The Opelousas courier., 1889-03-30
The Road Law of Louisiana.

There is in the State of Louisiana,
We believe. no general statute of the
state prescribing that public roads
shall be made and how they shall be
made and maintained. This subject
has been placed by the Legislature un-
der the exclusive power and control of
the Police Juries of the several parishes.
This has been so from time almost i'm
memorial. The power of the Legisla-
ture to delegate to Police Juries author
NY TO pass ordinances, having for their
object the construction and maipten
ance of public thoroughfares within
their respective parishes, is now undis
puted. But differences of opinion have
lor many years existed in very many of
the parishes as to the policy adopted by
the Legislature in this respect.
The objection that we have most of
ten heard made and urged against the
read law now existing, is that men be-
tween certain ages are required to work
on the roads without being paid for
their time and labor. This objection,
now that the constitutionality of the
law has been decided by the Supreme
Court, applies only to the policy of the
law. We think that the great majority
OF the citizens of the State have long
since become convinced that there is no
merit in the objection. Work on the
public highways could be paid for only
by raising more public revenue. Pub
lie revenue can be raised only in one
way, and that way is taxation. To sup
port the government-both that of the
State and of the parishes-and pay the
public debt, the constitutional limita-
ton of taxation has been reached. Any
proposition to raise more revenue in the
parishes for road purposes must be sub.
mitted to vote of theataxpayers, and
we know pretty well before hand what
would be the result of that vote. And
we could not blame tax payers, and
that means property owners, for voting
against proposition to cast upon their
shoulders, alone, the burden of con-
structing and maintaining roads to be
used as much by those who, owning no
property, would escape taxation, as by
themselves. Such proposition would
be unjust.
There is a way, however, out of the
difficulty. An amendment of the Con-
stitution granting to the Legislature
the power to impose a per capita tax
upon every male citizen of the age of 81
years, for road purposes, would dlstrl-
butte the burden of constructing and
keeping up our public roads equally
among the citizens of each parish. The
money thus raised in each parish to be
used exclusively in that parish for the
purposes for which the tax was impos
ed. We know OF but one good objee-
tion that could, and perhaps, would be
raised to this proposition and that Is,
that our public schools need more rev.
enue-more than the per capita tax now
authorized by the Constitution affords,
and if there is to be any increase in
/ that tax authorized, let it be done fol
the benefit of the public schools of the
| State. We are in sympathy with this
objection. And we are inclined to be,
! lieve, that the proposition to raise mo-
1ney in this way to pay for constructing
and maintaining our public roads woule
perhaps meet with defeat. We have
though, made this suggestion because
we think that it is the only just ane
equitable way in which the views o
those who object to the present gcoe
road law, and desire to have work OF
the roads performed by paid labor. cal
be met. In the mean time, though, le
the present road law be enforced |
will be time to cease working under tn
present law when it is abolished and
rbetter one adopted.