St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1912-06-15
SUPT. THOMPSON
ON TAX ELECTION.
TeIIs the People of the Neces-
sity of Carrying the
Measure.

Opelousas, La, June 18th, 1912
Editor Clarion:
/ ask your indulgence for th<
use of a small place in your val.
uabIe paper for the purpose Of
calling the attention Of the pa
irons of schools in this Schoo
district to the fact that but a few
days will now elapse before they
are called upon to determine by
their iallots the fate of the spe-
rial school tax proposition now
before them. Whether they will
come up as progressive citizens,
and by their vote, place 0pelou-
cas- on the same advanced edu-
cational plane, which 0 t h e 7
towns and villages occupy at
nresent and are striving to bet
ter or whether they will, as on
4 former occasion, consign to an
ignonninious defeat this PROPOSE
tion. which means so much for
the moral and intellectual uplift
of their children and the future
manhood and womauhood and
citizenship of this community.
Everyone knows how inadequate
our school facilities are, an d
everyone knows, or ought to
know, that the only way to i'm
prove these conditions is through
the efforts of the people who are
to be the beneficiaries of them.
Il requires money to build and
eauip school houses, and, under
present conditions that money
must be raised by the local COM
munities where it is proposed to
install these improvements. The
legislature, in recognition of this
fact. has passed a lot of whole
some laws so as to enable people
who desire to advance education
aIIy to provide by means Of spe-
cial taxation the adjuncts neces-
sary to such a d anc EN- e n t.
Almost every section ct our state
has taken advantage Of the wise
provisions of these laws, and has
built and equipped school houses
well calculated to subserve then.
purposes, and at the same time
become lasting monuments for
the preservation of the spirit OF
humanity and progress which
iYnpeIled them to act. These
statements can be verified by a
visit to the various cities, towns
and villages of this great state,
when it will be discovered that
very few of them have failed to
provide, in an adequate way, for
the education of their children.
0pelousas, one of the oldest and
one of the pretentious cities of
the state, has been one of the
last to respond to this imperative
demand, and the question now IS,
will she continue to be apathetic
in this respect, and permit this
important issue to be defeated? ?
hope not, not only on account
of the prime necessity of sue
cessfuI termination Of this inn
portant issue, but on account OF
lack of civic pride in its people
which its defeat would demon
strate to the out side world. But
a short while back, the local
newspapers were blazoned with
prominent headlines pointing to
a greater Opelousas. Posters
and placards were tackled up along
the highways, distributed in the
railway trains and sent broadcast
throughout the land to tell the
stranger of the advantages and
eatopportunities which Greater
0pelousas and it's contiguous
territory had to offer the home
seeker and invester. What think
you would have been the effect OF
this commendatory advisement,
# at the bottom of these circulars
and posters the announced had
been made, Though we have all
these natural advantages to pre-
sent to your consideration, a tax
Of five mills for a much needed
school building has just been ig-
nominously defeated?' This
prospectlhome-seeker and invest
er would step to consider howit IS
possible for any community to
become great and prosperous
when it negIects to provide for
the existence and maintenance of
the bastic elements of prosperity
and greatness under our present
civilization. He would conclude
that such a community was def
cient in the ideals that tend to the
creation Of a strong manhood and
q good citizen, and as result of
these conclusions he would look
elsewhere for a place more suit
able for the education and rearing
OF his family. A place can only
become great and prosperous
through the influence of its
schools. its religious institutions
and commercial operations, and
these can exist only in proportion
as they aro c,1S4aiy,od bI- tbc y1<1, =