St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1909-04-24
Mr.. LEWIS LETTER.

nortions Of two articles appearing IN
the Clarion, n just before the par
ish division election and one last week
on the result Of the election, strains
10 make it appear that the Clarion
has been inconsistent in its course.
Mr.. Lewis, in maintaining his posi-
zion that the Constitution Of the
State calls for a t~wo-thirds vote l1-
stead Of a majority, at a parish divi-
sion election, argues perhaps cor
rectIy that in interpreting laws each
and every article on the same subject
matter should be harmonized and con-
strued as a whole in order to arrive
at the meaning of the lawmakers.
The same rule would seem just in
constituting a newspaper article, and
in attempting to make US say that we
advised the abandonment Of the suit
attacking the Constitutionality Of the
act submitting the question Of divi-
sion to the people, Mr.. Lewis should
have applied his rule to the Clarion
editorial which he uses to contrast"
with the editorial Of a previous date,
and construed the paragraph he quotes
with another in the same article
which says:
s'That the lawyers and citizens who
abandoned the election and rushed
into court should continue the battle
as long as they have a legal peg to
stand upon, is to be expected. The
merits Of the very basis Of their suit
has not been passed upon by the
courts-has not even been tried-and
a retreat at this time would be ar
unnatural happening"
Lawyer like, however, Mr.. Lewis
only gives the portion Of the article
chat suits his purpose to make it
appear that the Clarion has been in
consistent.
The Clarion neither advised for %
against the continuance of the suit
in The editorial mentioned. It en-
deavored to give as lear as possible
q reflection Of the feeling Of the ad-
herents Of both sides Of the question.
The paragraph which he quotes was
purely and simply tine feeling Of the
divisionists-they felt that the album
dant majority of the people lad de-
CIared for them, and their object
should not be defeated by the courts.
They have a right to feel that way,
and what we said was that they did
have that right.
The other paragraph, which Mr..
Lewis does not give, reflects the feel
ing Of the anti-divisionists. They
feel that parish division has been OBJ
tanned through the agency Of an il
legal and unconstitutional election,
and they have a right to pursue their
suit TO annuI the election to the very
last. And we said they felt that way
and that any other course would be
THE unnatural happening"
The. Clarion, in common with the
rest Of the people Of the old parish
who oppose division because division,
in their opinion, is ~ill-adyised, I'M
necessary and fraught with no good
whatever but on the contrary calcu-
lated to bring about harm, can not
but feel appreciative of the unseIfsh
services rendered by Messrs. Lewis,
Dupr9 and Dubuisson.
But this should not, and will not,
deter the Clarion from rendering unto
the immense host Of the people Of
Che parish, as evidenced at the ballot
box, credit for their magnificent
achievement at the election, and from
giving through its columns that JUS
tice which every newspaper owes, not
to one set of people, but to the en-
tire people.
II the Clarion has ever looked
through The reverse end Of the teles-
cope, il was because it could not tell
which was the right end.
Stubborn facts have always APP
pealed to il; and it has always had a
tender spot for the voice Of the great
mass Of Che people.
While it will not surrender its views
10 The voice of the majority, because
the majority is sometimes wrong, it
will always have the utmost respect