Louisiana; comprising sketches of counties, towns, events, institutions, and persons, Volume I, Part 37

Author: Fortier, Alcee, 1856-1914, ed. 1n
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Atlanta, Southern Historical Association
Number of Pages: 1294


USA > Louisiana > Louisiana; comprising sketches of counties, towns, events, institutions, and persons, Volume I > Part 37


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


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Public Education.


Articles 248 to 261, inclusive, relate to public education. Their import is given in connection with the articles on School System University of Louisiana, State Normal School, etc.


Corporations and Corporate Rights.


Art. 262. The General Assembly shall not remit the forfeiture of the charter of any corporation now existing, nor renew, alter or amend the same, nor pass any general or special law for the benefit of such corporation, except on the condition that such corporation shall hereafter hold its charter subject to the provisions of this Constitution.


Art. 263. The exercise of the police power shall never be abridged nor so construed as to permit corporations to conduct their business in such manner as to infringe the equal rights of individuals or the general well-being of the State.


Art. 264. No domestic or foreign corporations shall do any busi- ness in this State without having one or more known places of business and an authorized agent or agents in the State upon whom process may be served.


Art. 265. No corporation shall engage in any business other than that expressly authorized in its charter or incidental thereto. nor shall it take or hold any real estate for a longer period than ten years, except such as may be necessary and proper for its legiti- mate business or purposes.


Art. 266. No corporation shall issue stock or bonds, except for labor done or money or property actually received, and all fictitious issues of stock shall be void, and any corporation issuing such fictitious stock shall forfeit its charter.


Art. 267. The stock shall neither be increased nor decreased, except in pursuance of general laws, nor without consent of per- sons holding the larger amount in value of the stock, first obtained at a meeting of stockholders to be held after thirty days' notice given in pursuance of law.


Art. 268. The term corporation, as used in this Constitution, shall be construed to include all joint stock companies or associa- tions having any power or privilege not possessed by individuals or partnerships.


Art. 269. It shall be a crime, the punishment of which shall be prescribed by law, for any president, director, manager, cashier, or other officer or owner of any private or public bank or banking institution or other corporation accepting deposits or loans to as- sent to the reception of deposits, or the creation of debts by such banking institutions, after he shall have had knowledge of the fact that it is insolvent or in failing circumstances ; any such officer, agent or manager shall be individually responsible for such de- posits so received and all such debts so created with his assent.


Art. 270. The General Assembly shall have power to enact gen-


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eral laws authorizing the parochial, ward and municipal authorities of the State, by a vote of the majority of the property tax-payers in nuniber entitled to vote under the provisions of this Constitution and in value, to levy special taxes in aid of public improvements or railway enterprises; provided, that such tax shall not exceed the rate of five mills per annum, nor extend for a longer period than ten years; and provided further, that no tax-payer shall be permitted to vote at such election unless he shall have been assessed in the parish, ward or municipality to be affected for property the year previous.


Art. 271. Any railroad corporation or association organized for the purpose shall have the right to construct and operate a railroad between any points within this State, and connect at the State line with railroads of other States. Every railroad company shall have the right with its road to intersect, connect with or cross any other railroad, and shall receive and transport each other's passengers, tonnage and cars, loaded or empty, without delay or discrimina- tion.


Art. 272. Railways heretofore constructed, or that may here- after be constructed in this State, are hereby declared public high- ways, and railroad companies common carriers.


Art. 273. Every railroad or other corporation, organized or do- ing business in this State, under the laws or authority thereof, shall have and maintain a public office or place in this State for the transaction of its business. where transfers of stock shall be made, and where shall be kept for public inspection books in which shall be recorded the amount of capital stock subscribed, the names of owners of stock, the amounts owned by them respectively, the amount of stock paid, and by whom, the transfers of said stock, with the date of transfer, the amount of its assets and liabilities, and the names and places of residence of its officers.


