The Opelousas courier., 1894-03-24

On motion of MI. DuprG, the repOr OF the
committee appointed q lay out road between
Adam Reed and l.. Levy Il Co. was received.
the committee discharged and the road as lald
out declared a public road.
On motion Of Mr.. Lafieur, the report of the
| committee appointed to inspect the sanitary
condition Fl the jail and alsah surroundings arao9 ing was re-
spread upon the minutes.
To the President and members of the Police
Jury:
Your committee appointed TO inspect the
sanitary condition of the parish prison and
premises adjoining, upon the complaint of q
committee from the Town Council Of OpelOu-
| SITS, beg leave respectfully to report that we
have examined carefully into the subject mat
ter of the complaint and we find the prison in
as clearly a condition as it is possible to keep
it considering its crowded condition.. The
TAILOR reported to us that it is secured every
other other day and that disinfectants are con
stantly used. That the walls Of tho rooms are
blackcncd is due to the Coz" smoke and the
terror of the building be thoroughly whitewash-
ed, and that facilities for flushing it be llnproV-
ed. We are Informed that this can be done at
little cost by erecting a small tank a few feet
above the ground with u force pump and hose
attachment connecting with tho we'll. Iii order
that the prisoners may obtalYneeded exercise
and for their better security as well as to fur-
nish Il secure lookup while the rooms are being
secured, W. recommend the erection or a
fence upon the following plan and speci-
tications: Fence to be plank s feet high;
llttuhS " w ~ l'opto W w Itb etbteS =
scantllnS SKI with wire nails driven through
and to point ont 3 inches and to be 2 inches
apart and placed secure on top Of fence. Nails
in all spare space between the jail and court
yard fence. South side of fence to be put 10
yards from the Jail. North side to be 10 yards
planks to he put one foot III ground.
We have inquired into the complaint of the
noisy and indecent behavior of the prisoners
ard find the same to be partly due to liquor
furnished them by outsiders who have free ac-
cess to the prison windows, an evil which the
erection of a fence will prevent.
We have aSccrtained that the nnSeemly con
duct ana 3oud indecent language charged
against the prisoners often comes from drunk
en- and dlsorderly persons put Ill the prison by
the town constable for violation of the town
ordinances and over whom the jailor has no
control, the key to the room used for that class
of prisoners beng kept i'll possession of the
constable. 1t has been brought to our know
ledge that the room so used is frequently III an
exceedingly filthy condition and that the town
authorities do not attempt to cleanse 1t nor
pay the sheriff turnkey fees nor compensate
the iailor for having it cleaned up. We suggest
that the town authorities be conferred with in
order that they may make suitable arrange
iGents to pay the sheriff turnkey fees as COM
pensation for keeping the said room i'll a clean
Iy condition, as the Police Jury by allowing
| the town the use of the jail for a lock up, has
saved 1t the eXre.se of building and maintain
ing one OF its own.
We have also carefully examined the sink
near the prison and find no offensive odOr about
1T nor 90 we tnlDk IL at all aHectS the sanitation
of that pc. ton of the Town. We had the pres
ence and assistance of the coroner in making
the examination and he concurs in this view.
We do condemn the privy near the Jail aud
that two new ones be erected sui
ficiently large with a public urinary in them,
and a sink beneath 1t six feet i'll depth, and that
it be so constructed that when it becomes
necessary 1t can he moved a few feet and the
old sink filled.
Respectfully submitted,
W. +. CLOPToN,
W. EVANS,
ADELMA GUipRI.
Mr., GIti!ry in the chair.
On motion Of Mr.. Evans, the following pre-
amble and resolution were adopted:
Whereas. The Hon. j. b. Bergeron has been
removed from our midst by the inexorable
hand of death; and whereas, as President OF
this body lie rendered faithful and valuable
services, aud i'll all the relations of life exem-
plitied the highest and best qualities of a good
citizen aud whereas, it is meet and proper
that this body should express its sense of the
public and private worth of the deceased, and
Of the loss sustained in his death by this body
and by the community at large:
FiseFt fore be it resolved, that this
be spread upon the minutes of this body and
published III It's official proceedings. and that IA
copy thereof be communicated by the clerk to
the hereayed family Of the deceased.
