St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1911-08-19

""0A "eie appointed by tle Governor, and IN their lieu and
stead, to create a board of three members, of which consoli-
dated board only one member was to be appointed by the Gov
ernor' thus divesting myself of any power that I might have
had in the premises.
l am not concerned with the political power of the game
and fish commission. Its power and influence, as far as I know,
exists largely in the imagination of my opponents. Its work
will speak for itself. It is a new department in governmental
matters, as far as Louisiana is concerned, though it is not new
In many other states in the Union, and, like all new things, is
open to criticism.
The principle of the protection Of our fish, game, and oysters,
! stand for. The laws under and by which the principle Of
conservation and propagation are carried out are secondary, and
do not for a moment claim that the laws We now have are
perfect, but | do state that the principle of conservation has
been incorporated into our laws and that the principle must
prevail, Whatever defects exist in our present game laws can
and will be amended, modified, or altered at any session of the
Legislature. These amendments, alterations, and notifications
OF existing laws are enacted at every session. 1t is unreasonable
to presume that laws can be enacted dealing with a new gov
ernmental principle, and be found to work in practice as
smoothly as they seem in theory. Defects will be discovered
and these defects can and ought to be corrected.
The game commission supports itself. All it's officers and
employees are paid from a fund collected from those who hunt
and fish, either for profit or pleasure. Not a dollar is appro-
priated for its maintenance and every dollar it collects goes
for the protection, conservation, and propagation of the fish,
game and oyster industry. -.4r
STATE EXAMINER OF STATE BANKS.
This is a department of government that is run, today, On
lines Numerically opposite to what it was when I became Gov
ernor. The powers of the State Examiner of State Banks
A~sS WA A01SIJ AhSICdSCO' LID UmSG LIDS USSu H1duB jill I'll
great Importance, not only to the people of this State, but to
the banks themselves. Watchful, vigiant, and conservative, this
department has rendered splendid service to this people.
When ] became Governor of Louisiana this department of
the State Government was supported out of the revenues of
the State, and cost the State, ont Of the General Fund, annually,
some 100000. Realizing, as | did, that the Banking Examining
Departments. of other States, and Of the United States Govern
Hent, were paid by the banks, who got the direct benefit of
the examination, / recommended certain changes along these
lines to the Bank Examiner, and, during the session of 1910,
III Iawc yyora drarup mn introduced oI ~oceoJ o1 +o
day, the State Bank Examiners Department of Louisiana does
not cost the State a cent, but the burden of this expense has
been shifted from the shoulders of the people to the banks them
selves. Every bank now pays for its own examination, just
as homestead companies have always done. These fees 60 into
. common fund, and out Of this fund the salaries of the Bank
Examiner and his assistants and all the expenses incidental to
the Office are paid.
GENERAL ASSEMBLY.
The people know that, under my administration, the Legis-
lature Of Louisiana met in this city four times, and three times
under Governor Blanchard. You all know that the newspapers
opposed to me have had a good deal to say about the great ex-
penses to the taxpayers for the four sessions under my admin
istratOn. Now, 7 am going to give you the cost of the meetings
OF the General Assembly under my administration and under
Governor Blanchard.
Under the blanchard administration three sessions of the
Under my administration four sessions cost you:::........ 1sos44oo
Decrease. ID, 49,. 154e55s
Now, you see, my feHow-citizens, all four sessions during my
administration cost $15, 1886 less than three sessions under my
predecessor. / am not telling you this to make you believe that
I think the sessions under the Blanchard administration were
extraVagant, / am simply telling you the truth to remove from
your minds the impressions sought to be created by certain
newspapers and individuals, that my administration has been
an extravagant one. | ask you, is there anything extravaganza
about the legislative sessions under my administration?
SPECIAL ATTORNEYS AND COSTS.
Under the Sanders administration, the only employment of
special legal counsel was under Act 23 of 1910, to aid the At
torney General in carrying out the intent and purposes of
Act 1876 of 1908, in the matter Of discrimination against citizens
Of Louisiana by the Texas Railway Commission.
The sum of $2,154.75 was appropriated under the Sanders
administration (Act 80 of 1910 for costs in suit against the
Cumberland Telephone & Telegraph Company.
The other appropriations were made for services rendered
the State under previous administrations, and were as follows:
Act 147 of 1908 &c. H. McCaIeb5 J) ~ 100000
Act 154 of 1908 CWeeks & Weeks) 100000
Act 167 Of 1908 (M. J. Cunningham. OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES. 100000
az - e.-9 5 13,500OO
The Blanchard appropriations for special attorneys and costs
Appropriations under Sanders administration to pay for srv-
ices rendered the State under previous administrations. 13500O0
The Sanders appropriations were 1715475