Art. 274. If any railroad company, organized under the laws of this State, shall consolidate, by sale or otherwise, with any rail- road company organized under the laws of any other State or of the United States, the same shall not thereby become a foreign corpo- ration, but the courts of this State shall retain jurisdiction in all matters which may arise, as if said consolidation had not taken place. In no case shall any one consolidation take place except upon publie notice of at least sixty days to all stockholders, in such manner as may be provided by law.


Art. 275. General laws shall be enacted providing for the creation of private corporations, and shall therein provide fully for the adequate protection of the public and of the individual stock- holder.


Art. 276. The police juries of the several parishes and the con- stituted authorities of all incorporated municipalities of the State shall alone have the power of regulating the slaughtering of cattle and other live stock within their respective limits: provided, no monopoly or exclusive privilege shall exist in this State, nor such business be restricted to the land or houses of any individual or


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corporation ; provided, the ordinances designating the places for slaughtering shall obtain the concurrent approval of the Board of Health or other sanitary organization.


Articles 277 to 282, inclusive, relate to the establishment, organi- zation, modification, dissolution, merger, enlargement, etc., of pa- rochial and municipal corporations, and to their powers to incur debt and issue bonds therefor.


Articles 283 to 289, inclusive, relate to the creation of a Rail- road, Express, Telephone, Telegraph, Steamboat and other Water Craft, and Sleeping Car Commission, to be composed of three mem- bers, and defines its powers and duties.


Art. 290 deals with the subject of riparian rights.


Art. 291 to 294, inclusive, relate to the subject of public roads.


Art. 295 provides for the organization of a State Board of Char- ities and Corrections, to consist of six members, of which the Gov- ernor shall be chairman ex-officio, and defines their powers and duties.


Articles 296 and 297 provide for the creation of a State Board of Health and Boards of Health for each parish, and for the interest of State Medicine in its various departments.


Articles 298 to 301, inclusive, relate to the State militia.


Articles 302 to 304, inclusive, relate to the maintenance of the Soldiers' Home, known as Camp Nicholls, the subject of pensions. to Confederate soldiers, sailors, and their widows, and to the main- tenance of a Memorial Hall in New Orleans, etc.


Articles 305 to 308, inclusive, recognize the Louisiana State Board of Agriculture and Immigration, and defines their powers and duties.


Articles 309 to 320, inclusive, relate to the City of New Orleans. Art. 321 defines the method of amending the Constitution.


Articles 322 to 324, inclusive, provide for the creation of a com- mission, to be appointed by the Governor, to prepare drafts of a code of Criminal Law, a Code of Criminal Procedure, and a Code- of Criminal Correction for the State.


Art. 325, the closing article of the Constitution, is the Schedule, and embodies various provisions to carry the Constitution into. operation without inconvenience.


Convent, the parish seat of St. James parish, is located in the. western part of the parish on the left bank of the Mississippi river and the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R. The original parish seat was on the west side of the Mississippi, nearly opposite the present courthouse, but in 1869 it was removed to the east bank, near the Convent of the Sacred Heart, from which the town takes its name. The chief objects of historic interest are the convent and Jefferson college, the latter being located near the town. Convent lias sev- eral good mercantile establishments, two hotels, a large sugar mill, a money order postoffice, express and telegraph offices, and in 1900 reported a population of 650.


Convention of 1861 .- (See Secession.)


Converse, a village situated in the northwestern part of Sabine


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parish, is a station on the Kansas City Southern R. R., about 20 miles directly northwest of Many, the parish seat. It is one of the towns that has grown up along the line of the railroad and has lum- ber industries, a money order postoffice. an express office, telephone and telegraph facilities, and in 1900 had a population of 100.


Conway, a post-hamlet, in the northern part of Union parish, is about 4 miles west of Marion, which is the most convenient railroad station, and 10 miles north of Farmerville, the parish seat.


Cook, a post-hamlet in the southwestern part of DeSoto parish, is situated on a small confluent of the Sabine river, about 7 miles southwest of Mansfield, the parish seat and nearest railroad town. It is in a rich lumber district, and in 1900 had a population of 75 inhabitants.


Cooper, a post-village and station in the central part of Vernon parish, is on the Kansas City Southern R. R., about 6 miles south of Leesville, the parish seat. It has lumber industries, is the ship- ping and supply point for a considerable district, and in 1900 had a population of 200.


