St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1892-12-03
The Proceedings of the Police Jury.

to turnlSl! It's proceedings to the other
papers, provided he did not sign them
officially; and it says that "if it has an
official organ, it should furnish its pro-
ceedings to that organ only" When
| the Sheriff was cornered the other day,
in the meeting of the jury, he said that
it was not bis desire to prevent the 9TH
er papers from publishing the proceed
ings (wllen everybody knew that it
wasl, but that all the Clarion claimed
was the erclasire right to publish, the
proceedings in an official shape. Tie
jury tlereupon gave it that exclusive
right, nobody protesting, and now it is
kicking because it did not get the ex-
elusive right to publish them at all be
cause, in other words, the clerk was not
| absolutely prohibited from giving any
kind of a copy Of the proceedings to the
other papers.
There are several reasons why tue
Clarion does not like this action of the
police jury. One is that it has been doing
| in slip shod manner the work it agreed
to do for nothing-and it has been de-
mOnstrated on more than one occasion
that such is the fact-and that while our
published reports have been correct and
accurate, according to the copy furnish
ed lis by the clerk, its published reports,
although ostensibly official, have not
always been so; and it's work has there
fore suffered in comparison with ours.
Another reason is that this work is very
arduous, and that it is sometimes very
announcement to do it promptly, and il
the clerk was forbidden to give us the
proceedings the Clarion would he in no
hurry to publish them; and it would
frequently happen, as it Las happened
before, and as it happened again last
week, that the proceedings would not
appear in the official journal until ten
or eleven days after the adjournment of
the jury instead of three or four days
after--and the people would thereby he
deprived of reading them until the Cla-
rion found it Convenient to publish them.
4
sales. 1t has been engaged in that work
for five months, and is not through yet;
but when the DEMOCRAT was the re-
cipient of the Sheriff's favors, three
years ago-it was edited and published
by an ex Federal soldier and a Repub-
lican then-that official insisted that all
his sales had to be published inside of
two mouths; and although the feat i'm
posed considerable trouble and extra
labor and expense upon two Demo-
Gratis, one of whom was an ex-CoDfed-
crate soldier, it was performed
But the Clarion goes on to say that
the regulation adopted by the jury re-
curing the clerk to copy the proceed
iDas in a book will have the effect of |
making it impossible for the official pa
per to publish these proceedings "till
about IA week after" the other papers
have done SO. This is VIGOROUSLY aud
absurdly false; and it is positively as
5ounding that men who would pass for
respectable should be guilty of such bra
zen fa)sehoods aud such mjsrepresenta-
ions, which are even more contempti-
Die than mere falsehOods, as appear
With shocking pelslstency and regular
ty Ill its editorial columns. We can
ccount for this scandalous state of af-
airs only by supposing that their auth
rs t1atter themselves that their identity
5 unknown, for never since its estab-
lshment has that sneaking, bush
VhackiDg concern printed at the head
f its columns the name of a man who
ssumed responsibility for its editorial
tterances, since no decent man could l
ford to father them.
Referring to this regulation, the Cla- {
ion says:
The police jury also decided, it seems, that s
S clerk could furnish copies Of the proceeG-
lgs, unoicially, t. all the other papers in the r
arish, and that he should copy the proceed y
tn tn fhe ecok nd then furnish the proceed
official" paper come last, and worse off than r
lc'' unofficial" papers.
Now, the man who wrote this knew C
etter, for in the very paper in which ?
lese statements were made the regula-
on referred to, reading as follows, was
ublished +
On motion OF Mr.: Lafeur, be it resolved
at, beginning on this day the Police Jury
all at each OF its meetings adopt its minutes =.
|, shall be final and official That from and >,
ter this meeting the Clerk of the Police jury
required to take down the minutes as they e
ansplre IN well bound book, which shall be ::
sned by the said Clerk and President. after IL
adoption of the proceedings That the p
erk DC instructed never to allow the book to
out OF u ms ms possession And that he furnish a
,ony or the said proceedings, Immediately af- !. .,
the adjournment OF each meeting, to the Of IL
ial paper OF the parish, signed officially by ST
N and the president. ol
Now, how does this make the official q
per come last" and any worse off, e.
an the other papers? 1t simply pro- x
DIES that the clerk shall take down in
book the proceedings as they trans !,
re-; that before final adjournment the =
ID proceedings shall be finally adopt ro
/; and that immediately after final adj oo
'inihebC the ciefk shall furnish copy &C
said proceedings to the official paper. m
ly signed. What is there here to pre-
ut the official paper from publishing pc
proceedings "till about a week pc
err the other papers have published NJ n,
m9 Nothing absolutely nothing. ca
he fact is that this is not whore the sh
e pinches. What worries the Cla- Du
. and causes it to prevaricate aud 90
ggle around SO is the fact that the :
y did not prohibit its clerk from Civ VIZ
us copy OF the proceedings; and as ms
t gentleman has kindly promised to -
ke out duplicate copy for us, he
simply copy on duplicating book
1t iio writes in the "well bound book ~