, but will never abolish bribery as long as the power of money remains. Consequently it will not purify the ballot. Vote against it. It may render future race disturbances unlikely, but it will do so by the sacrifice of the rights of deserving white men. Vote against it.

 It may insure an intelligent administration of public affairs, but it will disfranchise two good white men to disqualify a single bad one. Vote against it.

It cannot remove fears of negro domination when such fears do not exist. Ninety thousand negroes cannot control the affairs of the state and no one believes that they ever will. Vote against it.
Lafayette Advertiser 3/28/1896

Chess Game - Lafayette vs Scott    

 The players were Dr. R. B. Randy and C. K. Darling of Lafayette, against A. Judice, Prof. Waddington and J. I. Mulkern of Scott.

The game of Chess played by Telephone, between Scott and Lafayette, resulted in a victory for Lafayette.
Laf. Adv. 3/28/1896.

Our Surplus Corn.
   [From the Southern Farmer.]

 During the meeting of the Louisiana State Agricultural Society at Lafayette we were informed that corn delivered on plantations in that locality was selling at 15 cents per bushel, and that for lack of markets and storage capacity thousands of bushels of corn were then in the field un-harvested. On the train coming from Alexandria to Lafayette we also learned from a traveling salesman that he had on that morning contracted with one merchant at Alexandria for the delivery at different times during the spring season of 500 barrels of corn meal to be furnished by the Little Rock (Ark.) Milling Company at $1.80 per barrel. Now, there is something radically wrong when the farmer, living less than a hundred miles from Alexandria, on a line of railroad making daily trips, has to sell 224 pounds of corn at 60 cents, and when the Arkansas man, living hundreds of miles away, realizes three times as much for only 200 pounds of meal.

 It seems to me that some enterprising mill man might grind some of that surplus corn into meal, make good meal, sack it in fifty-pound sacks, put his name and brand on the sack, and guarantee it. Meal put up in that way, ground from well selected corn, furnished fresh every week or two would have no trouble in holding its own against the kiln-dried articles. This has been tested in De Soto parish with favorable results.

 Another plan would be to secure a corn shelling machine, one that would shuck, shell, fan and sack a thousand bushels per day (such machines can be purchased at a cost of not over $250,) attach it to the gin or grist mill steam power, and in this way put the corn in proper condition for shipment to Europe. Merchants of Lafayette and other towns along the railroad, it is your duty to find a market for the product of the producer. You should take such steps as will permit that product to be shipped in merchantable shape, to the best interest of yourselves as well as your customers. You now provide these advantages for some of the staple crops, - namely: cotton, sugar and rice. Why not assist in finding a market for our surplus corn?

 From the Southern Farmer and in the Lafayette Advertiser 3/28/1896.

From the Lafayette Advertiser of March 28th, 1874:


The Grange and Catholic Farmers.
Decision of the Pope.

 The St. Louis Globe of the 10th. inst., makes the following important announcement:

 Roman Catholic farmers of joining the order of the Patrons of Husbandry, have hereto had in their way the laws of their Church forbidding its members to identify themselves with secret societies. Of our American prelates, we believe that Archbishop Alemanay, of San Francisco, has held that the Catholic farmer will de well to err on the side of safety, and so not join the Grange until the Pope has expressed his approval of its objects, while other bishops have forbidden members of their flocks from becoming Patrons upon any consideration. The matter has been finally adjudicated on by Pious IX, as appears by the Nomad Volkeblad, the Scandinavian, organ of Minnesota. A Catholic member of the State Legislature was desirous of joining the Grange, but had conscientious scruples about doing so, arising from his religious belief. He consulted Father Ireland, of St. Paul, who referred him to Bishop Grace. Both these clergymen expressed themselves as possessing a favorable impression of the principles, objects and methods of the Grange, but neither of them could break through the absolute rule of the Church, and recommended the legislator to appeal to Rome. He accordingly laid the matter before the Pope, to whom he transmitted at the same time the full particulars as to the objects contemplated by the Order, and the means by which it was proposed to attain them. A reply has been received from His Holiness, stating that the Pope "allows the petitioner to join the Grange of Patrons of Husbandry, and be a member thereof, if he finds nothing therein conflicting with his conscience or the creed of the Catholic Church." As a consequence, the Order has received a large accession in Minnesota, and when the news of the Pope's decision has reached other States, its effect will be largely to remove the interdict laid upon Catholics desirous of becoming such, by prelate who have disapproved of the Grange or have been doubtful as to the consistency of its obligation to the Church.

Lafayette Advertiser 3/28/1874.



MASONIC.
SLATED MEETINGS of Hope Lodge, No. 145,
A. F. A. M., will be held at the Lodge room in Vermilionville, on Feb. 28; March 28; April 25; May 27; June 24 and 27; July 25; August 22; Sept 19; Oct; 24; Nov. 21; Dec. 19 and 26. F. S. MUDD, W. M.
J. A. CHARGOIS, Secretary.
Lafayette Advertiser 3/28/1874:


At Mount Carmel.  -A GRAND BAZAAR -  will commence on Easter Sunday, immediately after high mass in the old building at Mont. Carmel Convent and will continue every day until Wednesday the 8th of April. The doors will remain open from morning till 11 o'clock in the evening. On Wednesday evening, the 8th, a grand musical and dramatical entertainment will be given at the new Convent building by the pupils of the Institution. Admittance to the BAZAAR will be for free for all, and the admittance to the Concert only 75 cents. The public generally are solicited to attend both the BAZAAR and the Concert.   Lafayette Advertiser 3/28/1874.