Coosa, a post-hanilet in the extreme northeastern part of Con- cordia parish, is situated on Lake St. John, about 3 miles west of the Mississippi river, and 5 miles south of Listonia, the most con- venient railroad station.


Cora (R. R. name Hueston), a money order post-village in the eastern part of Vernon parish, is situated on Ten Mile creek, about 25 miles east of Leesville. the parish seat, and is a station on the Woodworth & Louisiana Central R. R.


Corleyville, a post-hamlet of Sabine parish, is situated in the southeastern corner of the parish on a branch of Bayou Toro, about 5 miles east of Fisher. the nearest railroad station, and 10 miles southeast of Many, the parish seat.


Corn .- In many parts of the country the impression prevails that the soil and climate of Louisiana are adapted only to such erops as cotton, sugar-cane, rice and tobacco. This is an erroneous notion. A bulletin of the state board of agriculture and immigration says : "Corn can be grown easily all over the state, and if the same atten- tion and methods of cultivation were given it here as in the corn- growing states of the West, the average yield per acre would be but little under that produced there. But corn is a side issue with the cotton and cane planter, and is cultivated as little as possi- ble."


In 1850 the corn crop of Louisiana amounted to over 10,000,000 bushels, and ten years later it had increased to nearly 17.000,000. After the Civil war the high prices of cotton diverted attention from corn, and in 1870 the yield was, in round numbers, 7,600,000 bushels. Since that time each U. S. census has shown an increase in the production of corn. the crop of 1880 being nearly 10.000,000. that of 1890 over 13.000.000. and in 1900 of the 115,969 farms in the state 101.961 reported corn as one of the crops, the total yield being 22,062,580 bushels. One advantage of growing corn in Louisiana is that it can be followed with a crop of cow-peas or other


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forage after the harvest, as there are several varieties of corn that can be planted as early as February and gathered in May. Cli- matie conditions are favorable, not only for harvesting the grain, but also for saving the stalks and blades for silage. To quote again from the bulletin referred to above: "By proper rotation, fer- tilization and cultivation, this yield could easily be doubled. Upon the alluvial lands of south Louisiana the sugar experiment station has for several years averaged over 100 bushels per acre upon a field of 8 or 10 acres. Sixty to 90 bushels have been obtained at the state experiment station at Baton Rouge upon the bluff lands, and 30 to 60 bushels are the average yields upon the rotation fields of the north Louisiana experiment station, situated at Calhoun, upon the yellow sandy loams of the oak and short-leaf pine hills." (See also Agriculture.)


Cornerview (R. R. name Witten), a post-village in the northern part of Ascension parish, is situated on the line of the Louisiana Railway & Navigation company, about 8 miles east of the Missis- sippi river. In 1900 it had a population of 52.


Corporations .- Under the general laws of Louisiana, any num- ber of persons, exceeding 6, may form themselves into corporations for literary, scientific, religious, and charitable purposes, for works of public improvement, and generally all works of public utility and advantage; any number of persons not less than 3 may form themselves into a corporation for the purpose of carrying on any mechanical, mining, or manufacturing business, except distilling or manufacturing intoxicating liquors, with a capital of not less than $5,000 nor more than $1,000,000; and any number of persons, not less than 25, may form themselves into a corporation for ath- letics, military, gun practice, or social purposes. The act of in- corporation may be drawn by a notary public residing in this state, or by the incorporators themselves by private act duly acknowl- edged before a commissioner of this state residing in the place where the act is drawn. The act of incorporation must contain the name and title of the corporation ; the place of its domicile, which must be in this state, where all the meetings of its officers, di- rectors, and stockholders are required to be held, under pain of nullity : the duration of its existence ; the purposes and objects for which it is established and the nature of its business: the names of its officers upon whom legal process may be served : the amount of the capital stock : the number of shares and the amount of each share : the time when, and the manner in which, payments shall be made on stock: the mode in which the elections of directors or managers shall be conducted ; and the mode of its liquidation. The act of incorporation must be approved by the district attorney at the domicile of the corporation, the whole recorded in the mort- gage office of the same parish with the original subscriptions, and, excepting the names of the subscribers, published in a newspaper at the domicile of the corporation once a week for 30 days. Amend- ments to the act of incorporation may be made with the assent of three-fourths of the stock represented at a general meeting con-


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vened for that purpose. The amending act must contain the altera- tions, improvements, or amendments desired, and the same formal- ities must be complied with as pursued in perfecting the original .


act of incorporation.


