The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1870-02-16
The Citizens Committee.
INTERVIEW WITH GOVERNOR wARMoTH.


pointed at the Lafayette Square meeting,
visited Gov. Warmoth, and Mr.. DeFeriet,
Chairman of the Committee, presented
him with the resolution of the meeting.
The Governor said he knew what the res
olutions were, and addressed the meeting
as follows:
Gentlemen-I am very glad to see you
personally. desire to say something
however, relative to that meeting whose
delegation you are. / do so in justice to
myself and to the government which / rep
resent 1t is fact, which is palpable to
all Of you, that have. as Governor of this
State. vetoed great many bills, a very
great many making subsidies and grants to
individuals and to companies. Those DIS
in few instances, have been passed oVr
my veto by the Legis'a e; for these acts a.,
Of course, am personally not Responsible
neither do | believe that the Legislature,
taken as body are responsible, Tor lhem.
IT. is true that in a general sense, they are
RESPONSIBLE for their acts; but it is unfor-
tunateIy the case that there are great
many men in our Legislature, who are ig-
norant OF the manipulations OF iobyiste-
Men, many of whom have been only re-
Gently enfranchised. They. Of course, have
to be taken care of; nay have to be nursed,
they have to be taught and instructed, and
/ think, gentlemen, that if you will give me
the assurance of your support; if you will
only give me the assistance which you
ought to give from your standing in this
community. we shall be able to restrain
l., G,o, inf thn
ses complained of in these resolutions,
which have already read.
Let me make one complaint against you,
gentlemen, as the representatives of those
in whose behalf you appear. You charge
the Legislature with passing corrupt'y bills
looking to the personal ACKNOWLEDGEMENT of
individuals and corporations. Let me
suggest to you that those individuals and
corporations are your very best people,
For instance, this bank bill that is being
Iobbied through the Legislature now. BY
the hardest kind of work we have been
able to defeat that bill twice in the House,
and now it is up again to be passed. Who
are doing it? Your bank presidents. The
best people of the city of New Orleans are
crowding the lohbies of the Legislature,
continually whispering into these mems
ears brides 10 pass this measure. How are
we to defend the State against the inter
postiou of these people, who are potent
In their influence in this community.
Take another instance, the five million
bond bill passed through the Legislature
at its first session, providing for the issue
of bonds, the principal and interest of
which were to be paid in gold to take up
T cd
whom was it lobbied through? BY your
Carondelet street brokers, who crowded
the halls of the Legislature and throneed
the avenues leading to the Capitol. taking
ont member after member and suggesting
brides. That bill, as ! say, | vetoed, and
the very next day the House OF Represen-
tatives, possibly through the influence of
which have spoken, passed it over my
head. The bill went to the Senate. |
walked into the Senate Chamber and saw
nearly every prominent broker of the city
engaged in lobbying that bill through the
Sruate, and it was only by-exposing the
fact that one Of their emissaries had come
into this very chamber and laid upon the
desk of my secretary an ORDER for 10000,
that was able to defeat it. Mr.. Conway
the Mayor Of your city, came here and
offered me any consideration to induce me
to sign this bill.
Mr.. MarshallJ Smith, one of the dele
acknowledgements | would like here to
make remark. You speak of the most
respectable men of the city, and in the
same breath state that these gentlemen
have been offering brides TO you and to
others. l consider the hriber as bad, or
worse, than the man he brides. We have
come here to day without respect to patty
admit that some of our own people, who
have, in and out of the Legislature gone
back on us, deserve the curses of the com
munity more than those men who have
pissed these corrupt measures, because, we
expect nothing better from them. Our
own people, many of them Democrats, de-
serve worse at our hands, still | must pro-
test against those to whom you have re-
ferred being called the most respectable
part OF the community.
Gov Warmoth--l have thought it prop
er, gentlemen, to make these remarks in
your presence, because | have repeatedly
asked the best citizens of this State to
come and counsel with me about these
matters have sent them invitations but |
have never been able to include them to
lend me their aid and countenance. Politi-
cal differences have been SO intense that
they have not thought proper to give me
their assistance. When / say 'respecta-
BILE men," mean those men whose names
fly like a flag in the public estimation.
say, if it is true that these bills have been
coIruptly passed, that they have been so
passed by men who, from their standing IN
this community, ought to have RETAINED
from resort to such expedents.
have vetoed more bills, probably, than
any ten Governors who have preceded me.
have taken the bull by the horns, and
vetoed measures introduced by my own
party, because / thought their legislation
going too far. have not received the
assistance aud support from you, gentle
Wen, thai ought to have received. | am
placarded n the city, and spoken of in
your press as rascal. am spoken of as
no better than those whom You sav have
corruptly induced the passage of these
bills of which you complain and yet have
invited you to assist me in defeating them,
and you have given me no support.
vetoed sixteen bills passed last session
giving relief TO this individual and to that
to this corporation aud to that-for pur
poses OF no pnblic utility, amounting in
the aggregate to at least q million and a
halt dollars. Have l been spoken of in
your Democratic press, or in the press of
TINS city, as entitled to praise for my con-
quot IN this matter? No. when | am en-
gagged In prosecuting the Auditor, who has