The star-progress. (Opelousas, La.) 1917-1921, 1921-09-14
HIGHWAY BILLS
BONE DRY LAWS
TO CAUSE FIGHT
Will Require Thirty Days
to Consider and Adopt
Road System Bill
DRY ADVOCATES WILL
PUT UP GREAT FIGHT
Compromise Measure Won't
Satisfy Them at All,
They State

I Prospects Of shorter session than
seventy-five days appear to be slow
Iy but surely dissipating among the
dreams of advocates of such a pro-
position. Many members of the legis-
Iature went to Baton Rouge last week
with the full determination to finish
up the work in hand in record time
and adjourn in thirty days, or at most
forty. They reckoned without their
host for at the time they resolved
to figure along that line they failed
to take into their mental calculations
any ideas Of the many legislative
snags, pitfalls, chickering's. and politi-
cal frame-ups that would confront
them and force a longer and more
expensive stay in Baton Rouge.
Everything looked extremely love-
ty--v1r rne starU-even the CLOUDS mad
a silver lining; but the roseate hue
drifted into empty nothingness when
opposing hosts began to marshal
their pet schemes for the betrerment
of state and people. Every fellow
wanted his theories enacted regard
less Of the other fellows ideas, views
political camoufIage and mess of leg
islatiVe dope threatens to upset the
and opinions, and all this mass OF
plans Of the governor and the more
conservative element of senate and
house of representatives and extend
the session to the full limit of sew
enty-five days, as fixed by the cOnsti
tutional convention.
To be sure there are lots Of mea
sures to be considered and passed
but the two outstanding ones are the
highway bills and prohibition mea
sures which the radical drys are de
termined to bring up as an issue, ever
against the governors mandate ant
his threat to veto any act which look
or smells like federal Volstead law
They dry folks state that it's absolute
ly necessary to pass such measur
in order to bring on law enforcement
and respect for law in the state, AM
s acting along that theory they have re
uI~eted the bill which they at frs
proposes to introduce They are no
lending any needing ear to the gov
ernor's threat or powerful opposition
but are going to fight it out to the las
ditch, even If it takes all the day
Of the special session.
The road bills in great numbr COY
er vast range Of ideas on the eel
trail subject. There is not the Sigh
est objection to the adoption Of som
scheme whereby the road system c
the state will be put into actual e
feet; but the trouble seems to lie i
the fact that proponents of tn
scheme are absolutely at variance o.
the best methods to put their idea
into practice. One element want
to create a commission of one men
Der, selected by the governor. TIL
other element denounces this ide
and states it would be centralizin
too much power in the hands of
single individual, and this they won
: stand for without a vigorous protes
\ and fight.
The three-commissioner plan is as
sailed by the one-man idea with tn
charge that each member of tn
hoard will pull for his own section
Of the state without regard to tn
demands and needs of the other seq
lions. AS a result, they soIemnly ave
II if one member OF the board is o
greater mental weight and WELD
more influence he will have his owl
way about the operation Of the sys
4 tenn and il he chooses to exert hi
own power he can favor one portion
as against the others.
These charges and counter charge
are causing friction in the ranks o
1 the advocates Of better highways, tn
unbiased state. and unless som
method is devised which viii cove
the good ideas Of both factions 70
7 the building OF system Of stat