The weekly Iberian. (New Iberia, La.) 1894-1946, 1900-06-23
BATON ROUGE NOTES.


ing has been awarded to Mr.. w. G..
Chevis of the Baton Rouge Advo-
cate.
The Bill authorizing the locking
of Bayou Lafourche was signed by
Governor Heard on Wednesday
last and is now a law of the State.
Our Representative. Hon. ?. r.
Burke has introduced a measure
in the Legislature to amend the
charter of the City of New Iberia.
An appropriation has been made
by the State eff $4,000 for the es-
tablishment, equipment and main
tenance of the Industrial school at
Lafayette.
State Senators Liable, Clark and
Lewis were appointed a committee
to represent the Senate at the lay
ing of the corner stone of the La
fayette Industrial School.
House Bill No. 1871 (by Mr..
Burke) abOlishing the offices of
Justice of the Peace and constable
in ward 9th, Iberia Parish and
creating in their stead the City
Court of New Iberia defining its
powers, etc, has been reported
favOrably by the committee, with
amendments.
Gen. Leon Jastremski, commits
siOner of agriculture, made a strong
argument before the agriculture
committee of the House yesterday
in support of the bill providing for
a system of obtaining, compiling
and promulgating official reports
of the conditions and yield of agri-
cultural products of the State.
Gen Jastremski said that the
bill was strongly indorsed by the
convention of the cotton States
which met in New Orleans some
months ago, and it is hoped to
have all the Southern States adopt
similar laws. The object of the
bill is to secure accurate infOrma-
ton touching Louisiana crops and
other local statistical data. For
the want of such information Gen.
Jastremski said the planters of
Louisiana had sadly suffered in
past years. The experience of the
cotton planters furnished an Illus
tration. He believed that those
planters who had sold their cotton
at 6 cents under the influence of
the Neill report had actually suf
fered a loss of between $4,O0O,OOO
and $5,OOO,OOO. If the system pro
posed in this bill had been in Ope
ration and accurate reports OF the
condition Of the crops, the prob
able yield, etc, had been received
and disseminated, this great tinan-
cial disaster would have been
averted.
Gen. Jastremski thought that, if
the bill passed, in little while
monthly reports of great accuracy
and value could be made. The bill
provides that the commissioner of
agriculture shall furnish blanks to
the assessors which the latter are
to fill out and return monthly.
The blanks will gradually be de-
veloped so that the assessors will
be asked to report not only on
crops but on new enterprises IN
their parishes, the number of gins,
the number of saw mills and other
factories in operation. The publ
cation Of these reports and their
wide circulation would be of meal
culable public sentiment and 1t
might be counted on as certain that
the reports would be subjected to
such close scrutiny everywhere
that attention would be immedi-
ately called to any errors. OF inn
portance in them. Ultimately the
reports would become so complete
as to be trustworthy chronicle
Of the progress of the State, agri-
culturally, industrlally and COM
mercially.
The bill provides that the asses
sors shall be paid $50 each for
furnishing this information and
tbe cost of instituting and main