The Lake Charles echo. [volume] (Lake Charles, Parish of Calcasieu, La.) 1876-1898, 1885-10-17

ecASUila u ttft f5aht Two Wtck5 tie DOLE
have ceased rott;ng and the cotton
has opened in most rapid manner.
The staple IS very superior and in
marked contrast TO that picked during
the rainy reason. Ii clear and dry
weather continues for month more,
we feel satisfied that the yield win far
surpass what was expected o couple Of
weeks ago.
The West Baton Rouge Sugar
Planter says: ''The dry weather Of
the past week has been hailed with
delight By the cotton farmers, who
have taken advantage Of it to harvest
their crop as rapidly as possible. II
Is thought that the damage to the crop
IN this parish will reach about As per
cent. This estimate, however, may be
slightly reduced with favorable sea
son from now on, which win permit
the crop to be closely gathered. But
little complaint is made of sugar-cane,
which is fully grown and needs only a
spell of cool weather to ripen it sufi-
GENTLY for the mill.
A Shreveport special of the 9th inst.
TO the 7Fmes-D Democrat, says: News
has been received here of kind Of
'sreign of terror" in the lower portion
OF Bienville parish, organized by some
young white men. The report says
their actions have created consterna-
tion among the good citizens, who
have been threatened with violence if
any report Is made. Gov. McEnery
telegraphed Judge Drew, of Minden,
to investigate the matter, and the re-
suit is that proper afidavits have been
made against five of the principals be-
fore Justice at Arcadia, and officers
have gone after them. Many rumors
of shooting and whipping white and
colored citizens are afoat, but nothing
certain is yet known. As soon as the
parties are arrested the facts will no
doubt come ont.
The Pointe Coupee Banner says !:
When a New Orleans merchant be-
comes financially embarrassed, he APP
plies to the courts to call a meeting of
his creditors and asks for a respite or
extension of time, and finally winds
up BY getting full release by paying
from 10 to 20 cents on the dollar.
When the country merchant or planter
becomes embarrassed and is unable to
pay the city merchant in full, the city
merchant applies to the courts and OBJ
tains an execution against the country
debtor, and sells out the last piece OF
property he owns. When the county
merchant or planter fails, he is termed,
in the city parlance, a swiudier; and
when the city merchant suspends after
gobbling up the proceeds of the crops
entrusted to him, he is said to be IN
fortunate, The city merchant calcu-
lates on Sc per cent. profit while the
country merchant is satisfied with 10
per cent, and the planter works hard
all the year with the hope of making
six per cent on his investment.
A Times Democrat Baton Rouge
special of the 9th instant, says: are,
cent developments in the matter of
the workings of Act No. SO of 1884,
show that the intention of the law is
being defeated. Under this law each
disabled Confederate soldier is entitled
to homestead of 100 acres of land,
and he is allowed to locate his land
wherever he pleases, and to obtain a
patent for it free of charge. Instead
Of profting by the bounty of the State
and improving the land thus given to
them, persons obtaining such patents,
IN very many instances, have sold them
for nominal sums to speculotOrs and,
in some instances, spectators have in
terested themselves in getting these
patents for persons entitled to them,
in order to purchase their claims for a
mere song. 1t is an easy matter TO
see what the State loses by these laws,
as at present worked, while the per-
sons for whose benefit it was enacted
obtain little or no benefit from it. In
his last quarterly report the Register
shows that during the quarter ending
Sept. 80, be disposed of lo,l4l 57-loo
acres of this 1899 46-loO acres were
disposed of under the Homestead Law,
and 3435 95-l00 under Act No. 96,
making total of 6235 4I-loO acres of
good land given away by the State.