Any railroad, canal, elevator, warehouse, drainage, sewerage, land reclamation, levee, building, electric light and power, or water- works company established under the laws of this state, may bor- row such sums of money as may be required for construction, re- pairs, acquisition of property or franchises, and issue bonds or other obligations secured by mortgage or pledge on its property, income, etc., on such terms as it may direct, with power to dispose of the same.


Whenever any corporation desires to increase its stock, the di- rectors are required to publish a notice for 30 days that a meeting of the stockholders will be held for that purpose at the office of the corporation, and also deposit a written or printed copy of such notice in the postoffice addressed to each stockholder at his usual place of residence at least 40 days before the date fixed for such meeting. If the majority of the stockholders, or their proxies, at such meeting vote in favor of the proposed increase of the stock, a certificate of the proceedings shall then be made showing a com- pliance with the law, the amount of the original capital stock and the number of the holders, the amount and number of shares whose holders have voted in favor of said change, also against said change, and the whole amount of the debts and liabilities of said corporation, which must be signed and sworn to by the chairman and secretary of the meeting and filed in the office of the secretary of state, and when the certificate is so filed the capital stock shall be increased as therein set forth. No stockholder can be held liable or responsible for the contract or fault of corporations so organized in any fur- ther sum than the unpaid balance due to the company on the shares owned by him.


Any number of persons, not less than 3, may form themselves into a corporation on complying with the general corporation laws, for the purpose of carrying on any lawful business or enterprise not otherwise specially provided for. except stock jobbing. The capi- tal stock must not be less than $5,000, and the word "limited" must be used as the last word of the name of every such corporation. Its name must be affixed in legible letters and in a conspicuous place outside of every place of business of the corporation, and in all notices, publications, and writings used in its business. The omission of the word "limited" in the use of the name renders each participant and those acquiescing therein liable for any damage or liability arising therefrom. Stockholders are not responsible for the contracts or faults of such corporations beyond the unpaid bal- ance due on their shares except as stated above.


Foreign corporations doing business in this state, except mer- , cantile corporations, must file with the secretary of state a declara- tion of domicile and the name of the resident agent upon whom service of process can be made. In case of failure to comply with


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this provision suit can be filed against such corporation upon any cause of action in the parish where the cause arises, and service can be made on any person, firm or company acting or transact- ing such business for such corporations, who shall be deemed the agent of such corporations for that purpose.


Cossinade, a village in the northern part of Vermilion parish, is situated on a branch of the Bayou Queue de Tortue, about 5 miles northwest of Kaplan, the nearest railroad station, and 12 miles northwest of Abbeville, the parish seat.


Cotton .- The cotton of commerce is the fibrous product of sev- eral varieties of plants of the genus gossypium, which belongs to the natural order malacea. The most important species is the gossypium barbadense, which is the one cultivated in the United States, and of which there are two varieties-the long-staple, or sea-island, and the short-staple, or upland cotton. The former is grown exclusively upon the islands, and in a few places on the mainland, along the coast of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. The latter is grown in every state of the Union south of the 35th parallel of latitude, and a small quantity is raised north of that line.


