St. Landry democrat., 1892-10-22
Somewhat Personal.

y
matter which, although somewhat per
sonal TO oursclf and the publisher of th
. Courier, is also one in which all the in
tclIlScnt people ot tie parish are dccpl,
interested. They all remember tina
last year the Clarion, Il So-called news
paper published here under the auSpicc!
OF IL stock company, offered to do tht
town and parish printing gratis and wa.
awarded the contracts. This actiol
showed that the managers Of tie con
Germ were not actuated by any desire tC
make money for the stockholders, but
that a determination to injure US in oul
| business was their controlling motive
| This occurred during Il heated political
! campaign, when we opposed the aspira-
tons for office OF the leading spirits of
the concern, and that fact may be hell
to account in large measure for his
/ vlndlctlvc aud unproieSsiUnal action.
When the campaign closed, however,
our fight against these men was ended ::
aud Onr files will be scanned i'll vain for
any attack upon them, although the pa
per, which was under their absolute
coDtrol, still continued to do for moth
ing the work which, all over the State,
yields very large portion of the rcve-
uues Of every legitimate country news
paper.
Our reluctance to keep up or renew
the discussion OF the unpIofessional
business methods of these managers. or
to clltlclsc any Of their actions, even
though great lnToads were being made
III our Legitimate business, not only has
not disarmed or deprived our persecu-
tors OF any OF their venom, but it seems
to have emboldened them to such an
extent that at the meeting of the Police
jury held here last week deliberate
attempt was made to induce that body
to .?Ojbid its clerk to furnish us with the
minutes ofits proceedings for g1utuitous
This attempt to force the
people OF St. Landry to read the Cla.
riop, EolcRs roicns, or 10 wait until one
week after it chose to publish the pro-
ceedinas Of the Police Jury before they
could read them in any other paper, was
made by I. 5. Fontenot, the sheriff of |
this parish, WHO is understood to be the |
principal stock holder in the concern, /
but who is neither tie president of its |
board Of directors Eor its general man
tger, and who, in his eagerness to furth- .
II persccute and injure us, unceremo- .
llousy usurpcd the functions of these
officials The Jury recognized this fact,
or his petition was signed as lone of
he stockholders and member of the
BOARD of directors" and they very
properly rebuked his presumption by
aging his petition on the table, only two
members out of a body selected mainly
Trough his instrumentality voting to
outsider the monstrous proposition at
II. This significant action, we may
id en- pdssant, confirms US in our belief
hat the members of that body have too
luch manhood to yield their convic-
ons of right and to betray the people
the dictation of anybody; and the
eople of st. Landry, irrespective of
action, will be exceedingly gratifed to
ossess this consoling assurance.
Besides recitng other facts in con-
ection with which Mr. I. S. Fontenot :
CURES in no cnviable light, we might ,
i've detailed crpOSc of another episode
with the publication of the
ury's proceedings, in which that high 5
: inflated individual had tie imperti- ;
eDce and the temerity to characterize {
Wr{tiHg the action of the President of .
le Police Jury as ga very irregular :
ay Of doing business" simply because c
lat official demanded and insisted that ,
le DEMOCRAT and Courier he allowed q
copy the proceedings of the Septem-
4r meeting after they had been set up
the Clarion Office, the Clerk having I
lied, on account of the death of his t
rother, to make out a copy for us, as s
, had kindly been in the habit OF do -
9. But we have already written
lough as a prelude to what it was our T
ain purpose to say in adverting to this d
Inject. Leaving aside for the moment i
e gross outrage which this man has
tempted upon the whole body of the
.op!t, we desire 10 call the attention o
the Clarion's stockholders, many of s
hom feel kindly towards US, to the !,
ct-n0w patent to the duilcst under
this Ean, who seems to II
we absolute control Of the Clarion, is h
ing the means they have invested in
at concern, not for the purpose of
aking money for it, but in order solely
deprive us OF the means of earning
in the calling we have fol-
wed all our lives. The idea that this il
urse is nanitestly unfair and coward 4
has probably never suggested itself =.
him at any rate, 1t does not appear u
have disturbed his conscience or II
'erved him i'll the least from bis pur- +,
sc. We also desire to respectfully 1,
ggest to the leading men Of the par ,'
4 of st. Landry that this may be a case l
at demands their active interpoSitiou. Il
lnuy be worth their while to pause a II
noment and examine into the uucs- e
~ whether they arc to have here a 1t
&c, fearless and Independent press or
g subservient to the dictates OF any
an who for time may be clothed !.
th Il little brief authority; whether h
cir press shall give expression to the |,
nest convictions of its conductors up >,
matters of public policy or the tit -
SIS of candidates for office, or through ,'
At of the destruction Of their business II
lvenly truckle to some would be die al
Lor and "crook the pregnant hinges of n
. knee that thrift might follow fawn-
~ At any rate, we have this to say
Q do not propose to remain quicsccut J q,
d summit tamnlN 10 ihn obstruction of