The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1918-05-17

noon for a sixty-day session. If the
:wenty-day war meet of 1917 is
counted, then this will be the third.
The personnel has been considerably
impaired by the war. There will be
i've new faces in the house and sew
enteen committee vacancies. There
are numerous vacancies in the staff
of both houses. Heads of the enroll
ing rooms on both sides, for instance,
have gone to war, and the place of
Burt LOmaX of Ruston, chef Of tho
senate enrolling room, must be filled
before activities open.
The prohibition issue must be fac
ed from three angles: Ratification OF
the national prohibition amendment
bone dry shipping bill, for the pro.
lection Of dry territory ;and the dr.!
zone bill, originating in Alexandria
which proposes 25-mile zone fol
Camp Beauregard. This bill, it is
whispered, will be extended in its
scope by the prohibition forces and
effort will be made to throw a ten
or twenty-five mile dry zone about
every cantonment or training camp
where army or navy recruits are in
raining. The ultimate result OF
such a move would be to make New
Orleans "dry."
1t is conceded by both sides on
the eve of the opening of the legis-
lature that the general assembly will
be very close on the vote for ratify-
ing the national prohibition amend
ment. Both sides claim a shade the
best of it. Neither is positive Of its
Lain. A careful check of both
houses indicates at this time that the
senate is extremely close, with more
loubt about the house, which has a
membership of 119. There are Al
senator's.
1t is believed both Speaker Boun-
:haud of the house and Lieutenant
Governor Mouton Of the senate will
'ule that majority of the member
ship of both houses will be required
% ratify, which would mean sixty
totes in the house and twenty-one in
he senate.
Two developments have made the
suffrage outcome doubtful. First, the
action of the United States senate
n indefinitely postponing action on
he national suffrage forces in Louis
ana into two camps, one standing
or suffrage in every sense, includ-
ng national; the other for state suf-
rage only, on the ground that by
his plan alone can the color issue
)e controlled.
The bill of the Citizens League of
Louisiana to suppress all betting on
! horse racing has attracted only pass
| ng pre-legislative notice, for recog-
1ition. Parish fair association over
The state will fight this bill, and it
IS said the Business Mems Racing
association of New Orleans has con-
;iderably strengthened itself with the
business element generally by its
public policies.
The message of Governor Pleasant
s being awaited with much interest,
because it has been limited that he
naN take definite stand on some of
he big moral issues now up for leg.
slative consideration. He has al,
ready declared himself in favor OF
he Rapides zone bill and some of the
advocates of national ratification are
expecting Governor Pleasant tc
openly declare in support of this
resolution in his biennial message
Others, however, say the governor
was nominated on a strict local op
lion platform by over $1,000 major
lty and will not support the measure
| Speaker Hewitt Bounchaud be-
| lieves ratification should be referred
70 vote of the people by referen
tum, and a considerable following il
| The legislature think the matter
should be deferred until after thu
people shall have been given all op
portunity to express their wishes.
| Whether Gov. Pleasant t0uche
The moral issues or not, the burden
If his message, it is said, will be
call for a readjustment of the as
;essment and taxation system of tn
state, as advocated by the board o
state affairs, created by his first gen
eral assembly and which has been il
| practical operation not quite tw
years. He will urge the placing o
the state of Louisiana on 100 pc
cent cash assessment basis, whicI
would enable the reduction of tn
rate of taxation for state purposes t.
! 4 mills.
! that we have a rich state with loy
"Let US advertise to the worl
rate of taxation, rather than a poo
state with a high rate of taxation,
will be the governors argument. Hi
statement to the legislature will g
into details, and it is said numbe
of administration bills will follov
the message PROMISING To mt int