The Opelousas courier., 1904-10-29
Judge Lewis Charge to the Jury.
Gentlemen of the Grand Jury:

to be ignored by the Court, or tolerated
any longer by it's executive officers. ]
refer to the violation of the Sunday law.
the selling of liquor without a license,
| the carrying of concealed weapons, and
the running of slot machines.
1t is idle to pretend that these Of
lenses are not habitually committed, OF
that it is not known to the executive
officers of the law and to the public.
Scarcely a Sunday passes, and especial
ly on the occasion of Sunday excur-
sions, that the Sunday law is not
s%hamefully, and in many cases, openly
violated in this and other towns, and
this has been going Oh, so L am in
formed, for many months.
AS to the carrying of concealed weap-
ons, the ofense is SO common and has
become SO fragrant among the whites
as we'll as the blacks as to attract no
attention.
There is good reason to believe that
the same is true Of running slot ma
| chimes.
The sale of liquor without license has
become a common offfense and a source
Of much disturbance of the peace. In a
great measure it ia provocative Of many
crimes that would not occur but for
these secret violations of law.
AS you are aware, the carrying OF
dangerous weapons concealed on or
about the person is o violation of law,
and no one, either white or black, is
privileged to disobey it. There is, or
seems to be, prevailing in the public
mind a notion or belief that sheriffs,
their deputies and other executive Off
GERS have the right to carry concealed
weapons at all times, and are exempt
from the operation of this law. Such is
not the case.
The proyiso in the law creating the
offense of carrying concealed weapons
is as follows:
provided that the provisions of this
section shall not apply to sheriffs and
their deputies, constables, policemen
and town marshals when in the actual
discharge of their official duties"
1t is only when actually SO engaged
that they are exempt, and not other
wise. When not SO engaged they have
no greater rights than the private citi-
zen, aud like them, il they desire to
carry weapons, must do it open to pub
lie inspection.
The law prohibiting slot machines
Furnishes the player as we'll as the own
or or persons permitting it's use in the
premises.
urge you to make diligent inquiry
into these matters. They have become
crying evils in towns and country, and
unless some restraint be placed upon
the infractiOn of these and other SINH
lar statutes, framed to protect the pub
lie peace and good order of society, we
will sooner or later become, and deserve
to be called, a lawless people.
IhaTR ia no safptv fO aOciafv avpant
by obedience to law, and your body is
charged with the special duty of bring
ing to the knowledge of the Courts and
presenting for prosecution offenders
against its provisions and thereby aid
ing the public o~fficialsin enforcing obe-
dience to its mandates. / trust you will
enter upon the discharge of your duties
fearlessly, impartially, and without re-
gard to any social or other influence
that may incline you to make distinc-
tons among %viOlatOrs of the law. No
one is too high to bow to its sanctions.
| am informed that through the me-
dunn of social clubs the Sunday law is
frequently violated. There is no law
forbidding the formation of such clubs,
nor the drinking of liquors at their
rooms or Sunday, il its members see
fit to do SO, but neither the club nor ite
members have O right to buy liquors on
Sunday, nor has any saloon-keeper a
right to sell, to either a club or it's mem.
bers, liquors on Sunday. Nor can he
give, trade or barter to any one on thal
day any article Of merchandise kept il
any such establishment as a liquor ga.
loon, and for each offense, that is, fol-
every such sale or gift the law pre-
scribes q penalty.
1t has frequently been claimed tina,
the Sunday law ia unpopular and can
not be enforced. Neither of such cIalmi
are true. The Sunday law has been OF
the Statute Book since 18e6-eighteel
years-since which time we have hat
and the law remains today as originali,
enacted, Notwithstanding repeated eff
forts to amend and change it.
1t is unpopular only among those
whose appetltes are stronger than thei
regard for the law, aud among tue Ii
quor dealers, whose love of money lead
them to incur the risk of it's violation
1t is an obstacle to their money-getting
and for that reason they are oppose
to it.
In our system of Jurisprudence Their.
is no distinction between laws, as t,
there being good and bad laws, and i
ls not within your or my province t.
make any such distinction. Our dut,
is to execute the law as we find it, and
as the late President Harrison truly
said, mo executive officer has any RICH
to choose what law he will enforce, no
has a private citizen the right to cbOos.
what law he will obey"
In my opinion, it is equally erroneous
to say that the law cannot be enforced
1t lis true that, generally speaking, il
is not enforced as it should be, but ths
reason for this is that, generally speak.
ing also, the officers of the law do no
do their duty. It is my belief that il
the executive officers of the State were
to do their full duty in this respect, the
back doors of every saloon in the State
would be as Theoretically sealed as are
their front doors.
Notwithstanding the notorious neg
iect OF these officials in such matters
society is not wholly without a remedy,
The law coDfides to you, as the Grand
Inquest of the Parish, the duty oil
bringing all offenders to justice before
the Courts of the country, and this
Court commits to your charge the per.
Torrance OF this duty, feeling an abid-
ing conviction that, as law-abiding citi-
Gems, you will faithfully discharge il.
Society would be in a deplorable con-
dition, indeed. if Grand Juries failed to
perform the important duties commit
ted TO them. Your responsibilities are
great, and | trust you will enter upon
your labors with a full appreciation of
that fact and an honest determination
to fairly, faithfully and fully investi-
gate oil offenses against the law with
out fear, favor or affection.
z. IT.. LEWIS, Judge.