St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1913-11-15

town of Opelousas bore the same
ratio to the road milage in the
other district as exists in the two
districts which MI. Gournay
would create in the Sixth Ward,
it is patent that the Opelousas
district would have practically
all the road funds derived from
a special road tax and the other
district would have practically
all the roads with no money to
work them with. The same an
alogy would run through all the
wards. You say the assessed
value Of the west end of the
ward as outlined by MI. Gour-
nays ordinance is S499. 100. 90.
Now, the assessment of the en-
tire ward is 81, 002, 500. 90 this
would leave the east end of the
ward only $500, TO. 90, practical
" the assessment of each would
be the same. If the road milage
was equal in each subdivision
then it would be just, but such
is not the case. It is as / to 3
against the East end. You ask
what can a Police Juror do with
81, 600. 90" wv t h 30-odd
miles of roads to work. In all
candor I ask, what can a Police
Juror do with So. 000.00 and
about 80 miles of road to work?
But the record shows that this
year Foster spent On about 80
miles of roads in the East end of
the Sixth Police Jury Ward up to
date a total of S2055. so, while
IGournay spent ON 30-odd miles of
roads in the West End of the
Sixth Ward $1636. u, making
Fosters expenditures just S418,
80 more than Gournay's. (See
Clerks books.)
Hence you see that in proper
ton toroad milage the West end
of the Sixth Ward has used more
money than the East end. II
must confess, Nh. Editor, / am
a little surprised at your criti-
cism in the matter of the Bayou
des Cannes bridge. All of the
members of the Police Jury will
agree that |, together with Mr..
Gournay, made a desperate eff
fort to get an appropriation from
the contingent fund to build that
bridge, and when we failed to
get it, and as the $750.0 90 asked
for would have about bankrupt
ed the ward at that time, and as
/ had road contracts already
signed, upon which partial pay
ment would be falling due before
we would be in funds again, II
simply asked that action in the
matter be deferred until we were
in funds, and the matter was
settled by making partial pay
ments on the bridge las the
Clerks books will show in order
to tide the Sixth Ward over un-
til her revenues came in. Was
there anything buckish in that?
/ could elucidate further on the
bridge question but space for
bids. You say Mr.. Gournay has
three more bridges staring him
in the face. / have eight bridges
winking at me, besides small
bridges galore.
Mr.. Editor, pardon me for thus
consuming so much of your val
liable space, but / am sure that
neither you nor your esteemed
readers are of the kind to con-
denim a man without giving him
a hearing, and | assure you that
am heartily in favor of good
roads and Of any plans that will
give an equitable distribution of
the road funds in proportion to
the road milage. Instead of
stopping to wrangle | move that
we all get together on a square
basis and get busy on good roads,
not only in the East and West
ends of the Sixth Ward, but
throughout the parish of st. Lam
dry, with drainage as the basic
principal.
Yours for good roads and a
deal, P. FOSTER, Nj. D.
Wy