The Donaldsonville chief., 1871-12-02
War at Our Own Doors.


In addition to the three thousan,
whisky shops and the thirty thousan,
men who live off of them in addition
to the delicate brigade which is to-
respectable to work and too weak t,
rob; in addition to the army of meI
who live off of office or the hope O
office, New Orleans is just now called
upon to support two stalwart prize
fighters and their friends, who have
invaded the community because theil
practices were not endurable in better
ordered communities. We pay hal
a million dollars to support force
organized to suppress disorder, and
here we are called upon to foot the
extraordinary bill that pays for the
fancy living of organized and impu-
dent disorder itself. If two men fight
for reason on the streets, the police
gathers them under its clubs and
marches them to the calaboose, because
to fight is to disturb society and break
the law. And yet two men, capable
of earning an honest and reputable
living, aware of the expense at which
we are placed to prevent lawlessness,
boldly enter in, our midst, engage
whisky shops, faunt the colOrs of the
prize ring and openly advertise that
they intend to violate our laws and
spit upon our regulations at time
and place appointed by themselves.
Right in the face of the entire police
force which costs we'll ON to eight hun
dred thousand dollars per annum,
these two bruisers publish their in
tention to thrash each other, contrary
to every principle of decency, in the
very face OF the law that prohibits such
disorder, and in spite of the police
that is paid to arrest them.
Mace and COburn represent the very
principle that government was framed
to combat. In state of nature two
men might attend and take part, as
animals do; but in the social state
the privilege of fighting was sur
rendered, and penalties were self-im-
posed upon members for any resump-
ton of this barbarous and brutal char
acteristic. Violence is demoralizing
to the community and damaging to
the individual. 1t perverts the mind
that is not strong, and it destroys the
labor that should be proftably en-
ployed for the general good. The
prize fighter is an eye-sore and an
eruption, offensive alike to the sight
and to the feeling. He lives upon the
industry of others, because he pro-
duces nothing; he degrades his
strength and ability, because it is de-
grading to descend even lower than
brutes, that never fight for wages; he
demoralizes humanity, because there
are people who, seeing the blaze. of
the bruiser's name in print, even fall
so low as to envy and TO initiate his
example.
New Orleans, to-day, is thronged
with hundreds of thieves, who are
here in attendance on the fl ght. They
are an additional burden upon the
community, for since they produce
nothing, they must be considered as
consumers only. They steal that up
on which they live, and they steal it
from industry; SO that, although it
may be said they spend money in the
city, it must be considered that they
pilfer it from the city.
: But the worst feature of this entire
proceeding is the crop of evils that it
leaves behind it. We get the re-
proach of the world for tolerating a
brutal and disgusting breach of the
law. Strong-minded criminals are
hardened in their wickedness by the
glamOr which is thrown around this
tolerated crime, and weak minded and
simple folk are taught that there is
species OF Oatlawry that is semi-re-
spectacle. The youth of the city hear
their fathers discuss the merits of the
two law-breakers, and wherever con-
versation is agitated about this fight,
even sensible men refer to it in Ian
guage of consideration. The prize
ring is thus elevated into position of
recognized responsibility by incon-
siderate citizens, and the rising gem
GRAFTON accepts the suggestion that
there is q class of disorders that it is
not degrading to engage in. How,
then, are we to obtain peace, if society
tolerates condition of individual war
fare such as this that Coburn and his
hackers have declared against Mace
and his supporters M o. Repabli-
can.