St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1914-02-28

the parish. Whereas, as the Clarion e
pressed it last Saturday, hundreds of farm
ers, more, would be given an opportunity to
travel on a gravel road for four or five
miles, if built as we proposed it.
The Prairie Ronde people are anxious
to have that road constructed in the manner
suggested by the Clarion and it is consist
emily reported that several of the progress
sive farmers of that portion of old st. Lam
dry will appear before the police jury on
next Monday or Tuesday to ask that they
be given a part of that road-all of which is
but plain and unaduIturated justice.
It will certainly make no difference to
the people Of Lawtell where the road passes,
SO long as they get it. These progressive
and enterprising citizens should not protest
if the road is heightened possibly a halt a
mile, in order that it may reach and serve
many more farmers. The Mallet section
would enjoy the road to a great advantage,
and the residents of Plaquemine would not
be more than a half, or even a mile, from
the gravel road.
Why not construct the road where it
should be? There is no need of st. Landry
purchasing four miles of right-of-Way, in
order to shorten the road possibly a half a
mile. There is no need of the parish con-
structing a dirt road entirely new, especial
ly when a more desirable route can be OBJ
tanned without any additional cost, where
there never was a semblance of a highway
all this will cost and the property owners
will have to pay for it. But the majority of
those in that section will not have much use
of the gravel road if it is built where the
committee proposes to construct it at pres
ent.
The Clarion is of the opinion that it is
the duty of those in charge of the Lawtell
road to construct it by Way of the Prairie
Ronde Road, SO that all those farmers living
that road as far as the Evangeline par
ish line will have an opportunity to travel
a gravel road for a distance of at least
four miles and a half.
The strongest argument, thus far, heard
in favor of building a gravel road parallel
and following the Frisco railroad as far as.
Lawtellis that the gravel will be unloaded
all along the track between the Thompson
plantation to the town of Lawtell. How
ridiculous this is in the face of it. Who
will believe that a railroad with the great
traffic like the Frisco has will allow the par
ish to stop and dump its train loads of
gravel any and everywhere along its tracks?
This would inconvenience the Frisco and it
can not be believed that the Frisco will do
such an impossible generous act.
It is true that, if the parish had a large
sum of money and would be going into the
good roads business extensively and it were
desired to build a modern highway from
.pelousas to Eunice, then, it would prob
justify the parish in SO constructing a
road. But by the time the parish will have
money to build the Eunice- Opelou-
las road, all this time the people of Prairie
Ronde, Mallet and the majority of the tax
payers west of Opelousas as far as Lawtell,
would not have any better road than they
rave at present.
The Clarion earnestly hopes and trusts
hat the committee on the Lawtell road will
reconsider their proposal and after due de-
Iteration decide upon the best course to
pursue, which we eonscientiously believe is
he route suggested by US.