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Gomez recalls a day in the House in the early 1980s when Wall pulled a pistol on Representative Carl Newton Gunter, Jr. (1938-1999) of Deville in Rapides Parish after Gunter inadvertently disconnected Wall's conference call with his banking colleagues.<ref name="Ron Gomez, pp. 70-71">Ron Gomez, pp. 70-71.</ref> At that point, the House sergeant-at-arms, Richard L. Barrios, and Representative John Clifford Ensminger, Sr., also of West Monroe, grabbed Wall to prevent him from harming the shaken Gunter.<ref name="Ron Gomez, pp. 70-71"/>​

Gomez recalls a day in the House in the early 1980s when Wall pulled a pistol on Representative Carl Newton Gunter, Jr. (1938-1999) of Deville in Rapides Parish after Gunter inadvertently disconnected Wall's conference call with his banking colleagues.<ref name="Ron Gomez, pp. 70-71">Ron Gomez, pp. 70-71.</ref> At that point, the House sergeant-at-arms, Richard L. Barrios, and Representative John Clifford Ensminger, Sr., also of West Monroe, grabbed Wall to prevent him from harming the shaken Gunter.<ref name="Ron Gomez, pp. 70-71"/>​

 

==House Retirement Committee==​

===House Retirement Committee===

As chairman of the House Retirement Committee, Wall required that all bills have his pre-approval and be credited to him as the author. According to House rules, however, only the author of a bill has control over the proposed legislation, and only the author can bring up the bill before the House for debate once it has received committee clearance. Ron Gomez, a freshman member on Wall's committee, said that despite the chairman's dictatorial methods, Wall "had saved the state millions of dollars by killing hundreds of special interest retirement bills. At that time, every group in state government had its own separate retirement system. The teachers had one, the state police another, judges had their own [etc.] . . . Each had different rules, different investment plans. Each employed a staff, each had paid actuaries. It was a mess. It hasn't changed much."<ref>Ron Gomez, p. 71.</ref>​

As chairman of the House Retirement Committee, Wall required that all bills have his pre-approval and be credited to him as the author. According to House rules, however, only the author of a bill has control over the proposed legislation, and only the author can bring up the bill before the House for debate once it has received committee clearance. Ron Gomez, a freshman member on Wall's committee, said that despite the chairman's dictatorial methods, Wall "had saved the state millions of dollars by killing hundreds of special interest retirement bills. At that time, every group in state government had its own separate retirement system. The teachers had one, the state police another, judges had their own [etc.] . . . Each had different rules, different investment plans. Each employed a staff, each had paid actuaries. It was a mess. It hasn't changed much."<ref>Ron Gomez, p. 71.</ref>​

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In 1971, Wall announced his candidacy for governor of Louisiana but withdrew and ran inatead for reelection to the legislature.<ref>Leo Honeycutt, ''Edwin Edwards: An Authorized Biography'' (Lafayette: Lafayette Publishing Co., 2009), pp. 69, 76.</ref>​

In 1971, Wall announced his candidacy for governor of Louisiana but withdrew and ran inatead for reelection to the legislature.<ref>Leo Honeycutt, ''Edwin Edwards: An Authorized Biography'' (Lafayette: Lafayette Publishing Co., 2009), pp. 69, 76.</ref>​

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==Wall's Monroe penthouse==​

==The Monroe penthouse==

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In addition to the large Wall residence in West Monroe, Wall maintained a pink stucco penthouse apartment on the ninth floor of the old Hotel Penn (built for $250,000 in 1928) in downtown Monroe, with a scenic overlook of the Ouachita River. The Penn had 232 rooms, each with a private bath, running hot and cold water and electric fans, and banquet hall frequented by politicians, planters and oilmen. According to Marion Edwards, younger brother of former Governor Edwin Edwards, Wall told him that "the air is just a bit sweeter up here," referring to the penthouse. In time, many of the businesses, including the banks, vacated the area about the Hotel Penn and moved to outlying malls to be closer to residential areas.<ref name=penthouse/>

In addition to the large Wall residence in West Monroe, Wall maintained a pink stucco penthouse apartment on the ninth floor of the old Hotel Penn (built for $250,000 in 1928) in downtown Monroe, with a scenic overlook of the Ouachita River. The Penn had 232 rooms, each with a private bath, running hot and cold water and electric fans, and banquet hall frequented by politicians, planters and oilmen. According to Marion Edwards, younger brother of former Governor Edwin Edwards, Wall told him that "the air is just a bit sweeter up here," referring to the penthouse. In time, many of the businesses, including the banks, vacated the area about the Hotel Penn and moved to outlying malls to be closer to residential areas.<ref name=penthouse/>

http://www.fastweb.com/scholarships-directory/s-z/shady-wall-memorial-endowment-scholarship-in-banking-89343/|title=Shady Wall Memorial Scholarship in Banking|publisher=fastweb.com|accessdate=February 15, 2010}}</ref>​

http://www.fastweb.com/scholarships-directory/s-z/shady-wall-memorial-endowment-scholarship-in-banking-89343/|title=Shady Wall Memorial Scholarship in Banking|publisher=fastweb.com|accessdate=February 15, 2010}}</ref>​

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==References==

==References==

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