Mr.. Duprf called for the yeas and nays.
Messrs. Melee, CloptOn, Fontenot, Courtney
Quebedfau, Lafeitr, Butler anl Evans voted
yes. DupTC, 10.
MI. Evans resolution was CARRIE.
On motion of Mr.. Fonten0t, the petition Of
citizens of Opelousas asking that Jack Melan,
cons salary be increased to $40 per month, was
laid on the table till next meeting.
Mr.. Evans offered the following resolution
which was adopted:
Resolved. that ali election be held on the LIST
Tuesday in June, 1894, to take the sense OF the
legally qualified voters OF the parish of st. Ian
dry as to whether licenses should be granted to
or withheld from drinking houses and shops
throughout the limits of the parish Of st. Lam
dry or not.
Resolved, further, that said election be held
in every particular under and in accordance
with the provisions of the general election laws
of the State.
Resolved, further, that the ballots of those
electors who are in favor OF granting licenses
to drinking houses and shops be printed as fol
lows, tu-wit: % For licensing the sale of intoXi-
eating liquors throughout the parish of st. Ian
dry" and the ballots of those electors who are
opposed to such granting of licenses to drinking
houses and shops shall be printed as follows,
to-wit: Against licensing the sale OF intOXi-
eating liquors throughout the limits of st. Ian
dry"
/ On motion of Mr.. Evans, the following road
overseers were appointed for the 1st ward:
> j. T. st. Cyr, from Arnaud's place to Port
Barre.
Frank Lastrapes, from Sd ward linet to Wable's
C, c. Duson, from Opelousas to Callahan
bridge and to work DR.. Barry's hands.
r. B.. Wilkins. from colored school house TO
Bellevue station.
J. [. Smith, rom Bellevue station to Bour-
Frank Dimmick, from J, P. Smiths South
line to ward line and work hands on Dimmick's
place.
~taignier road.
Armand NHrteIie, from OpC.OuSaS road to
Big Woods.
Jos. ". Bacon, from Jean Baptlste Lolo to
Judge Perrault's plantation.
Jules Pcrrodin, from West Bellevue road to
John Higgins North line.
Edmond Biagas, from John Higgins North
line to Eugene Richards gate.
Chas. Heller, from Opelousas to Henry Co.
meau's gate.
Francois D'Avy, from southwest corner of
Greenwood plantation to Milstead's bridge.
On motion of Mr.. Dupre, the petition of cltiz-
ems of Bellevue and ~Plaquemine praying for a
change of road was granted as prayed, provid-
ed the amount of fencing does not exceed II
coils OF wire and 800 posts, balance of change to
be made without further cost to the parish and
according to law.
Mr.. MCGEE in the chair. |
On motion of Mr.. Butler, c. jos. Manuel was |
appointed road ovcrseer from Homer Manuels
to d. =. Lafieur's, It'll ward.
Mr.. Lafieur moved that Messrs. Robert Cha |
chere, II. NJ. Littell, I s. Fontenot, George
Pulford and Christian MofnhinveS be appoint |
work recommended by the committee appoint
ed to examir G the sanitary condition of the Jail
and its surroundings; said work to be done un-
der their supervision.
Lafieur's motion that the duties Of the com.
mittee shall only relate to tine privy and yard
around the jail.
Mr.. Lafeur called for the yeas and nays.
Messrs. Butler, Lafeur, Quebedeau, Clopton,
Guidry and Fontenot voted no, and Messrs.
Courtney and Dupre voted yes.
Mr.. Courtney's amendment was lost and Mr..
Lafieur's motion was carried.
Mr.. Lafleur moved that the resolution of Mr..
Evans ordering an election for or against pro-
hihltion, be reconsldered ana resclnded.
Messrs. Butler, Laf1eur, Quebedeau, Clopton,
Courtney and Dupre voted yes and Mr.. Evans