St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1890-10-18


ment by the Ineuisitor General of th,
| department of espionage, will cause NJ
| interruption of the lottery business
and the revenue proposition will con
tinae to be discussed and insisted upon
/ The above is taken from the editori
al columns OF one of our local papers
That is the way the lottery organs pu1
it the lottery is a business and Nor
| ris' proposition to buy the exclusive
privilege of lottery gambling in Louis
lana is called revenue proposition.
But our purpose in making this quo
tation is to inquire. who it is that is
insisting upon this proposition
Is John A. Morris insisting upon it !:
| Who is authorised to speak for him
He left the State long since and com
mon rumor says that lihe 4 sensible
man, he has abandoned the contest.
Are the lottery newspapers authorisd
to say that Mr.. Morris will insist upon
the proposition? We doubAt. What
ever else may be said of Mr.. Morris, it
cannot be said of him that he is fool.
His head is level on the business side
OF his proposition and he would be a
very fool if he now seriously proposed
to carry out what was proposed by him
to the legislature. He could not carry
out his proposal to pay the State $31, :
100000; and under the circumstances
now surrounding his scheme it would
be an act OF insane folly to pat ap q
five million dollarbond as a guaranty
to the State. No legitimate business
pursuit could live and prosper in this
country in spite of hostile legislation
by the Federal government and OF all
the States of the Union, and in spite
of a united public opinion sustained
by the entire press of the country.
How then can this lottery gambling
continue to be carried on to sufficient
extent to enable the gamblers to pay
this enormous subsidy to the State?
Lei me of the Jealous lottery parti-
= s answer this question. Our neigh
Dor, the st. Landry Democrat, from
whose columns we made the above clip
ping, says that Morris proposition will
continue to be discussed and insisted up
on. We invite it to discuss this branch of |
The subject. We ask it also to tell us
Mr.. Morris himself is still in
'isting upon his proposition. That pa
per and the rest of the lottery press of
he State should know what they are
,allling about. From what source do
10 they get their alltllorifr to sneak
When Mr.s.Morris left Louisiana did he
lot give out to the City press that he
would not advance the promised loan
o the levee fund because "the condi-
ions were changed = that is in other
words, because the State government |
lad not accepted his proposition? Has
,Ir. Morris spoken one word to the
,ress OF this State since that utterance2 |
f not, has the lottery press any pri-
rate information or instructions from
lin? If it has not, what right has
he lottery press to insist that there is
] lottery proposition before the people 7
Is the lottery press of this State carry
ng on a lottery campaign ION its own
look? ?" Or, is all this newspaper clat-
er merely the carrying out of an un-
inished advertising contract? !? II Mr..
Norris has sent down to Louisiana any
private instructions since he announced
hat his proposition had been rejected,
he public should know it, the voters
# this State should know it, and the
ottery press should make haste to
publish it. Discussion is invited. Let
his point be discussed Is there any
ottery or revenue proposition before
he people? Until the lottery press
shows us some later utterance from Mr..
Norris than that above alluded to, we
leny its authority to speak for him.
We say that there is no such
before the people; and we
NV that Mr.. Morris will take no legal
steps in the courts to have his propo-
;al published by authority as propos-
Il amendment to the constitution, as
,,rning that the Secretary OF State
holds with Mr.. Morris himself, that
lie act failed to obtain the legislative
sanction. Any such proceeding would
not only be the sheerest folly in the
|ioht of recent events, but would be IN
lirect conflict with his own published
declaration. And if the lottery
nartisans or local lottery men, acting
independently Of Mr.. Morris, should
be able through the snstrumentailty
# the courts to get this question be
lore the people TO be voted upon and
should have it affirmed, neither Mr..
Morris nor any other sane business
man would take upon himself the obi
cations proposed in the amendment,
IN view of what has transpired since
HAT measure was before the legisla-