The Donaldsonville chief., 1921-04-23
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION,
Additional Measures Passed Upon by
that Body this Week.

The following are some Of the more
important additional measures final
ly adopted by the Constitutional Con-
vention or passed upon by commit
tees during the week:
The bill Of rights which embraces
the preamble and first fifteen articles
which will appear in the new con-
|stitution was finally adopted by the
convention last Wednesday. The ar
ticles are practically the same as
those contained in the old organic
law.
The reports of the subcommittees
on judicial re-apportionment and on
the attorney general and district at
torneys were submitted Wednesday.
The reports cut down the judicial dis
tricts outside of New Orleans, from
|29 to 25 and provides for 29 dis
trict judges, which is reduction Of
seven over the present number. The
parishes of Ascension, Assumption
and St. James are made into one dis
trict with one judge as at present,
but the number is changed from the
9th to the 23rd. Iberville, West
Baton Rouge and Pointe Coupee,
comprising the 18th district are as
signed one judge instead Of two as
at present. Tangipahoa, Livingston
and st. Helena, the 21st, and Jeffer-
son, St. Charles and st. John, the
24th, each lose one judge. The
judges are made elective for terms
of six years.
The report of the committee on the
attorney general and district attor-
neys changed the name to that of
department Of justice" with the
attorney general at the head, with
over all district ATTORNEYS.
The salary of the attorney general is
fixed at $500 a year, the first as
sistant at $4,000 and the second as
sistant at $4,000. The district at
torneys are made elective for terms
Of six years, the same as judges, and
they are placed on fiat salary of
$4,000 year each.
The committee ON education after
a prolonged fight voted 16 to 10 to
continue the apportionment of public
school funds as made now, on the
basis of educable children. The at
tempt made to provide for the dis
tribution of the fund on the basis of
the average school attendance was
defeated.
Judge Philip II. Gilbert of Assump-
ton, was given hearing on his Or
dinance limiting the expense fund of
the department of education to s3e,-
900 year Ha tiieised the IN!
creased expenditures BY The depart
ment, the expense Of which he said
had grown from a total Of approx
imately $4,000 year in 1898 to
about $4,000 year at the present
time. He thought the department
was spending too much money for
inspectors and other employees, and
he believed that there is consider
able amount of duplication work that
could be cut out. Parish school SUI
perintendents of education in his
opinion should be required to look
after the schools in their parishes and
the inspectors eliminated.
An ordinance authorizing munich
palities to own and operate ice fac
tories so as to insure fair prices and
fair delivery to the consumers will be
placed in the constitution.
Under the report made to the judi
ciary committee, the state will be di-
vided into six supreme court districts,
instead of five as at present, and there
will be seven instead Of five judges.
The first district, which includes New
Orleans, will have two judges and the
others one each. The districts are
made up Of the following parishes:
First-Orleans, Jefferson, Plaque
mines and St. Bernard. Population,
426,133.
Second -Caddo, Bossier, Bienville,
Natchitoches, Red River, De Soto,
Winn, Webster, Vernon and Sabine.
Population, 291,819.
Third-Claiborne, Union, Lincoln,
Jackson, Caldwell, Ouachita, More
house, Richland, Franklin, West Car
roll, East Carroll, Madison, Tensas,
Concordia, LaSalle and Catahouia.
Population, 1915
Fourth-East Baton Rouge, West
Baton Rouge, West Feliciana, st.
Helena, Livingston, Tangipahoa, st.
Tammany, Washington, Pointe Cou-
pee, Iberville, and Ascension. Popu-
lation, 255,471.
Fifth-Rapides, Grant, Avoyelles,
St. Landry, Evangeline, Allen, Beau
regard, jeff Davis, Calcasieu, Cameron
and Acadia. Population, 314,516.
Sixth-St. Martin, St. Mary, Iberia,
Terrebonne, Lafourche, Assumption,
st. John, st. James, st. Charles, Yer
million and Lafayette. Population,
|253,936.
The judiciary committee reported
|unfavorably an ordinance separating
the offices of sheriff and tax collector,
and also made an adverse report on
an ordinance prohibiting the sheriff
from succeeding himself.
A strong fight is being waged
against the provision in the ordin-
ance before the road committee inn
posing sales tax of two cents per