St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1911-07-08
SHERIFF SWORSS TELLS
OF HIS CANDIDACY
FOR SHERIFF
Political Conditions in st. Lam
dry Parish Made Him Decide
to Run for His Present
Office.

Opelousas, La, July 9Th, 1911.
Editor ST. Landry Clarion:
4 AS a candidate before the
\ Democracy of this parish for the
fourth time, it is meet and prop
er for me to make my position
clear before the people of St.
Landry.
have all along and every
time been a one-sideed politician;
| have never had one foot on one
side of the fence and the other
foot on the other side. | sup
ported with all the energy and
ability that | was possessed of
that gallant old hero, Gov.
Francis t. Nichols. He had
been legislated out Of Office by
the Constitutional Convention of
1879 by politicians who seemed
to have forgotten the services
rendered by him to the Lost
Cause, and later on in freeing
our beloved State from teh t
worthless band that throttled for
la time the manhood Of the south
and brought fear and trembling
to the splendid womanhood Of
our land,
My services, too, were recog-
nized by the then united Demo-
cratic Party, by electing me in
convention almost unanimously
Chairman Of the Democratic
Committee of the parish, and
whilst in that position, I had the
proud distinction of presiding
over that committee that carried
the banner parish Of the State in
the memorable Anti-Lottery cam
paign by more than seventeen !
hundred majority. When the
Lottery Company had caused the
party to be rent in twain, and
the State House and Pixies Hall
were in session at Baton Rouge,
it was on my motion unanimous |
" adopted that committee of |
three were selected, of whom 7 |
was a member, to tender to the
Pixies Hall Convention all the
State Offices, provided they
would adopt an anti-lottery reso-
luton.
The proposition was refused,
and the result was internecine
war that disrupted the Demo
cratic Party, and placed two
tickets in the field. Both ran to-
the end, and was finally settled
at a conference held at the old
st. Charles in New Orleans.
At that conference, I had the
honor to be selected as one of
the ten on the Foster side to aid
him and his supporters.
In 1892 was not an applicant
nor did have a petition to be
appointed Assessor of st. Ian
dry. Mr.. Lucius Guilbeau, who
started on the Foster side and
has staid there ever since. had
my signature and Mr.. Chas.
Thibodeaux, who started on the
Foster side and quit and went
over to the other side and has
been there since, were the op-
posing candidates. | had no de-
sire to be appointed, but as the
position carried with it the Office !
of Registrar of Voters, [ was
prevailed upon to accept t h e
office, and at the very last mo-
ment on receiving a letter from
Mr.. Lucius Guilbeau (who gal
Iantly stood by his party and
people, | went to Baton Rouge
and received the appointment
from Gov. Foster. How well / !
stood by the people is thoroughly
by the older ones. I
believed with all my heart and {
soul that the colored man had to
go; | believed with all the fervor {
# my nature that the time had
arrived to take a bold stand and {
lot to resort to ballot b o x !
'tufing. The opposition had me {
indicted for high crimes and mis- t
lemeanors, and I went to jail to 9
Ieep from registering the ne i
,roes I staid there whilst At a
orney Dubuisson was making c
ny fight before the Supreme
1ourt. A man may have had Y
he right to concentrate and sell )
is votes, but he had no n
light to include others in the bill b
f sale. | was applauded all G
yer the land not only by my f
wn partisans, but by liberal t.
minded men such as Chas. T. t;
1arland and a few others from t.
he opposite side. p
The negroes had themselves to n
lame for being eliminated from
he electorate, and all is well. | n
ras cursed and abused (but not N
andered) form the Atlantic to ei
1e Pacific slope, and fl o m te
[aine to the Gulf, and in order "
, be vindicated by the same Il
overnor whom | served SO well. A
applied again for the position, al
nd although I had the only :