City Council of Vermilionville.

Pursuant to a call by the Mayor, the City Council met at the Court House on the 3d. day of March 1874.

 Present: A. Monnier, Mayor; and Councilmen Girouard, Landry, Olivier, Latiolais and McBride. Absent: Brandt and Revillon.

The Mayor called the Council to order,
and,

On motion, the reading of the minutes were dispensed with.

On motion, it was resolved, that the Committee on streets be and his hereby authorized to call upon the Street contractor, and notify him that unless the streets are delivered in good order as per contract, to the satisfaction of and within such time as the Committee may see fit, the Council will consider the balance due him on the said contract forfeited.

On motion the Council adjourned till the next regular meeting.

H. M. BAILEY, Secretary.
A. MONNIER, Mayor.
Lafayette Advertiser 3/28/1874.



 From the Lafayette Advertiser of March 28th, 1913:

 DUST, DUST, DUST!

 THE LADIES AND THE DUST.

 Lafayette, La., March 26, 1913.
 To the editor of The Advertiser:

 The Ladies Civic League, the writer is informed, made an effort  to get the cty council to meet in special session last week to provide means of laying down the dust, the greatest nuisance and evil affecting the city, not even excepting the lack of sewerage. The ladies, it is said, failed, as there was no quorum.

 What a pity they did fail, for the last few days which have been most disagreeable, almost unbearable, would have been made most pleasant and agreeable, had we had a sprinkle system in force. Think what a pleasant Easter we would have had, had it not been for the clouds of swift moving dust enveloping everything and everybody. The day was not too warm, nor yet too cool; it was in fact an ideal spring day, with trees in full leaf, flowers blooming and birds singing, such a day as inspires all to go forth under the open skies and listen to Nature's teachings. But that was impossible, utterly impossible, for to do so meant to be enveloped, body, eyes, ears, nose and throat, in clouds upon clouds of filthy, germ-laden, disease-provoking dust. As a natural consequence everybody stayed home, with sashes down and doors closed smothering. But somehow the dust found its way in and deposited itself in fine layers on my lady's hair, and face, and fine lingerie gowns, and lace curtains and beds, etc., etc., making life indoors as well as outdoors, miserable. And so it continued Monday and Tuesday, and to-day the Dust King still reigns supreme, and we, residents of the city named for the unconquerable Lafayette, humbly bow to the king's power, pity each other and do nothing, meantime the rubbing our eyes, blowing our noses, clearing our throats, mopping our faces, and "cussing" everything generally.

 The city spends the sum of Two Hundred Dollars per month to safeguard the public health. I would like to know the man who would publicly maintain that the city gets value received for this expenditure, giving his reasons through the columns of our local papers and pointing out in detail what has been accomplished and the manner by which the public health has been benefited.

 The time has come when public officials must exact the value received be given in return for the public monies expended. Public office is not currency by which political debts are paid, but a public trust. Let the incoming city administration take notice!

 Here's to the good ladies who were courageous, public-spirited and farsighted enough to demand of our city fathers a sprinkle system. Had they had their way life would be worth living in this community these dusty days. Persist, good ladies, and victory will yet crown your efforts. And while you are on the job never fail to impress on the incoming mayor and council that by the provisions of the third plank of their platform they stand pledged to the people of this city, as follows:

 "For sanitary and other important reasons we believe that the dust nuisance should be abated and better provisions made to facilitate the removal of the garbage; we will give every assistance and support possible to the Ladies of the Civic League towards that end.
     (Signed) MERE MAN.
From a letter to the editor in the Lafayette Advertiser of 3/28/1913.



lagniappe:
A FINE PLANTATION FOR SALE.

A MAGNIFICENT PLANTATION situated in the Parish of Lafayette, in the Southwestern part of the State of Louisiana, (in that section known as the Attakapas District), and being three miles Northwest of the flourishing town of Vermilionville, and one mile North of the line of the New Orleans, Mobile & Texas Railroad, containing Two Hundred and Twenty-five superficial arpents of well improved land, together with a large, commodious dwelling with three double chimney and galleries above and below ;  a kitchen with all necessary conveniences ;  comfortable buildings for laborers ;  a carriage house, a hen house, stable, &c. Over 125 arpents of the land is now enclosed by a cypress pieux fence and Bois d'Arc hedge.

 The Dwelling Kitchen, &c., are surrounded with good fencing and the yard is beautifully shaded by oaks, Pecans and other trees ;  there are also a number of fig, peach, plum and pear trees and a vegetable and flower garden, and a lot of Beehives on the place.

 The land is generally level, it is well drained and never subject to overflow, and has natural facilities for draining. The land is rich and fertile, and well adapted to raising Cotton, Sugar cane, Rice, Potatoes, Tobacco, Vegetables of every description and fruit trees of all kinds suitable to this climate.

