New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1868-07-05

The New York Commonwealth, a new
evening paper, the first number OF which
has reached us, contains the initial article
of a series entitled ''Notes on Events and
Men, by New York Radical. 1t is headed
democracy in Louisiana" and we copy it
entire:
few days ago committee of "white
people of Louisiana" sent @ protest TO the
Senate of the United States, setting forth
their objections to the constitution which
has been ratified by majority of the voters
under the reconstruction law. The pro-
visions which seem to be most offensive to
these individuals are those which accord to
all persons equal rights in public convey
ances, places of business, and public resort;
those which authorize the institution offree
public schools, open to every one alike, and
the establishment of a university with all
its departments common to all students;
those which exclude from the elective fran.
Chise persons having held office under the
Confederate States,h registered rs public
enemies, acted as leaders of guerrilla bands,
wrote or published newspaper articles, or
preached sermons in favor of treason, or
voted for and signed an ordinance of seces-
sion; and then fourthly, which required
members Of the Legislature and other
officers TO take an oath to accept the civil
and political equality of all men, and agree
not TO attempt TO deprive any person or
persons OF political rights on account of
race, color, or condition.
II is by no means difficult to see that in
the viewof this committee the most pro
nounced rebel is preferable to any citizen,
white or colored, who has never sWerved in
his allegiance to the Union. The white
people included in this protest seem to be-
long principally to that class. OF course
such gentlemen are convinced of the IN
constitutionalityo of the reconstruction
laws, and they regard with equal dislike
every act done for the suppression of the
rebellion, whether by war or by legislation.
If they had designed to declare purpose of
hostility to all legislation, except that
which should place them in the places va
Gated by participants in the rebellion, they
needed to use no more explicit language.
But the principal feature obnoxious to
them is the provision for educating all
children alike in free public schools. This
they declare TO be subOrdinating the white
race to the political ard social supremacy
of the black race. Uunder the pretense of
establishing separate schools for negro chill
dren they would seek to prevent the latter
from being instructed at all. The educating
of black children, they consider, perhaps
rightly, to be placing them in advance of
the white ones, and purpose to avert the
danger by Legislation against them.
The enmity of the Democratic party to
popular education is not peculiar to Louisi-
ana. 1t has been exhibited often in other
States. The Democrats of Virginia used to
denouuce free schools as demoralizng. The
political majority in the New York consti-
tutional convention of 1916, took especial
pains to exclude them from the fundamental
law, and the peace Democrats of Indiana
denounce them at the present day. 1t was
Mike Walsh, we believe, who declared that
was the natural enemy of the De-
The same sentiment still exists in
that political party, and hence its organs
and leaders are always ready to applaud
their rebel brethren whenever they do an
act of hostility to the education of the PEG.
pie. Between the Democratic party of
Louisiana aud that of New York there is
little difference, little to chOose-both would
keep the poorer Inhabitants ignorant, that
they may dominate over them more easily.