The south-western. [volume] (Shreveport, La.) 1852-1870, 1858-09-22
SAD PICTURE The Young Mems Chris

SAD PICTURE The Young Mems Chris
tan Association" body Of gentlemen organ
ised for the purpose of attending the sick and
relieving the poor and destitute of N. Orleans
during the prevailing epidemic, have addressed
a letter to the mayor Of that city, calling his
attention to the unusual amount of poverty and
distress prevailing in the limits Of the corpora
ton, and requesting that some place OF refuge
may be provided for all such as are unable to
procure work, or the common -necessaries OF
life. They state that is impossible for half OF
the poor population Of the city to obtain, in mid
summer; work enough to support them, and the
absence Of SO many thousands of citizens, whose
presence creates work and increases the means
| of livelihood, adds to the embarrassment. Be
sides they are generally an imprudent class,
but, even with strict economy, when sickness
or death enter the family, the petty savings Of
the winter are soon swept away Or absorbed in
their increased expenses. When found by the
various charitable associations, they are gen
orally without money, without food, and almost
destitute OF clothing, to say nothing of beds or
cots wherein to lay their emacated FORMS
They say that, though hundreds of lives are
saved BY the charitable associations, it is self
evident fact that many must perish amid such
destitution, The streets of the city are lined
daily with those who have escaped the ravages
Of the fever in the hospitals and infrmarjes;
who are discharged cured and go forth with
out home, without money, without a friend,
unable to help themselves; cast forth upon So
cety to meet worse fate than death by the
epidemic Yet they must go forth and give
place to those who come after them in their
turn, with the fever upon them. Many such
have been sent to their friends in other States,
because it is impossible for the charitable asso-
Citations to undertake their maintenance; in ad
dition to these, there are very many eases that
are not subjects of admission in hospitals, who
from various causes are unable to support them
selves and consequently in a most deplorable
condition. The association believe it to be the
duty of the city fathers to adopt some method
to ameliorate this state of affairs But what
remedy can be applied with success, none are
sufficiently wise to say. The numbers of poor
laborers thrown penniess upon the streets ofN
Orleans every summer and fall, is consequent
upon people flocking to large cities, in quest of
precarlous living amid noise, novelty and ex
element, instead of seeking home in the more
quiet towns and villages of the interior. New
Orleans, unlike other prominent cities, possesses
no large manufactures, workshops rolling mills,
'oundries, or shipyards, to give constant and
regular employmentto thousands Of workmen;
and being dependant for It's existence on the
cotton, sugar and grain waited to its eyee from
the south and west, whenever the receipts of
these products from the interior slacken off, its
business season" is brought to close, more
than one-half of its merchants fly to the north
or TO Paris and London, and thousands of me-
chanics, clerks, artists, laborers, etc, etc., are
thrown out Of employment until the return of
the business season." These unfortunates, in |
a strange city, without friends or money, fall |
prey to the insidous diseases of the climate, |
and annually fill the hospitals and cemeteries
No municipal institution, no aims house, no
private charity, can radically cure
this cancer which is SO destructive to the per
manent prosperity Of the Crescent City. The
only plausible remedy is, instead of being de-
pendant alone on the receipts of produce from
the Mississippi valley, let the capitalists Of New
Orleans build up manufactures of all kinds and
encourage home industry. BY this means con-
slant employment would at least be afforded to
a large portion of those who reside in the city,
and one ofthe grievances complained of by the
Young Mems Christian Association be nit |
gated. New Orleans can never take the first
rank among great commercial emporiums until
she becomes manufacturing as as well as an
exporting city.
The Philadelphia Ledger, noticing a report
copied in our LAST to the effect that lord Derby
had signified the willingness Of the British gov
to amend the charter of the Atlantic
Telegraph company SO as to place the United
States and England on a footing of equality, /
remarks that:
"This is humbug, The United States can
not be placed on footing of equality with
Eng land 50 long as the Newfoundland legisa-
Lure gives monopoly of fifty years to the
Newfoundland company, over whose lines the
government dispatches must go to reach the
cable. The government of Great Britain has
no control over the newfoundland company, |
and they admit or exclude the United States
and its citizens just as they choose. The state
ment above given is made only to secure the
~, 900 voted by our government, but Gen
Cass is not to be humbugged in that way"
The Ledger is undoubtedly correct. The
Atlantic telegraph, in national sense, was in
Tended for the exclusive use and convenience of
The English government. Commencing and
terminating in British territory, and being I'M
Ter the exclusive control of British managers