 There is also a fine tract of WOODLAND containing Forty-five (45) superficial acres, situated three miles from the Plantation on the west side of the Bayou Vermilion, (being on the same side of said bayou as the Plantation). This tract of land is on a high hill and is thickly covered with the different kinds of Oak and Ash and a variety of other useful trees. It is a most desirable location for raising hogs, goats, and sheep. The Railroad line surveyed in 1872 by the N. O. Mobile & Texas Railroad Co. crosses this tract of land.

 The whole of the above property can be purchased on the following terms to wit:  $5,500 Cash, Or, $6,000, $3,000 and $3,000 CASH and $3,000 payable in three equal annual installments.

 For further information
Address  A. D. MARTIN,
   Or to the Lafayette Advertiser,
 Vermilionville, March 1874.
Lafayette Advertiser 3/28/1874.




lagniappe:
THE WOMAN SUFFRAGISTS.

The woman-suffragists have just experienced a crushing defeat in the State of New Hampshire. It appears that the good women of that staid old Yankee State are not anxious to vote, but are satisfied to leave the management of the political affairs of the country to the men. The woman-suffragists are very much disappointed over their defeat and as a result of their disappointment they are saying some hard things about their sisters in New Hampshire who refused to abandon their homes in a wild scramble for the franchise. Men have learned to take their political defeats philosophically, but it is not with your Aunt Hannah. If she does not win, she tries to get even by giving somebody a tongue-lashing. Mrs. Stanton Blatch, president of the Equal Suffrage League, paid her respects to her New Hampshire sisters for their indifference to woman-suffrage in the following manner:
 "Nowhere are the conditions of women so barbaric as in this staid old New England State. This is due to the introduction of the factory system. The New Hampshire woman has no more incentive to individual development that the women of barbarous tribes, whose interests never go beyond the cooking of food and tilling of the soil.

"Farm work is largely in the hands of the women of the State, although they are physically weak as a rule. Statistics of our recent war showed that our largest soldiers came from New Hampshire, but the native women are abnormally small, as a result of their hard lives.

"The New Hampshire woman lives in most cases on a rocky, unproductive farm, and her employments in her primitive home are as ephemeral as those of any savage. She bakes pies and doughnuts, washes her clothes and cleans house. The old industries of spinning and weaving and preserving and soap-making have passed out of her hands. So long as she had these things to do she had an outlet for her energies. She had an incentive to organize and systemize her household work." 

 In her anger against the New Hampshire women because they would not join the woman-suffrage movement Mrs. Blatch makes a terrible picture of her benighted sisters. She accuses them of divers and sundry crimes against the peace and dignity of the sex. She actually charges them with having "baked pies and doughnuts, washed clothes and cleaned houses." This is too bad.

Original source unknown. In the Lafayette Gazette 3/28/1903.



Lagniappe:
A SEMICOLON IN COURT

A Legal Treatise on Punctuation or a Changed Method Needed.

It appears that, if the matter has been correctly reported, the force of a law before the supreme court for construction depends upon a semicolon. That mark of punctuation may change the whole tenor of an important act in the legislature. It is not the first time that the semicolon has made trouble in laws. A semicolon in two or three sections of tariff laws has led to decisions hostile to the revenue and to home industries. It was some trouble of that nature in the Morill tariff act which gave the tin-plate industry to Great Britain. It was a semicolon which caused thousands to be refunded to the importers of women's hat trimmings, though the intent of those who passed the law was perfectly clear.

In these instances, and probably in the law of Indiana, over whose semicolon the supreme court is said to be cogitating, the trouble seems to arise from an inability to fix the function of the semicolon. In the rules for punctuation in the old Webster's spelling-book, the comma indicates "a pause long enough to count one," and the semicolon "a pause long enough to count two," the colon "three" and the period "four," with a fall of the voice. If those who have been writing rules for punctuating compositions had stopped there, we would not have had all this trouble, but these teachers have been going on making new rules for years until no one can undertake to follow them, but each punctuates according to his pleasure, rather than his familiarity with rules. Many writers have adopted the plan of punctuating as little as possible, leaving the reader to gather the meaning from the clearly constructed sentences, rather than from the interjection of commas and semicolons. Unfortunately, the verbosity and intricacy of the language and construction or lack of construction, in which statutes are written, renders punctuation necessary. This being the case, it seems that so much trouble comes from the indiscriminate use of punctuation marks that were there should be a legal treatise on that subject, defining the force of the different marks as they are scattered through the statutes.

If this cannot be done, why should not those who must construe the laws consider them with a view to ascertaining what was the design of the legislative bodies which enacted them? Why not have the judges take the laws without punctuation marks the except periods, and punctuate them to be construed so as to carry out the intent of the legislators who enacted them? - a fact which could be ascertained by inquiry if it was not declared in the titles of the acts themselves. Why make an indefinite semicolon, which an engrossing or enrolling clerk might substitute for a comma or some other punctuation mark, so important as to annul or change the meaning of the law? -

From the Indianapolis Journal and in the Lafayette Advertiser 3/28/1896.