The southern sentinel., 1907-06-07

petty convicts in the Jail together
with other prisoners arrested
under petty charges. and who hac
failed to give bond. and put them
on the public roads, il would GO
a long way toward solving the
burdensome problem of an over.
crowded Jail and heavy expendi-
lures.
For illustration, this officer
with his portable camp outfit, his
road machine, his mules and his
convicts and prisoners could
begin work on the Luke and
Wyatt road at the jackson Parish
line and work down to Winfield
and then out the Montgomery
road to the parish line on the
southwest and SO on. This will
give the country a practical
demonstration of practical road
building; it viii relieve the Jail
of much congestion and it will
relieve the tax payer of some of
his burdens and it will give to
these same tax payers some good
roads. This method will so dis
tribute the fruits that will follow
from the construction of these
roads, that all the people will
harvest some of the benefits.
Seventh. We are glad to re-
port that among the agricultural
population of our parish crime
is on the decline. This fact was
very torcibly brought out In bold
contrast to the fostering con-
ditions that we found to exist in
some quarter about public works.
The prosperous times have stim-
uiated the agricultural popula-
ton as a whole, to loftier aims
and nobler purposes, and the
same prosperous conditions seem
also to to have stimulated the
lawless element-which however,
is not large-that follows public
works to>new and bolder deeds of
blasphemy, infamy and perjury.
Law breaking with this element
has ripened, under the tutelage
of the saloon element, into a
profession, and especially is this
true of the whlskey peddlers and
gamblers. They are not only
confirmed criminals themselves,
but they are red handed enemies
of good government, of religion,
and society,". The>seductive coils
of deadly contamination stretches
like q spiders web in every
direction from the den of every
whiskcy peddler; a contamination
that for force of seductive
capacity stands today in our
Twentieth Century civilization
without q parallel.
1t invades the social precincts
of the home; it blights the bloom
ing prospects of the promising
son, it drags to the depths of
shame and poverty the rosy
checked daughter, converting her
merry cry into a wall of distress.
carrying with her her lofty ideals
of morality. sociology, phllan-
thropy and humanitarianism.
The death dealing influence goes
to the length of touching even
the smiling babe, yet in the arms
of the sainted mother, the very
embodiment of innocence and
fidelity, and converts what was
intended by the Almighty, and
what would be under normal cir
cumstances and environment a
useful and noble citizen, into .
hardened and confirmed criminal.
Men hoary with age of adj
vanclng years; men just in the
prime of mature manhood; and
Young men with the bloom nf
youth fresh as the new blown
rose upon their cheeks, have
come before this body and under
the most solemn oath, with the
name Of the Almighty fresh upon
their lips have wiilfuIly, mall
iciously, premedftated and with
malice aforethought perjired
their souls-not for money; not
for an exalted position in the
lime light Of public opinion; not
to shield themselves; not to shield
the good uame Of loving
brother, IN honored father or
. ssiutly mother-but for the
desplcable and revolving purpose
only Of throwing the mantle of
protective charity over the
crouchine shoulders of the mis-
ersble william who peddies
whiskey about the country and Of
whom they have guilty knowledge.
The factors Of influence that
arc oet in operation by the
whiskey peddicrs aud their co.
coospiratoFs in crime are more
deadly il their effect upon the
youth of The country than pesti-
{oneuo Thav oa,ohk - he freatQf1