New Orleans Republican., 1871-09-28
AN UNLICENSED MANUFACTURER.

Customhouse, where he holds chair a!
clerk. The process by which Mr.. Duga1
runs his mill is delicately described in al
article which we attach hereto from thu
vidalia Herald, in which an offer of tn.
manufactured article was temptingl,
profered, and most graciously declined
as being little too thin for the weather.
Mr.. Dugan is worthy of special no.
tice. and this is admitting considerable,
since such notices are worth twenty-five
cents line. This article may be pleaded
as a full receipt for the bill, however, il
any question should ever arise about the
matter Of compensation, for as we intend
to write for our own satisfaction in this
instance, it would be manifestly unjust to
charge for our labor.
Mr.. J. Dugan emerged from the late
unpleasantness with the insignia of col
onel of volunteers on his shoulders. His
first venture in civil life was at Vicksburg,
Mississippi, where he plumed himself as a
frst-class Radical, and was belabored as
such by the succession of Shocko Jones.
Subsequently he removed to jackson,
where he again put on the visor of Rad
ical Paladin, and went forth in his edito-
nal fight against the rebels. Somehow or
somehow else his financial strength never
squared with his enterprise, and he fell
into disrepute as q paymaster, with his
printers. At last his career closed in gloom,
and he disappeared from the scene under
q cloud. Then came on the contest be-
tween Alcorn and Dent, in which
the latter pretended to be q great
conservative Democrat, backed by the
administration at Washington as against
the former, who was considered
a detestable Radical. General Dent, like
Frank Blair, had too much to do with
plantations to be successful politician,
SO he made bad run of it, and even Cen
eral Grant went back on him. Before
Dent failed, however, speck on his col
umn of conservative Democratic forces
into Mr.. Dugan, who appeared
as captain of Democratic squad in pur-
suit of a seat in Congress. Mr.. Dugan,
like Mr.. Dent, was so erect and thoroughly
and reconciled that he
leaned clear out of the Republican party
and fell into the arms of those whom he
had bitterly denounced as copperheads.
He was defeated. and still following the
fortunes of Mr.. Dent, he set out for Wash
ington, where he offered to become the
stated correspondent of all the country
newspapers that would hire him. Not
being of that calibre to command success
from such lofty elevation, his want Of
success soon induced him to initiate the
of the Arabs when they ''holded
their tents and silently stole away" His
next resource was to invent something,
being such rare invention himself He
entered the REPUBLICAN Office about twelve
months ago, with his Celtic face
Ill abeam under the inspiration
hat he had discovered ma
chime which would plow, plant, pick
and pack cotton. It was to supersede all
physical labor, comparatively speaking,
irving mules and negroes in one indis-
,riminate mass out of the cotton patches
If the South. As We have never heard of
t since, it seems that its only effect was
% deprive agriculture Of at least one very
capable pair of hands, which is the only
act that We have yet reported worthy to
,e regretted. 1t is said that the press has
. fascination about it something akin to
gambling; that when one has once con-
lected himself with its delirium he can
lever thereafter disencumber himself of
lis slavery. Dugan organized ''corres-
,ondence bureau" in New Orleans, and
vrote sample letters far and wide, price,
+ used, five dollars. As they were all alike,
bout forty small papers fell into a contro-
ersy about which copied the Others letters |
nd left off the credit, and this row still |
isturbs the backwoods, where Mr..
1oweu never sends any mails. Mr.. Du.
an did not get paid for any of these
fac similes, and that spec
lation fell through. He then disap-
cared through another hole, and did not
ecover himself, to our understanding,
nil about three months ago, when he
evived under new inspiration of his old
lea. He started his bureau of corre-
pondence on the volunteer principle,
living his letters away to those who would
IKE them. The secret of this was that
Q expected to be paid for the contents of
is correspondence. He wrote puffs and
OF his remuneration out of the parties
hose praises he heralded to the country.
his is very thin thing. It is fraud
nat soon washes out, and so it did in
ais case. AS q last resort, he enlisted for
ne Customhouse, and is now writing up
nat institution. He has transferred his
6ections from General Dent to Colonel
'asey, and the proof Of his loyalty is
estitied to by the letter which we
ppend. His reward we have already
nnounced. He is the corresponding
lerk OF the Customhouse. He does the
ountry newspaper business Of that granite
and draws his pay from the
States treasury. But it is plainly
vident that his talents are not needed in
'ldaha, else the Herald would not have