The oldest cotton producing country is India, where it has been grown and manufactured for centuries. Herodotus, the early Greek historian, gave it the name of "tree-wool," and described the cloth manufactured from it as being of "better quality and finer fiber than that made from the wool of sheep." Pliny also mentions cotton several times. The manufacture of cotton cloth was intro- duced into Spain by the Mohammedans from Africa in the early part of the 7th century. From there it spread to Italy, and finally to the whole of Europe. Columbus found the cotton-plant grow- ing wild in some of the West India islands and South America. Soon after his discoveries the inhabitants of Mexico were found to be wearing clothing made of cotton. The first effort to raise cot- ton in the United States was made in Virginia in 1721. Its easy growth attracted attention in England and, strange as it may now seem, the attempt was made to extend its culture northward in- stead of southward. The colonies of Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania all tried the experiment of cotton culture, and as late as 1776 it was grown near Philadelphia in quantities sufficient for home consumption. Cotton was first planted in the Carolinas and Georgia in 1733, and in Louisiana in 1742.


The U. S. census report for 1900 says: "While Virginia was the original state of cotton production and exportation of the United States, there are only a few counties of the state that will grow cotton profitably. The northern line of economic cotton culture crosses it from east to west just north of the most southern tier of counties. The high altitude of the western counties of this strip is prohibitive, and leaves only a few counties along the south and southeastern border in which the plant can attain an economic growth. The first expansion of cotton production was therefore forced by natural conditions to the south and westward, and by


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1849 the median point of cotton production was 28 miles southwest of Birmingham, Ala. * * * Since 1889 it has been rapidly attracted toward the Mississippi river by the opening of new lands in the Indian reservations, and by the remarkable increases in the production of the states west of that river, notably Texas. Of the entire erop, 34.05 per cent was grown west of the Mississippi river in 1879; 38.44 per cent in 1889; and 43.80 per cent in 1899. At this rate of increase. thie median point of production will, by the next census, have crossed the Mississippi river and be found at some point in northeastern Louisiana."


Authorities differ as to when the first cotton was exported from the United States. The census report above referred to (Vol. vi., p. 405) says it was in 1784, when 8 bags, weighing 1,200 pounds, were sent from Virginia. Other authorities place the first exporta- tion as early as 1747, and mention shipments in 1770 from New York, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina, aggregating about 10 bales. Norman, in his "New Orleans and Environs," tells of the seizure of an American vessel, with 80 bales on board, at Liver- pool in 1784, on the ground "that so large an amount of cotton could not have been produced in the United States." The same author gives the exportations for the next five years as 14, 6, 109, 389 and 842 bales, respectively.


The great difficulty in the early days of cotton culture in the United States was to separate the seed from the fiber. Various expedients were tried, but it was not until the invention of the cot- ton gin by Eli Whitney in 1793 that the problem was solved. The cotton crop of 1790 was 8,889 bales. Ten years later the number of bales was 177,778, and by 1810 the production had increased to 320,000 bales, much of which was due to Whitney's invention. The average weight of the bale during these years was about 230 pounds. By 1859 the erop amounted to 5,387,552 bales, the average weight of which was 445 pounds. Then came the Civil war, which checked the cotton-planting industry in the South and introduced its culti- vation into the states of Illinois. Indiana, West Virginia, Nevada, Utah and California, these states reporting about 275,000 pounds in 1869. The entire erop of the country for that year was 3.011,996 bales, a decrease in weight of over 50 per cent from the crop of 1859. The average price in 1869 was 29 cents a pound, the high- est in the history of cotton culture in the United States. This was due chiefly to the enormous demand of England, where a cotton famine had been produced by the blockading of the Southern ports. The inordinately high prices in the years immediately following the war offered an inducement to the planters of the South to de- vote all their attention and energies to cotton raising. Conse- quently the production of cotton increased at the rate of nearly 225,000 bales annually until 1889. Louisiana was no exception to the rule, her erop increasing during the 20 years from 350,832 bales to 659,180 bales. But as the quantity of cotton increased the price ' declined in an inverse ratio until in 1889 it was only 11 cents. Soon after that date a movement was started in several of the


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Southern states to protect the industry against this constant sink- ing of prices. In March, 1893, a convention of Louisiana cotton planters met at New Orleans upon the call of the commissioner of agriculture, "to take such action as shall seem best, looking to the decrease in acreage devoted to cotton the present year, and to consider the propriety of sending delegates to a general interstate convention to be held at an early date for a similar purpose."




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