The star-progress. (Opelousas, La.) 1917-1921, 1921-09-07
ENTHUSIASTIC MEETING HELD
HERE MONDAY ENDORSES
CONSTRUCTION OF HIGHWAY
n.leoaes From Many Points Along Route Assemble in
0peIousas and Discuss Project From All Angles
And Agree Road Should Be in State
Good Roads Plan

a.,,ssed in the highway meeting
!, assembled in the parish cour
,ss Monday morning, each angl
,.,ging on a flood Of discussion tina
ssn urodueed oratory of the high
!, merit. There were few con
oshpg phases to the meeting bu
/. tbs main the geenral proposition
!, fostering a move which would re
~ N building an east-and-west high
&, across the state, through Ope
i,,ess and about parallel 70 the Gull
r,,st lines track met with the hearty
.,oroval of the large assemblage that
~ 10 talk the matter over.
The question was threshed out
srstty thoroughly in the brief time
,Ae meeting was in session and while
anne Of the speakers wandered off on
aYerent tacks OF the state highway
,vstem that is proposed, still they
rere quickly brought to time when
anne observant delegate called them
Il time and informed them that the
oIe purpose and object OF the meet
No was to talk on the east-and-west
highway without regard to the pro-
uosed highways for other sections of
he state.
In main the meeting was due to the
sllOrts of Mayor Loeb of this city,
Who, some time ago, sent out an in
ylation to the officials of the var
Dus cities and towns throughout
lbs part Of the state, asking them
% send delegates to Opelousas for
he purpose Of discussing the propos-
Y ID highway. Opelousas was selected
IS the meeting point because of its
more central location along the high.
way and the ease with which dele
gates could reach the capital city Of
St. Landry parish,
The delegates responded to the in
Titation in large numbers, indicating
hat the proposition had the hearty
endorsement of thousands of pepole
living all through central Louisiana,
from Covington and Bogalusa on the
east to DeQuincy on the west. The
ldea Of building this highway struck
he fancy OF them all, and even the
delegates from cities south OF Ope-
lousas, for instance New iberia and
81 Martinville and other sections
south, we're just as enthusiastic about
The road as were the people who are
living right along the route.
i was pointed out by Mr.. Schell
and bis statement was heartily con-
cured in by the well informed, that
this route is the only logical one for
! highway acros sthe state, as the
cost Of construction through the At
ehafalaya basin would be less along
this line than it would be at any
point south. In fact, it was emphati-
cally stated that it would be practi-
ally next to impossible to build such
: highway through the basin south
ot the proposed line except at tre-
mendous cost In private conversa-
ton one listener at the meeting re-
marked that the Southern Pacific
railroad had paid five million or more
dollars to build its fifty mile branch
nom Lafayette to Anchorage, and
mat too, in the days when labor and
haterial was cheap; and the railroad
company has never been able to main
am first-class roadbed even though
2 has expended tremendous sum of
money towards keeping the branch
line up.
un the other hand, it was pointed
eus IN the same private talk, the Gulf
Coast lines had built its roadbed
along the route of the proposed high
RaJ for a much less sum than the
southern Pacific and today that road
eed and track is considered one Of
ne finest in the south and the pas
senger trains that operate over it
sfe said to be the fastest in the
soath. This fact alone speaks well
i0f the route selected for the east-and
sest highway and shows plainly that
'ae route is the logical one to select
~ the lie to invest their money
NJ schell, one of the parish's rep
Esentatives in the lower branch Of
'ae legislature, has ben busily engag-
= lor some time in fostering the
Nleme for state system of roads,
sla to that end has drafted several
'ls which he viii introduce in the
@ssent special session Of the law
-zing body OF Louisiana. He has
salpaigned the state in the inter-
~ Of the scheme and has explained
u bills and his ideas to hundreds
I people. He proposes to fight Wig
'9asly for the passage of the meas
- and at the Monday meeting he
IA On hand and was the first speak
i de had his charts and diagrams