The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1862-02-01
JUNE. 1889.
new orleans ana che war.

New Orleans and she War.
We have Just had the pleasure Of ENJOYING
pfotractcd conversation with 1 highly inteill
gent gentleman. long resident Of that city
who lett New Orleans for the North about te,
days ago. Without further particulars as t.
our informant himself, il Is enough to say thu
be Is eminently reliable, gentleman Of mature
Judgment and excellent sense, and thus worthy
OF the utmost confidence in his statements =
We shall do irjustice 70 his lucid and graphic
statements OF the condition Of aifsI,s IN the Ne
tropolis Of the Southwest, trusting ouly e
memory to seixe the details, but some point,
will interest our readers, even thus impsrfectly
presented.
Louisiana was strong Union State, and the
influence of New Orleans eminently 90, lons
after the secession oi othor States. The "Co
opcrattonists represen.ed the intermediate
stage Of pubic sentiment from loyalty TO dis
loyalty, bat leaned most strongly 10 favor of ad
herence 70 the Constitution and the Union
They took their name and shaped their policy
on the scheme Of cooperation of the Southern
States in order to secure additional pledges
from the General Government, and they carried
the State to this measure, but the ground
taken was not high enough and secession came
next, and became dominant, overpowering every
thing.
. What Of the Union element in New Orleans
to-dsy . The question might as we'll be asked
in mid-winter Of snow covered field, as to what
10 seeded down, snd what 1t will bear. Just
now secession holds sway and Unionism is
crushed out. Only one sentiment is expressed,
because but one is safe, and martyrdom would
be sure to follow the other. Let this terrorism
be removed, and there would come the time for
judging as the share of this and other Southern
communities who would welcome the restora.
tton of the Federal power and unite with it in
utterly sweeping away the reckless demagogues
whe have betrayed and outraged the South. Our
informant speaks hopefully with reference to the
men who are thus biding their time'
In New Orleans, under the oil overpowering
ibhaence OF secession, there is but one opinion
expressed in public. The city is quiet and or
derly, for its lower order Of white society have
gone to the wars There are no riots, nor dis.
turDances. The city is dull in commercial
respects. Whatever products belong to their
market are plenty and without sale whatever
they have been accustomed to seek from abroad
are proportionately high. Thus sugar is IL to
2 cents per H., and mess pork is $50 per barrel.
All fabrics are high, and stocks are very light.
Owing to the scarcity of meats, the planters are
feeding their slaves on mush and molasses, the
latter staple being cheap. The scarcity Of ar.
dent compounds being also great, large auanti.
ties Of molasses are being manufactured into
New England rum, which the whisky loving
must need use in place Of the coveted but
scarcer article.
In monetary matters, the change is striking
one. All specie has disappeared from circula-
tion. It has gone into private boards, and bills
OF the sound banks of Louisiana land there are
none better in the United States) are also being
stored away BY holders, who see no advantage
n M linn Ga, T.
ate Notes. Said bank officer of the State
Bank Of Louisiana to our informant, "Out of
$3.50, 900 in currency received in making our
Exchanges with. other banks, only t,oea.ty. fire
dollars Of our ox', issues we're received" For an
institution with circulation of one and half
million, this is significant statement.
Another proof of the distrust of the people in
the notes Of O. 8. A. Is seen in the fact of great
ly stimulated prices of New Orleans real estate
Seceasionists who do not look beneath the sur
face wax vastly jubilant over the aspect
There, sir, lcok At it--see what the war, and
this cutting loose from the North has done for
US: real sstak in Nsv Orleaas has gone up one
haJ. Glorious sir, don't you see its" The
cause OF exu!tation diminishes rapidly when It is
understood that all this is but the natural cause
OF holders Of property who say to their posses
.ions, in view of the everywhere present Con.
wonder they prefer real estate 1T exorbitant
prices, and pass the shinplasters out of their
fingers ~ fast as possible. This Is the sole se-
cret of the flush times in New Orleans real
estate.
The money In circulation from. hand to hand
IL "everybody's checks, and omnibus tickets for
small charge, and the most mongrel brood of
wild cats and kittens that ever distressed bus
iness community. We saw in the hands of our
informant, bank note for fve cents, issued by
the Bank Of Nashville! Besides small issues of
shinplasters, notes in circulation are divided.
A. desiring to pay B. two dollars and q half,
cuts five dollar note in two, and the dissever.
ed portion goes floating about distressedly look.
ing up its better half, Tor otherwise) according
to which end bears the bank signatures.
As to the feeling of the community regarding
the war, the oulspoksn sentiment is one of in.
tense hatred to the North, or .'the United
States" as they express it, They affect to be.
lieve that spoliAtion, rapine and outrage of eve
ry dye would follow the invasion of Northern
troops. Their own troops are only indifferently
provided with outfit, aud camp comforts arc
scarce. A very significant statement was re-.
Gently made in the st. Charles Hotel, in the
hearing of our informant, which we desire to
give as nearly in his own words as possible. A
gentleman had gone up to the camps at Nash
vile, having in charge donations from the citi.
zens Of New Orleans. On his return his unotii.
cial statements were about as follows 81 tell
you, you have no idea of the suffering there
among our troops. 1t would make your heart
bleed to see them lying there sick and dying
without nurses and medicine. New Orleans has
done great deal, but she must do more.n
A Bystaader-"But why don't people up tina,
way do something :"
TIL toll ro,, mk> e. - 2.
half of them say they never wanted the troops
to come there at all, and don't care how soon
they are removed. The other half are doing al
they can, but cannot do ALL"
"Why don't they set their niggers to tending
the sick ?"
swell, that's the squalliest point in the whole
The niggers say that if they we're Lincoln sol
diers they would attend them"
a Bystander (hotly)-"Why don't they soo
the - treacherous sons of -"
well (nseaaingly) they don't think it's quit,
safe up there TO begin that sort of thing"
Z A pretty significant confession, one woult
think, to be made publicly in the rotunda of th,
ST. Charles. And this brings US to speak Of tn,
position of the blacks. What do they think ol
the war? The gentleman We quote says 18th,
blacks have been educated fast within the pas
six months. They are different race from
what they were. Their docility is thing of th,
past, and their masters stand appalled, at th,
transformation" In several of the parishe
about New Orleans, what were believed to b,
the germs Of dangerous insurrections have bee,
several times discovered within the past fey
montha In st. Marys thirteen slaves were sho
at one time. The South have thought Il would
aid their plans by telling the slaves that the en-
emy Of the Union was the "army of freedom,
and the blacks believe it. Certainly no Aboli
tion sheet Of the North Is responsible for tn
circulation Of such statement.
An instance was told us of man sent to tn
North from New Orleans, witL the purpose Q
looking about him . little here and gaining al
idea Of matters. He accomplished his mission
after divers adventures, and came back to th
Crescent City. Wherever his formal report va
made, It certainly was pretty much summed u
In statement he made openly In Q secsssio
coterie at the st. Charles, Said he: II vent /
New York; business il going on there about .
ever--never saw things more buoy there-shoul
not Judge any body had gone to the war didn
actually bear much about the South. Then
went 70 where they we're turning out the thing
for war, and saw how they wsss doing Il, an
and tim seas sakss I6egas to 1ns1 AL
We ere exceeding the limiss W had propose
e. Z -