The weekly messenger. [volume] (St. Martinsville [i.e. St. Martinville] La.) 1886-1948, 1904-08-27
The Mermenteau Fraud.

The people of Vermillion parish
are loud in their denunciation of
the Mermenteau Levee bill, crea-
ting the Mermenteau Levee Dis
trict, aud the people affected by
this law, who will be taxed, and
who will have to pay for the bonds
that will be issued. 1t looks as if
this bill was passed in such man.
ner that the people affected by this
bill knew nothing of it, except af-
ter it was passed, aud i; sounds
strange to hear of the abused that
are heaped upon a Democratic ad-
ministration and Democratic le-
gislature for having passed a bill
which the people call: The Meta
rios bill, the swindle bill, and Mr..
W. w. Edward prominent citi-
zen of Abbeville says "Of all the
impudent frauds perpetrated by a
servile Legislature the Mermenteau
outrage is one Of the, most bare
faced.
It's offense is rank-it smells to
Heaven" and continues to pay his
respect to the Legislature in the
following manner:
Now Is this all the injus-
tice that has been perpetr ated by the
members Of the Louisiana Legislature
who, 1t would seem, were elected TO be-
tray the people who elected them. The
entire State, the high sand hills of NOrth
Louisiana as we'll as the great rolling
prairies Of South West Louisiana, where
no overflow was ever known, have been
taxed for more than half a century to
build levees for the rice planters on the
banks OF the Red and Mississippi Rivers.
This tax il one mill on the dollar OF the
entire assessable property Of the State.
and is disguised under the name of in
ternal improvement tax. It would not
do to call it a levee tax. People would
not stand it. ROgues. never call things
bv their names. 1t is not polite among
thieves to speak Of stealing. 1t is "crack-
ing a till". So this levee tax Is called
internal improvement tax but if any
man can show where any of it has been
spent for other than levee purposes he
is invited to show it. The progressive
people who concocted the Mermenteau
Levee District scheme should have first
endeayOred to get the State to do justice
to this district by returning the money
thus misappropriated.
/. The imDudence of this levee bill is too
colossal to be discussed in a single arti-
Gle and shall mention only few of its
hideOus provisions leaving other portions
for future consideration. The legisla-
ture which perpetrated this iniquity was
elected on a pledge to curtail the Ofiicia |
power and patronage of the Governor
this 1t shamefully refused to d.
The inexperienced and unsOphistica-
ted novices whom the people fuolishly
sent to represent them were merely clay
In the hands Of the potter and were made
by designing rascals In the lobby and in
the legislature to do their bidding. and
hence it is that the people of the Mer-
menteau Levee District have not the
slightest say 30 about what shall or shall
not be done with their money. The Gov
ernor does that. He appoints the Levee
commissioners. and experience has
Taught observing and intelligent men
what kind OF men will be appointed
)ne thing is certain the men whom the
appoints will look out for their
'wn private interests at least, and as
here is no limit Oh what they may do
md as no one knows what they expect
o do. they will undoubtedly take good
,are Of themselves. 9