The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1902-01-25
FINAL REPORTOF GRANDJURY

To the Honorable Judge of The sd Jul
dicial District Court in and for the Parish
of st. Mary, State of Louisiana.
We. the Grand Jury. beg to submit this
our final report:
We have examined into all matters OF 4
criminal nature coming before US, and
have found bills in all cases in keeping
with the facts as presented to us, as VIII
be more fully seen by reference to the
several partial reports made by us during
our sitting.
PUBLIC OFFICES.
We have made careful examination in
to the manner in which the public offices
Of the Parish are conducted by the several
officers holding them.
SHERIFF'S OFFICE.
We find that the tax collectors department.
3 of the Sherf's Office is in excellent condl-
ticn and in General Parkerson as TaX-Col.
lcctor, the Sheriff has secured q COM
in the Sheriff's department we regret to
have to report that the Jail is in deplor.
able condition; we find it dirty both inside
and out, and in the cells where the prison
crs are kept, the proper sanitary methods
are not observed and the cells are infested
with vermin, which, when considering the
fact that the people have taxed themselves
and built one Of the best and most modern
jails in the State. is inexcusabie. We also
lind that the ordinance passed by the
Police Jury prohibiting the driving Of
vehicles upon the public square is not en-
forced and is especially disregarded by the
officers charged with lis enforcement.
CLERKS OFFICE.
We find that the Clerk Of the Court Is
doing the best that he can to keep the re-
cords in his chargein order, but owing to
the poor quarters furnished him by the
Parish and the manner in which he is
compelled to handle the books and records
of the Parish in the discharge of his duty
and his service to the public in such that
they are gradually going to wreck. and II
something is not done to correct this it will
not be many years before these valuable
records will be Of little use to the public.
We do not think that anything can be done
with his present quarters and that the
: } nnI,r remedy is to be found in our report
on public bulldogs. ,ssS-
We have had the derK-Ga.f Court before
us and learn from him that the iAMe ! w :.
erning the fees Of his office which were
enacted befo-e there was continuous
term of Court in this Parish. are not In
keeping with the present conditions, and
we would recommend that at the next ses-
sion Of the General Assembly that our
representative take the matter up and have
1t corrected. We find considerable COM
plant that records placed in the files OF
suits are not properly cared for, and In
mapy instances have been lost or stolen.
We recommend that the Clerk use more
diligence in the care of documents placed
in the files of suits in his care.
DISTRICT ATTORNEYS OFFICE.
We find that the District Attorney could
save the Parish large per cent.
Of the criminal costs If he would present
for trial all persons charged with crimes
that must be tried by the Court, which is
In continuous session in this Parish and
discontinue the present method of allow
ing person to lay in jail for a long period
OF time, and then presenting him for trial,
and II he pleads guilty, or is found guilty.
the Court in justice to the taxpayers Of
the Parish, is forced to sentence him tothe
Parish jail. for the term he has been con-
lined, or impose upon him fine which
makes him both pay fine and serve
sentence for his offence. Aswas the case in
the case OF the State Of Louisiana vs.. Will
Howard charged with carrying concealed
weapons; he was kept in Jail for sixty one
days, then presented for trial, plead
guilty, and was fined twenty-five dollars or
thirty days, and released on the same day,
having served his sentence before trial.
We also find that William Bell has been in
Jail for seventy days, charged with cutting
AA~SS.ss w Aiis 0uu AACHA A0luiIIOu
has been in Jail for over hundred days
charged with larceny. We have been un.
able to lind any witnesses against these
parties, and we think that the Dis
tr1ct Attorney should have made an ex-
animation into their cases and asked for
preliminary trial, and IL nothing was
found against them, had them released,
tnercby saving the Parish considerable
expense and the prisoners long term of
imprisonment. We therefore recommend
that the Court in the future take cog
nlzanee Of these matters and use its power
10 correct this evil.
PARISH TREASURER.
We have had the Parish Treasurer before
as with his books and vouchers. We have
examined them carefully and found them
correct We find in the general fund
Ihirteen Hundred and 25-1OO Dol
lars; we md in the school fund Two
Hundred and Thirty-e ght and 60-lOO
JUSTICES OF THE PEACE, CONSTA-
BLES AND PEACE OFFICERS.
"a m honest effort to try and indict per.
son: guilty q violating what 10 known -
the sunday law We have summoned before
~ nc following Peace officers q the
Fey19n :-EmiJe Perret, ST., N. J.. Wooster, |
10tIe Perret, Dr., Chris Peterson, ]. 3,
1aIxWeOn, RudolpA X. Hauf, Ion Roehcl, |
= n Martin, y. Legnou, X r. Cooke Q.