St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1906-11-17
No Opposing Petition Comes Before The
Police Jury
FROM PEOPLE OF FOURTH WARD.
The Object Is to Make Both Sides OF the
AtGhafalaya River Prohibitlon.-The
AntIs Will Fight Hard.

day took up as the first business the
postponed petition from citizens of
the fourth ward of this parish, pray
ing that an election be held through
out that ward to take the sense of the
property taxpayers as to whether the
selling of liquor shall be licensed in the
year 1907.
It will be remembered that the pc
tition was presented at the meeting
of the police jury on the 9Th instant,
but postponed for the purpose of
giving any who may be opposed to
the election time to be heard on the
question.
AS no one appeared to oppose the
petition, it was granted, and the date
for the election fixed for December
18th.
Rev. Mr.. Lowery, who presented
the petition and addressed the police
jury at it's meeting on the 9Th, was
present, and when the resolution
calling the election was adopted with
out dissenting vote, he thanked the
members of the jury, and assured
them that the election would be car
ried, and would result in much good
to that section.
It is understood that the first
ward of Point Coupee parish, which
is just across the Atchafalaya river
and opposite Melville, the river being
the dividing line, will also hold an
election, the question coming up be-
fore the police jury of that parish
this week, and that it will carry. If
this is true, and the fourth ward of
st. Landry is carried by the prohibi-
tionists, that entire section Of the
Atchafalaya country will be free
from whiskey. We are informed
that this section has suffered much
from the whiskey traffic; that there
is floating population, attracted
there by the swamp work and fish
industry, who make things hot when
filled up on whiskey.
There is difference of opinion
among the people of that ward as TO
the fate of the question. Mr.. Lowery
is confident that it will be carried
overwhelmingly.
In fact, that ward is dry now, an
election held in 1902 having carried
by good majority. The selling Of
whiskey in Melville, which has the
only saloon in the ward, is permitted
by virtue of an election held within
the corporation Of that town late
last year. The election carried in
favor of the issuance of license. The
law is that where ward is dry a
corporation within the ward can
license the sale of liquor by holding
an election one year after the ward
election within the corporation limits,
in which case the ward law loses eff
feet as far as that corporation is
concerned, unless the ward should
hold an election every year, in which
case the action Of the greater body
nulifes that of the smaller body.
But Mr.. Lowery thinks that even the
corporation of Melville will show
dry" in the coming election.
On the other hand a prominent
citizen of Melville (not saloon man
or a saloon habitue) told us last week
that the people of Melville did not
want prohibition, and that they would
appeal to the voters of the other pro-
tions of the ward to help that cor
poration vote it down at the election.
In fact he told US that they were So
confident of defeating the move that
they would not appear before the
police jury to try and prevent its
submission. I'VE want to defeat the
move at the ballot box, and get
through with it, he said. He claimed
that the High School at Melville was
indebted to the liquor license, as
well as to the energy of the citizens
of the town, for its present substan-
tial appearance and prosperous con-
dition, and that the voting out oi
whiskey in Melville would only serve
the porpose Of cutting off this rev.
enue, without abating the liquor evil
as trains run through there from
every direction.
The polling place in the fourtl
ward are Melville, Morrow, Big Cane
and Raynu Cnrrpnt