Bogalusa enterprise and American. (Bogalusa, La.) 1918-19??, 1920-07-01
SUPREME COURT
DECISIONS CITED

Bogalusa, La, June %, 1920.
Editor Enterprise:
We had a little trial over at Frank
linton the other day. ! had enjoined
] my good friend, Mr.. Poole, from
opening up an undertaking establish
ment at my door, in the w. G. Dor
sey. resident, after having tried every
conceivable way to avoid it, offering
to buy him out, etc.
Mr.. Miller, counsel for Mr.. Poole,
presented a petition, signeS by a lot
of good people IN Northeast BOgalusa
to the effect that they had no Objec-
ton to his opening up the undertake
ing establishment at the Dorsey resi-
dence. Friend Miller, in his zeal,
said all of the people in this section
except myself had signed it, but, OF
course, he did not mean just that,
because it is slightly off on the facts.
However, in order that my good
friends, both pro and con, and espec-
tally those for whom / am fighting,
outside of my own family, might
know that my mind is not entirely
dwarfed and narrow, and that |
have no prejudice in the matter, l
take the liberty of setting out below
a few excerpts from opinions OF
learned Supreme Court judges Of the
Supreme Courts of Michigan and
Louisiana.
In the Michigan case, which is SIM
liar to the case here, an undertaken,
having purchased a residence in the
residential section, started to open
up an undertaking establishment,
when he was enioined. Mr.. Justice
Fellows, writing for the court, says;
eve think it requires no deep re-
search into psychology to reach the
conclusion that a constant reminder
of death has a depressing influence
upon the normal person. Cheerful
surroundings are conducive to recQv-
cry for one suffering from disease,
and cheerful surroundings are con-
ducive to vigorous health in the nor
NAL person. Mental depression, hor-
ror and dread, lower the vitality, rem
dering one more susceptible to dis
ease and reduce the power of re-
sistance. There is abundant testl-
nOnv in the record confirmatory of
this, and it is a matter of common
knowledge"
The court then describes the con-
duct of the establishment and says:
"These constant reminders, this
depression of mind, deprive the home
Of that comfort and repOse to which
its owner is entitled"
In the Louisiana case, coming up
in Shreveport, the undertaken had
bargained for an $4,000 home,
which he proposed to turn into an
undertaking establishment, and the
City of Shreveport threatened prose-
cutlon and ne enjoined the city.
Chief Justice Monroe, writing for the
court, said:
: = The psychological influ-
ence of being confronted, and hav-
ing ones family confronted, day
after day, with death, and its woeful
trappings infthe slape of hearses and
other vehicles, carrying in and out of
neighboring building the mortal re-
mains of some fellow being, is no
more enlivening nor wholesome than
would be the constant presence of
the same corpse or the immediate
proximity of a graveyard; and we
take judicial notice that the introduce
ton of such a business into . resi-
Dental neighborhood, where none has
previously been established, will in
evitably depreciate the value of prop
erty and discommode the owners
and if the City of Shreveport had no.
power to ~ protect its citizens in
the peace and quiet of their homes,
they would be entitled to much sym
patty.
eve can at present see no suffi-
cient reason why the residents Of the
Threatened district should not be pro-
tected from plaintiffs proposed in
vasion under the general provisions
of law ~Rhich safeguards the citizen
in his home life, not only against