The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1907-03-23
BAYOU LAFouRcHELoeks

Enthusiastic Mass Meeting Held at Dom
aIdsonviiIe Courthouse Wednesday
Forenoon-Steps Taken to Sc
cure Accomplishments of
Important Project.
The mass-meeting held at the Dom
aldsonville courthouse Wednesday
forenoon in conjunction with the joint
meeting of the Atchafalaya and La
fourche Basin levee boards, called by
Gov. Blanchard for the purpose of
discussing the Bayou Lafourche lock
project and arriving at some satisfac-
tory solution of the problem, was at
tended by upwards of TOO representa-
tive citizens of the parishes OF AS
cension, Assumption and Lafourche,
and proved one of the. largest and
most enthusiastic assemblages ever
held at this place.
The gathering was called to order at
1915 O'Clock by Capt. Y. Maurin, OF
Donaldsonville, president of the La
fourche Basin Ievee board, with the
following levee commissioners in at
tend ance: Atchafalaya board--V. Nj.
Lefebyre, president; Thos. Beary.
Honor6 Dugas, j. A. Cotton, A. 81.
Gay and j. A. Provost. Lafourche
board-V. Maurin, president; j. S.
Brady, Camille Templet, Louis Hymel,
Alfred Songy, T. j. Sellers, George
Lorio and D. J. Foret. The only
absentees were r. Perez, of the La
fourche board, and Thos. G. Erwin, of
the Atchafalaya board. W. ]. McCune
and J. V. Dubroca, secretaries OF the
two organizations, were at their posts,
and there were also present Gov.
Blanchard, Major F. NJ. Kerr, Col.
Sidney F. Lewis and Gen. Arsene Per-
rilliat, of the state board of engineers,
Congressman George F. Burgess of
Texas, and other distinguished Of
ficials and personages.
Capt. Maurin introduced Gov.
Blanchard as the first speaker, and
the chief executive of the state was
greeted with applause as he took the
foo.. Gov. Blanchard spoke OF the
visit he received about two weeks ago
from large delegation of citizens OF
Ascension and Assumption parishes,
and stated that as a result of their
call upon him he had decided to bring
the two leVee boards together in joint
session at Donaldsonville, believing
that the best way to handle the ques-
ton at issue was to hold a public
meeting and let the prominent citizens,
property owners and taxpayers re-
siding in the Bayou Lafourche section
present their views and participate in
a full and free discussion of the lock
proposition.
He said that ne knows comparatively
little of Bayou Lafourche, and that it
is not his province to determine whether
the laws are wise and salutary, but
that the constitution specifically calls
upon him to see that the legislative
enactments are executed, and it is
his duty to carry out this command.
If the law says locks must be built at
the head of Bayou Lafourche, the law
must be obeyed and the locks con-
structed, provided ways and means
can be found.
He stated that in his opinion the
problem resolves itself into two ques-
tions, viz: First, is the law plain in
its mandate? Second, Have the levee
boards the means to build the locks?
Taking up the first question, he re-
viewed the history OF the lock move
ment at length, stating that it origi-
mated in 1898, when the state legisla-
ture memorialized congress to con-
struct locks at the head of Bayou La
fourche. Apparently this memorial
had no effect, as no appropriation was
made or other action taken. In 1900
the general assembly passed a bill in
troduced by Hon. W. Fl. Price of La
fourche authorizing the Atchafalaya
and Lafourche levee boards to dam
and lock Bayou Lafourche, and the
fourth section of this act makes it
mandatory upon the boards to con-
struct the locks.
In 1902 the legislature passed an
other bill empowering the levee boards
to construct a dam at the head of
Bayou Lafourche, in order to facil-
itate the work of building lock, pro-
vided the approval of the war depart
ment could be secured. The governor
said that this approval was granted
and the dam constructed, and in 1908
plans and specifications for the pro-
posed lock were drawn up and for
mally approved by the secretary OF
war, as required by law. On two or
three occasions since, congress has
been petitioned for an extension of the
time limit within which the locks must
be constructed, and now that limit ex-
tends to the year 1910. At the last
session of the general assembly bill
introduced by Hon. Fl. G. Braud of
Ascension, embodying positive COM
mand of the law to the two levee
boards to construct the locks without
delay, was passed and ratified, since
when there has been no legislative
action concerning the lock question.
The governor stated that the other
question fnvnIved. that OF Rnannon