St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1891-06-06


900 bales of cotton this season, an e,
J. cess OF 10000 over the amount annual
. handled by the merchants before il
II erection, and yields handsome prof
8 to its stockholders its ice factory pay
}. so handsomely that the erection of an
u other is now contemplated its buildin
Q and loan association and numerou
F: small Industries are in the highest de
g gree prosperous-to the former bein
= due the erection Of many of the ney
i. and smiling residences scattered abou
I the town and in the suburbs aud mucl
: OF the general air of thrift and pros
). perity observable among the humble
j classes of its population. Monroe ha
|. al electric light plant, an artesian well
/, two banks, two newspapers, severa
l large wholesale establishments, fine
, opera house, &c. Among the numer
Gus elegant residences seen in our ride
: Capt. r. B. Blanks, owner of the Hol.
} land plantation, near Opelousas, pointed
, out his, recently erected and the earn
est hopes that many of us here at one
time entertained that he would event
ually become one of our citizens have
therefore come to naught.
AT $50 p. m. the Association sat down
in Garretson's Opera house to a sump-
tuous banquet rendered by some of the
leading citizens Of the place; and until
a. III. the $50 guests around that festal
board were engaged in an earnest and
conscientious but only partially sue
cessful effort, at one time to do justice
to the menu, and at another to listen to
the responses to toasts both witty and
wise made by Hon. E. w. Sutherln,
"Catharine Cole,' Mr.. L. E. Bentley,
Congressman Boatner, Judge Gunby,
and others. The return to Ruston was
made by 2 a. NJ.
The third days session, like the two
| first, was held in the Ruston College
ball, which we have omitted to say was
tastefully decorated with pictures by
the College girls and flowers and
wreaths and such legends as these:
"The Press and Liberty are Twin Sis
ters,'" God bless the Freedom of Re-
ligion, the Freedom of Person and the
Press" and "Show me well to do
Press and I'll show you Free People"
Hon. E. w. Sutherlin, of DeSoto, spoke
elcquently of America for Americans"
Hon. C. ]. Boatner, of Ouachita, dis
coursed fuently and learnedly on The
Duties and Responsibilities of Journal
ism," and Hon. A. A. Gunby, of Qua
chita, made an admirable and highly
appreciated address on educational top
les. In the afternoon the Chautauqua
grounds, two miles from Ruston, were
visited, and business meeting was |
held in the spacious octagonal build
iug just erected; but besides the reel
ection of the same officers, from Presi-
dent down, no business was finally dis
posed of-the selection of delegates to
the National Editorial Convention, the
the selection Of next place of meeting,
the consideration Of the report of the
committee on resolutions and the mat
ter of foreign advertising were all de-
ferred until the fourth and last day.
The Chautauqua building is surround
ed by cool mineral springs, pronounced
by experts to be equal to any in the
South, and is very pleasantly located
among" the tall pines " OF which the
average North Louisianian is so proud.
This institution is designed as sort of
summer school where teachers and
others desiring to extend or "plow
over" their fields of knowledge will
assemble to listen to lectures or engage
in the study of any branch taught in
the universities and colleges of the
country, under the most eminent pro-
fessors of these institutions during
Of the kind in this country and the only
one in Louisiana, and is. destined to give
4 great impetus to the cause Of education
the section in which it is
located. South Louisiana should bestir
herself and establish one soon, and no
better location could be found in this
section than Opelousas.
The fourth days session Of the Asso-
,iation was held on Thursday at the
Calhoun Experiment Station, some 16
niles from Ruston. There, as we learn
rom the papers, Alexandria was chosen
ls the next place Of meeting over ,
Natchtoches by only three votes, =
,umber Of resolutions Of thanks were 8
llopted, the question Of foreign adver- ,
Using was again side-tracked, and the i
delegates to the meeting of r
he National Editorial Association to i
,e held in st. Paul in July were select 7
ID, viz: T. Sambola Jones, of Baton
Rouge L. E. Bentley, of Donaldson =
lille; A. R. Burkdoll, of New Orleans;
1. C. Chaplain, of Alexandria; Mrs.
[ulia Rule, of Shreveport; and Mrs. M. t
/. Field, of New Orleans-an excellent Q
delegation.
Ruston was founded about eight years 6
go, and it's growth has been phenome-
al. 1t is situated on the Vicksburg I
nd Shreveport road, about 60 miles :
rom Shreveport and 30 from Monroe,
nd is surrounded by good cotton,
orn and fruit country. ItcOntains sew f
raj wholesale houses doing business in
me two story brick stores, many ele-
ant modern style residences, three T
ewspapers, q College with 900 students, 9
public hall, Gc., and about 1900 in I
abitants. These inhabitants have g
aade for themselves an enviable repu- Il
Al.