New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1870-11-06

would have been worth to-day seven hun
dred or a thousand millions of dollars, in
stead OF two hundred and fifty millions.
| Instead OF our coupons not being PAID at
maturity, they would all have been met;
instead Of our levees being broken down,
and eleven or twelve parishes washed out
| every year, they would all have been
| saved from inundation; instead of taxation
being increased, it would have been re-
duced. All this would have happened If
they had not gone into the war. lCheers.J
| DEMOCRATIC LEvEE-BUILDING.
| why say the Democrats, 'yOu Radi-
calls have dOne nothing. IOu have col
lected large amount Of money and have
I not expended it to any purpose" Now,
| wish to contrast one instance of Democratic
and Republican expenditure. During the
administration of Governor Wells, with
Democratic Legislature and Democratic
| ties undertook to build Grand Levee-the
levee which protects eleven sugar parishes
from overflow. They built Grand Levee at
an expense of two hundred and seventy
| five thousand dollars. No sooner had the
| river risen than away went Grand Levee
and two hundred and seventy-five thou
sand dollars. Laughter and applause].
| They built Grand Levee again, at
! a cost of three hundred thousand dollars.
No sooner had the river risen than away
| went Grand Levee again and three hundred
thousand dollars. Renewed laughter and
| appiausel. But as soon as the Republican
party came into power We built Grand
| Levee. The river rose and Grand Levee did
not wash away, and we have Grand Levee to-
| day. Loud applause]. We have spent in
| leNee building in the State of Louisiana,
hn, Of Il ln11n Nn h.ly-
| forty five miles of levee, and not one foot
| has been swept away. [Cheers]. We point
| to this as an illustration of the fact that the
| money raised to construct levees has been
properly used, and that the public have
reaped the benefit. tApplause).
RAILROAD SUBSIDIES.
| But the Democrats may say you gentle
| men may have built levees; we don't know
anything about that but you have gone
| largely into the railroad business; you have
subsidised railroads, you have gone to work
and built miles of railroads, and we Demo
Gratis have reaped none of the benefits" J"
| The truth is simply We have inaugurated IL
policy OF internal improvements, and we
claim we have thereby inaugurated policy
which will rebuild the prosperity Of the
State, and earn for us the gratitude Of the
| whole community.
What did we find when We came into
power! This city of New Orleans, with
| nominal population of two hundred thou
sand souls, with blocks and blocks of build
ings unoccupied; the people Respondent;
thousands of them without employment.
We saw people trying to raise million
dollars to complete the Opelousas railroad
to Texas. What did they accomplish
They raised four hundred thousand dollars
on paper, and not dollar more. We saw
| our produce going to other ports for ship
ment. We saw the whole northwestern
part of the State depending entirely upon
| the Red river for the transit of its crops,
| paving two dollars and a half to five
dollars bale to get cotton to market, and
three dollars hogshcad for sugar. We
found Charles Morgan with the main COM
lnerce of the State by the throat. We
| found the whole interests of the city
! paralyzed because we had not independent
| transportation to Texas. We determined
| to have Il railroad to Texas, even if cost ten
millions of dollars. So we said to the Chat
| tanooga Railroad Company: IF you will
build railroad to Texas within twenty
| four months, we will give you three mil
| lions Of bonds If YOU don't do it within
| twenty-fOur months-if you are one day be-
hind your time. we don't give you a cent
We do not give any of these bonds; we do
not give one cent of the money until
we get the railroad. The question
for this community to decide is:
is this railroad worth the money!
Would it not pay the city of New Orleans
alone. to issue ten millions of bonds and
pay the interest on them for forty years, in
ordert TO get this railroad' You pay twenty
or thirty cents ii pound for good beef in
your market to-day. Why, Because over
Morgan railroads and in Morgan steamships,
must come every cow or bull that is sent to
your market. [Applausel. 1t is because he
will not bring cattle to the city of New Or
leans except for two or three peOpleeWhO
have complete monopoly of the business.
Just make a calculation of the amount of
taxes derived from the people of New Or
leans every day-Of the amount of MOI ~
taken out of their pockets every
day in this bare matter of food,
and say if you alone could not af-
tord to pay interest on ten millions of
dollars for forty years, instead of on the
three millions to which the whole State con-
tributes. If you only effect saving of five
cents a pound on your beef thereby. you
can afford to pay eight per cent. on ten mil
lions for forty years and come out twenty
five millions ahead at the end of the time.
Applause.
We have chartered two railroad compa-
nies. We have chartered the Chattanooga
Railroad company and the line connecting
Niclsburg and Shreveport and other points
aid you with our credit" Then we es:i-
mate that the cost of the building of the
railroads per mile will be twenty-five thou
sand dollars, and we say: Now we will
give you the benefit of the credit to the ex-
tent of twelve thousand five hundred
dollars per mile, taking "a second
mortgage on your railroad to secure the
State against loss 1t means this, simply,
that the State will guarantee this second
laav I no first tn
the bondholders. Every body knows rail
road can not be built in this country for
twenty-five thousand dollars mile, and we
know that in addition to the twenty-five
thousand dollars secured by the first and
second mortgage bonds the company will
have to spend ten or twelve Thousand dol
lars mile more. We know further that if
a railroad to Texas is constructed, and if it
is ever brought to sale that it will bring
twice this amount, and we know, therefore,
that IN guaranteeing these second mortgage
bonds we incur not the slightest RESPONSE
oility or danger of paying these bonds, but
by cur giving the company this credit they
are enabled to sell thoir sec0nd-class bonds
for as much or more than their tirst-class
bonds and IN this way they can go ON and
construct the railroad.
This IS the policy we have adopted, and
We think it is a wise policy. 1t is just the
policy pursued IN Illinois, in Indiana and in
Iowa. 1t is just the policy pursued in
Missouri. where they have six or seven
thousand miles of railroad, and are not a
dollar in debt. By the construction of these
railroads your land will be doubled in
value. (The speaker went on to draw "a
striking contrast between the intrinsic
value of the lands on the Teche. at forty
dollars an acre, with their enormously |
profitable crops of sugar. etc. and the lands
Of Illinois at hundred and fifty dollars an |