The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1866-10-17
Shall we Let Politics Alone.
FLOR tho New Orleans Crescent.

wrists for the gives and letters which
I New England fanatics would hasten to
impose.
We are told chat our interest in po-
litical affairs is, and will continue to be
misconstrued, and that our enemies will
charge MS with efforts to obtain an as
tendency by strategy Which we failed
to gain by force Of arms.
/ We are couaseled to begllile the
1blood- thirsty spirit which persecutes
4 us, by a false scent, and sootls it by the
harmony of jingling dollars. IT is a
potent spell, beyond doubt, and tile
subject as ready to yield toits influence
as the bloody Saul to the melody Of
David's harp--whens that subject is all
individual, Or a New England body
corporate.
The spirit of wild fanaticisn which
now rides the councils OF the nation,
however, is not one which will down at
our bidding, or yield to the charmef,
charm he never SO wisely. 1t betrays
an objectionable ignorance of human
nature and history, to talk of divcrting
| the persecution Of untrammellcd, DOM
inant fanaticism into side channels, and
| toward others objects than those which,
as Objects give it analne and place in
history.
We, of the South, for long period
of years, rang the changes. upon the
coinage, paying heavy tributes to New
England until she waxed fat and kick
ed. We fancied we could understand
1her bitterness in driving us back into
the Union, and her enthusiasm for the
political ties which Massachusetts,
first taught us might be ropes Of sand.
We deemed the almighty dollar the
shrine at which her people worsllipped,
and we still believe that the "old fiag,p
under which we stand to-day, is but the
curtain to that shrine where her leading
men devoutly kneel. f a
], They have, however, educated, slim
ulated and poisoned the Northern pub
Lie mind from patriotism to bigotry,
until they themselves cannot qucll the
storm they have awakened, and are
fain to drive before it while they pro-
TESS to lead.
7 If, then, in our golden days of pros
perity we failed to conciliate by our
rich revenues, how much less now, in
our impoverished condition, may we
hope to chill the lust Of power by our
feeble effortse
We struggled for a cause dear to us
as the heritage and birtllright Of our
children. In resigning the struggle we
received assurances of an honorable re-
reconstruction, and Of the renewal. Of our
influence and representation in the
councils of the country. Wehavc bechl
deceived; and because deceived and
disappointed, we must, fOrsooth, use
craft and guile to win the boon at re-
[luctant hands, or lie supinely indifer-l
ent to Fate's worst behest. We see
nothing mastery in such inactivity,
and if there is, the people Of the South
are SO constituted as to be wholly una
BILE to take advantage of the fact. We
claim It as q right, that we shall dis.
cuss political matters. We claim our
place us of the States of this great. AM
erican Union, and that the voices of
our representatives be heard at WASH
ington. We are honest and earnest
and because both, we can afford to-
speak frankly, openly and fearlessly.-
We accepted the appeal to the arbitra-
ment of the sword, and an inscrutable
Providence decreed our discontinue
II we did not find success, we did more,
and won besidet a glory and renownj
imperishable. Onr fair acres, and es-i
tates, and bank, accounts, and stocks,
and securities, may all have. disappear
. ed beneath the tide Of war, but the one
jewel, Reputation, we will leave to our
children undimned by the unmanlyand
Unnecessary surrender to an ignorant
and fanatic mob, Of the right of opinion
and its expression.
Wccannot afford to let politics alone.
A Our own success in business and the
we'll being Of our children hereafter de-
pend to a great extent upon our earnest
effort toward the reconstruction of a
stable government. We claim our
opinion upon the subject Of the politics
which shape and modelisuch ID govern
|ment. Having opinions, and a reason
for the faith that is in lis, and Believing
4 that an opinion, properly so called, is
worthless il unworthy Of expression
and maintenance we, deem il humanity
to pretend indifference and maintain
silence, when every motive of interest,",
4 patriotism and political principle is i'm
i vOlved.
4 The motives for, our interest in the
4 politics " the country may by mistaken
/ by the mob Of the North, when inter-
preted by Massachusetts, prophets, but
\ "virtue itself escapes not calumnious
4 strokes"
and this operates as no reason against
/ a proper and warranted line Of conduct.
Motives of policy such asarc counseled,
would be at this junction alisllonorable
and fraud, not 80 much upon our
i enemies asfupon our we'll earned fair
/ fame as Il people. We are. as truly. at
this crisis making history as when con
tending armies stood upon the banks Of
the Potomac Let lls not, as then, 'quit
us like men in the bold advocacy Of
| what we deem our guaranteed rights.
j Reference is sometimes made to the
j political retirement and Treticence ot
our late Southern leaders as examples
! for our guidance. A more delicate ap.
probation Of proprieties might suggest
another reason than political indiifer-
ence to their avoidancesof public notice.
DIT us hardly probable that such men,
/ whom we teacheour children well nigh
to worship with us, could remain on the
soil they perilled life, fortune and homo,
for, exhibiting such d phenomenon 5as
real and.utter indifference to the politi.
cal fate.of their beloved South.
/ We have friends in the North, and
their name is Legion. They are those
chiefly who, in blue, faced our boys in