Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1871-07-23
q Rstributlvs yustIcs

81 R~etributiYs Justice"
From the last letter, written from
New Orleans by Ralph Keller, tC
EUery Saturday, published in Boston
we copy the following, showing how
the t'black" rules in Louisiana and
I the results Of his legislative labor;
, under the tutilage Of the "csrpet-bag'
gers, - so heartily andjustly denounced
by Mr.. Greeley in the New York Til
6uae and Mr.. Bowles in the Spring
field (Msss.) Republican:
Indeed, beneath the oddly and pic
turesQueness and gaiety Of New Or
leans there is more antagOnism OF
races and nationaiitieS and political
creeds than can be found in any other
large city in the Union. Speak
ing generally. Of course, the white
man hates the negro, and the negro
hates The white man. The Creole and
AnglO-SaxOn native do not love one
another. The carpet-bagger, if he
happens to be the villain he is paint
ed, necessarily hates the people he
irobs, on the old CicerOnian principle
that we hate whom we have injured.
The respectable LOuisianian Is silent
and sullen, as he has a right to be. OF
him We shall have something better
to say further along. The typical
Enlightened Southern gentleman"
who once owned half of South Caro-
lima and lost everything in the "Ws', f"
lone may meet ahundred suchin the
course of an afternoons Walk-why,
he has got used to hating almost
everything, himself included. And,
strange as il may sound, the people
who fought il out like men on OppO-
site sides in the late war, seem 70
hate one another the least of all.
Retri6LaiUe justice tOearS q black face
| lust nOlC IA Louisiana. The negro is
in the ascendency, or rather the few
white men who rule the negroes, are
In the ascendency. No respectable
| person, whatever his political party,
speaks well OF the State Legislature, a
/ great number of whose members are
| ignorant freedmen. If reports are
I true, there never was a more corrupt
and Abandoned set Of men assembled
/ as a deliberative body. Legislation
| has become so prOftable-tO the legis-
| latOr-that the feid.hadns up in the
country are very anxious to 90 into
asdat business "Dem legislatums,"
said an old fellow up in one of the
back parishes, ''dem legislatums, dey
| goes down 70 Orleans with field suits
on, and dey comes back with black
s~tOre-clOthes, an plenty Of money,
plenty of money. l done tOP you,
boss, / wants TO 60 to de legislatum,
too" The freedman has substituted
s'bOssD for the Old-iime "massa."
These astute laW.givers were not in
session during u stay in New Or
leans, but we heard enough of them,
and some very drOu things withal,
from eyewitness. A gentleman
who can neither read nor write en-
plOys his white brother on the same
side of the house to do both for him.
Another gentleman, who consistently
sells his vote to the highest bidder,
viii occasionally show his interest in
the welfare of the State by rising
from his seat and saying: "Mr.
President, will you jist read dat per-
vision agin." A couple of Represent
atives nom ~neighbOIing parishes had
an O~ratorical sparring match on the
subject of parliamentary rules, "De
gem'man rom -,o exclaimed bis
very black and euriy-headed oppo-
nent, ''de gem'man says dat 1 don't
know de rules Of legislative enact
ments and de etiquette Of dis House
OF Representatives. Why, MIR. Presi
dent, while the gem'man dere was
hOeing sugar.cane in de fields of La
Fourche, / was selling oyster soup in
de Hobbies Of de State House at Baton
RougeP'
This sort Of legislators and their
style Of legislation may be very
amusing to read about, but they make
sad work for the people. OF the South.
The Governor who formed this Legia-
lature made a machine that he could
not control. 1t voted away the money
and credit of the State for any wild
scheme that could pay Tor votes.
There is, however, no need Of going
over the catalogue of abuses in the
State government of Louisiana. The
subject has been pretty thoroughly ven
tilated in Northern Journals. 1t is no
excuse to say that many of the New
Orleans capitalists who complain
l0udest of corruption were among
those who paid the highest prices to
carry through their pet schemes. The
fact is lust the same, that nothing but |
thorough reform can prevent the
hopeless bankruptcy Of the State. |
There is no use Of trying TO disguise
the fact that Louisiana to-day presents |
Americanism at its very worst. Rene
gade Northerners, with their newspa-
Ders and baF-ro0m reunions, keep the
ilI-feeling astir TO curry favor with
the masses of the South, and are
called "dOugh-faees' by respectable
SOutherners, for their pains. The Re-
publicanism Of the average carpet
Dagger Is not the Republicanism Of
the North, but the esprit de corps Of a
dominant, irresponsible faction.
Is not taxed higher than
New York City, perhaps, but LOuisi-
ana has not Que 1.-THE the prosperity Of
the commercial center of this CONT
nent. The people have suffered so
much from the war, their epidemics
and floods, and ahundred other causes,
that complaint is chronic with them.
They have got used toit, and SO has
the far-awsY North to the sound of it.
III they were as prosperous as New
Workers, they might stand il to be
governed IS New York is governed.
But as Il IS, this state OF things cannot
.ast. The respectable. responsible
people have little or nothing to do
Fith political affairs. A register law
S In force which puts all State cleo
ions whoEy in the bandssSf the Govs
II We are to have a Republic
inQ not POiOnd in tina S0utb the
responsible peOPlemust have q chance
% govern Themselves z $ z
The masses Of THE South, black and
stand III need Of an honest {
government hrst, and d education
next. They will always more or less
De- the prey d leaders. Prejudice IS
ne eheepthought OF lazyapeoDlegthelt
world oyer, and where The sun is not, 6
here viii always be plenty Of law /
peoples Thousands down here i'm {
themselves OF saeh consequence I
nat the North has littleaelse 60 door q
hink of Butto hate anu th8art themE {
I YOU talk With these yoaaWW ind
alwas that they came 4rOm 4
OF New England. The pure i
Iouthernsrmay DEm may not b able
0 dIstin9uishbetweeR the great body
4 Northern people who 2refFtendly I
o the South and the politicians who