The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1914-08-14

present temporary make-Shlft, was
taken therefrom and murdered; one de.
PENDANT charged with the crime of rape
upon a ten year old girl, colored, es'
capped, together with one charged with
forgery, and | believe other prisoners
charged with minor offenSeS have eS.
capped; my understanding is that the
State Board of Health has had either
condemned. or not approved OF this
temporary Jail; prisoners from your
parish must be transported and con-
fined in the CalcaSieu Jail, involving
trouble, expense and inconvenience to
the Courts, the bar and the public, all
of which the tax payers must bear,
receiving nothing in return, WHERE
AS, any such expenditures could be
put into permanent building.
now quote Sec. 2746 Revised Stat
utes, Court House and Jail" as fol-
lows:
1.-The Police Jury of each Parish
SHALL BE BOUND to provide good
and sufficient court house, with proper
rooms for jurors: and also good and
sufficient jail, at such place as they
may deem most convenient for the
Parish at large, provided, that when
the seat of justice is established by law
they shall not have power to remove
it,"
The general law, Act No 20 of 1910,
providing for the organization, etc., lof
new parishes. Section 5 reads;
THAT as soon as the location of the
parish seat in said new parish..iS finally
determined as herein provided for, it
shall be the duty of Police Jury OF said
Parish to provide in due time the re-.
quisite public Lots and Buildings and
Offices, and the seals, books and ap.
purtenances for the Parish and for the
various offices thereof"
The Parish owns its plot of ground,
free and unincumbered, on which to
erect the court house and jail.
Our State Supreme Court, in inter.
preting the above noted Sec. 2746 OF our
Revised Statutes, in the case Of State
VS.. King, lO9 Louisiana reports, pages
8I2.813, uses the following language,
to.Wit:
What is here said in regard to the
possibility of providing court house
by renting a building, and even by
constructing frame house or log
house is true as a general proposition;
but it is not true as applied to the per-
Torrance of the duty imposed by sec
ton 2746."
"a CITY, parish, state or nation owns
its own city hall, court house, state
house or capitol aid makes it as sub
stantial as its means will allow, ant
does not undertake to pay for the
structure with what may be spared ou1
of the revenues of one year. So 1t l!
safe to say that when the legislature
imposed upon the Police Jury OF Bien
vile parish the obligation ITO build
good and sufficient court house." it dlt
not mean that there should be rented
house, nor that there should pc built
log house, nor frame house, nor tina
there should be furnished any otha
make.shift; but it meant that Their
should be provided permanent an
substantial court house, by its massive
ness giving promise of durability, sue
as ought to characterized a building
destined to witness generations com
and 90 within its precincts, by its pre-
portions and aspect in keeping with tn
dignity of the people in their soverig
, capacity, and with the Solemnity of tn
rites to whose uses it would be ded
, Gated: in a word, a palace OF the peopl
and temple of justice"
You will see from the interpretatio
placed upon the Statute by the 81
preme Court Good and Snbstantis
and Sufficient Jail or court hous
must be erected.
} This Police Jury can easily take il
surplus revenues and provide for tn
erection of such Jail for or exceedin
s25,0OO.00, without increasing tax on
cent, as the law provides that sue
surplus may be anticipated, funded il
to negotiable bonds for a period nc
t exceeding ten years, and the proceed
of the sale of such bonds applied to tn
d payment of such buildings, the title
r which shall pc vested in tpe public.
J. The Parish uf jefferson Davis has
:. total assessment annually in excess
e S5,OOO,0OO, based on a ten mill ConSt
Y tutional limit from which is to be d.
Z Quoted the 8 mills for public school
:, etc., thus leaving at least some s3S
t 900 or $4,000 with which to defray
/. statutory expenses. Therefore, elimi