St. Landry democrat., 1891-06-20

Baton Rouge Advocate: The AdvO-
cate frankly comedies that the financial
condition of the State is better now than
at any time since the close OF the civil
war, and that it is gradually lmprov-
ing. But we maintain that in order to
bring about this improvement, many
interests of the State have been neg
lected, and in not a few parishes there
has been an OnerOuS burden OF special
taxation. Our school system is notorl-
ously inefficient, and illiteracy has in-
creased at an alarming rate during the
past decade. Our levees are not as
efficient as they should be, and they
would be much worse il the people de-
pended wholly on State revenues for
that purpose. The floating debt Of the
State is being slightly augmented every
year, and there is no provision for
sinking fund to pay the bonded debt.
Our insane asylums have been crowded,
and the jails filled too often with the
unfortunates who ought to have been
provided for. Our great Charity hos
pital is prosperous, but nearly half its
revenues have been derived from the
lottery license of $4,000 year, paid
into the State treasury since 1869. Our
State capitol and grounds are a type of
public neglect, visible also in other d.
rectioDs, and present general air Of
dilapidation suggestive of a lack OF
money for minor purposes. Ii the peO-
pie of Louisiana prefer to go on with
this hand-tO mouth financial policy for
at least decade or more, and to con-
tinue the onerous taxation of half the
agricultural wealth of the State for a
generation yet to come, it is their SOW
ereign right SO to decide. But they
should not vote to perpetuate such pol
icy under the impression that it does
not exist, and that the State has plenty
Of money, or is likely to soon have
enough, for all purposes of thorough
and efficient government.
A newspaper paragraph says that all
the Alliance district lecturers, lately
appointed by President Adams, will
at once take the field against the lot
terry, and "soon their voice will be
heard in the land in denunciation of
this great iniquity." All except one.
He is lame duck, and cannot fly, be-
cause his angelic wings have been clip
ped.-Baton Rouge Advocate.
Is not the Advocate little hasty in
the above7 President Adams came
hither to investigate the charges against
the erring brother "fully and fear
lessly ~ but after tackling the job he
concluded to turn it over to the Farm
ers' Union committee on appeals and
grievances, which possibly may con-
clude not to reduce the slim ranks of
the "iniquity denunciators."-N. O..
City Item.
The leading editorial in Sundays Pic
ayune discusses the end of the world,n
in connection with ancient prophecy.
The Advocate suggests that the subject
is somewhat stale as matter Of news
paper interest, and should he left to the
backwOods pulpits and crank religion
lists. The earth has endured for some
thousands OF millions of years and will
no doubt continue to swing through
space long after the so-called prophe-
cies are relegated to the rubbish pile Of
human folly and superstition. Nobody
knows or ever has known anything
about it, from revelation or otherwise,
least of all those ignorant people who
had no conception Of the size or shape
of the earth or it's relative value in the
universe, aud there are certainly no
present indications Of an early catastro,
phe that will lead to wreck OF matter
or its destruction or dissolution by any
of the forces of naturalization Rouge
Advocate.