Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1916-11-03
The CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS.

I'VE often hear the objection urged
by voters, that there are too many
amendments for the average voter
TO consider intelligently. This is,
in a MEASURE. true, but il the voter
will simply divide the amendments
into groupes be will find that their
consideration will be much easier.
In the first groupe put amend
ments No. l. No. 4. No 5, No. g.,
No. 13 and No. Is. all of which
are purely local in their scope and
affect the City of New Orleans and
the City of Shreveport, with the
exception of No. A, which is Of State
Wide importance.
, No. l provides FOR the funding of
certain debts of the City Of New
Orleans and for the issuing of bonds
by said city.
No. 5 places the District Attorney
Of the Parish of Orleans on a salary
instead of the fee basis.
No. S authorizes the City of
Shreveport to issue bonds to fund
certain debts.
No. 13 enlarges the powers OF the
Orleans Levee Board and gives the
Board authority to construct levees
along the banks of Lake Pontchar.
train.
No. Is enlarges the powers OF the
Civil District Court of the Parish OF
Orleans.
All of these are purely local in
their nature, and the country voter
should dismiss them from the list
of amendments to be studied, as he
should be perfectly willing to vote
for what the two cities want.
No. 4, the other amendment in
Groupe No. 1, authorizes the Public
Belt Rail Road Commission of the
City of New Orleans to construct a
bridge or tunnel across the Missis-
sippi River. While this is local
measure, it is at the same time one
in which large sectionsi of the State
are very much interested, and there
can be no reason why any one
should think of voting against it.
Now place in Groupe No. 2 the
following:
Amendment No. 2 authorizes par
ishes, wards or municipalities to
vote taxes in aid of River Transport
tation lines and Navigation Canals,
a very important amendment, es-
pecially in South and Southwest
Louisiana, to which section it will
prove of great benefit if adopted.
No. z increases the pension paid
Confederate Veterans without in
creasing the tax. This amendment
deserves undivided support through
out the State.
No. 0 prohibits the Legislature
from passing any local or special
laws on the subject of River I'm.
provement Districts, Harbor I'm
provement Districts and Navigation
Canals.
No. 10 authorizes the issuing of
$500. 900 of bonds to pay the debts
of the State Penitentiary.
No. IA requires all rail roads or
other corporations doing business in
the State to maintain general offices
in the State.
No. 10 authorizes parishes, etc.
to vote taxes in aid of Parish Fairs.
No. II exempts from taxation
vessels engaged in oversee trans
portation.
No. Is makes it lawful for rail
roads 10 issue passes to officers of
the State or State institutions EN-.
ployed or engaged in Agricultural
Extension work.
All Of the proposed amendments
in Groupe 2 are Of importance and
we can see no reason why any one
of them should not he adopted.
In Groupe 3 place the four fol-
lowing amendments, the only ones
which, as far az we know, have caused
any discussion in the press.
Amendment No. 3 proposes to
extend to the country parishes the
operation Of the Juvenile Court sys-
TEN.
Amendment No. 6 gives women
the right to serve as members of the
School Board or to hold any office
: in connection with the educational,
eleemosynary. penal and correc-
tional systems of the State.
No. III places the Clerk of Court
on Il salary instead of the fee basis,
as at present, and puts the Sheriff
on the salary basis in so far as his
civil duties are affected.
Amendment No. 12 is by far the
most important Of the list, as it pro-
vides for a radical change in our
system of assessment. Under the
present system, assessments are very
unequal. being ~ low as 20 per
cent of the value in some parishes
while in others it is Is per cent of
the value. The amendment proposes
Ia Do away with these great Unequal
iiirs Ivy having one assessment for
the State aud another for the par
i.h, iierrty making il possible for