The Opelousas courier., 1896-08-15
The Election Law.

y, The new election law goes into effect
Nov.2, the day before the Presidential
election. This law will disfranchiso
more votelf than the Suffrage amend
ment. proposed at the last election
would. ksquarely imposes an educa-
tlonal qualification as a voting requisite.
lhe law is lengthy aud tends to confuse
the voter, and will require considerable
stud y, we oplne, before it can be sue
cesstully operated intmany of the coun-
try parishes. The new law provides
tor what is called the blanket-ballnt,
and the llllterate white people who
voted against the suffrage amendment
Will find out that they have made Il mis-
take, and serious one at that. Under
the new system. all the nominations will
have to be Sent to tie Secretary of State
VINO VIII cause al! names to I've printed
on one ticket. These tickets will he
returned to the proper officer in each
parish, and on election day, these tick
cts will be placed in booth, wIe,e the
voter himself, without assistance will
have to erase the names of all can.ii-
dates except those he wishes to vote for.
Eacllsvoter is allowed three minutes to
fix his ticket aud vote. 1t is male II
criminal offence, for either the commits
sioners or watchers, to assist Il voter in
fixing his ticket.
1t will be seen by reference to the
card in another part Of this paper that
DR.. Fred Mayer has returned to his old
home here to practice his profession.
The Doctor was born on the banks OF
the Tecfe, was raised in this town. He
commenced life teaching school in
Chicot, Big Cane, Church Point, Wash
ington and Opelonsas. In 1882 he grad
uated in Medicine at the University of
Louisiana and commenced practice in
the parish of Lafayette. He is an active
member of the La. State Medical So
clety, having been the chairman of the
Section on Public Hygiene and Quaran-
tine for three consecutive years.
In 1889 he attended the Clinics at ST.
Thomases Hospital, London, and the
Lectures of German Sec. in Paris, In
1894 he led the debate on the Medical
Bill before the La. Med. Society, which
resulted in its passage by an overwI,elm-
ing majority. In 1892 he accepted the
position Of Asst. Quarantine officer, the
Legislature having raised his salary
from $4,000 to $4,000
For ten years he has been very active
In State politics, having been Il delegate
to all State and district conventions.
He was selected by the caucus to place
eX Gov. Nichols in nomination and
four years after seconded the nnminn-
ton OF Foster i'll II lengthy speech. 10
1896 ho again seconded TIE nomination
and moved TO make it unanimous. In
1899 he was selected by the Farmers
Alliance of Lafayette to welcome the
Alliance. Convention, although not il
member of tl.at organizatinn, and was
among those whn while dennuncing the
I,in tnI OF,
bly, by the agreement, Judge Julian
Mouton, of the Lafayette delegation,
making the secondins speech for the
late Thos. 5. Adams. the whole delega-
tinn standing by Adams as long as he
was candidate. Although bitter
and hard fighter in politics, he never
carries the asperities of one campaign
into the next, and after the Nichols
fight he was the first in Lafayette in
public speech to counsel harmony.
10 1899 he was President of tho Alta
kapas Medical Society, and in 1893 he
was their annual orator. In 1896 he
delivered the Commencement Address
at Chautauqua.
His return to OpeIonsas, we under
stand, is influenced 10y desire to be
with his family and to get ont of politics.
In announcing that he will not support
the Democratic presidential nominee,
U. S. Senator Don Caffery says: re-
gard Mr.. Bryan as the nominee Of all
the elements of society warning against
the long established and legitimate
order of things" Yet lie says that he
will not assist in the election of McKin-
ley. why not ? Thirty years of Rep
nbicanism surely represents at least
part of that ''long established and leg
itimate order OF things so pleasing to
Mr.. Caffery. Senator, it yon are SO ir-
redeemably between the devil and the
deep blue sea, why not surrender the
commission you hold from the advo-
Gates of "private robbery aud spoilation,
and public dishonor," and HE yourself
to the shores of soIdstandard England?
fx...