New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1871-07-26

esteemed as virtue since it is merely the
platform of the drone. Certainly that
citizen can not be called public spirited
who refuses to employ his capital,
whether of cash or credit, in works of
material utility. Men who enter this
character must be prepared to accept the
dilapidation tolerated by John Nc
Donogh, rather than the beauty created
by Paul Tulane. Of which class does the
association elect to be considered The
next assumption of the Citizens Associa-
ton is that they are opposed to extrava-
CANT legislation, which involves us in an
other doubt as to what they mean by this
expression, and to what class Of legisla-
ton they object. 1t is difficult to meet
these general issues, and the Association
is old enough to be able to state its OBJ
jective point distinctively and affirmatively.
1t is sufficiently conversant with our pub
lie interests to say what it wants and
what it does not want, and until it does
this, the people can only trust its profess
sions as they have trusted those of other
men, to mean much or little And what
is more, the community has seen so many
of these ephemeral organizations arise in
their midst, and disappear after wordy
planting of promises that never afforded
any harvest of benefits, that the good
which the association might do is already
disputed as possible, because the belief is
current that the members of the associa-
ton will either fail of tenacity, or that
they will allow themselves to be imposed
upon by the very spectators who have
imposed their schemes ofspeculative legis-
lation on other organizations. 1t will
only be swapping one party for another,
and new parties are generally worse than
old ones.
Our objection to the Citizens Associa-
ton is the more emphatic on account of
the uncertainty of the indictment which
it draws against speculative legislation.
The shaft of its inuendo seems to be lev
eled against the Republican party, and
this is what should be made clear. We
do not choose to defend generally, be-
cause that would be to defend the con-
fessedly wildcat transactions of the Dem
ocratic party. But we are prepared now,
as heretofore, to maintain the vital meas
ures of improvement which the Repub-
lican party has inaugurated since it
assumed control of the Legislature. The
line should be distinctly drawn, so as to
show what the Republican party is re-
sponsible for and what it is not. 1t did
not contract any Indebtedness that origi-
mated prior to 1868. The Democracy is
responsible for every obligation, for every
omission of duty, for every stagnation in
our material development that burdened
the State up to the time that Governor
Warmoth was inaugurated, and for much
that has occurred since that event.
Because every act of the State government
which was taken to preserve its peace or
to secure its organization, as against the
justly chargeable to the Democrats. And
much OF the present Indebtedness, about
which the association makes so much
complaint, was contracted in accordance
with the wishes of these citizens them
selves, either to assist in promoting Sc
cession, or to favor the projects of their
own friends. The difference between the
work Of the Republican party and that
which the Citizens Association would do is
Just this, that the former leaves behind it
something to show for the money which it
expends, while the latter would leave what
the Democracy of Slidell left, a system of
expenditures without any corresponding
returns to show for the bonds which it
granted. Every improvement which the
Republican party assisted is now an active
agent in promoting the wealth of the
State, and in most cases they have not
assisted the country directly, but they
have done so indirectly by breaking down
monopolies, which were erected and con-
trolled by Democrats of the same persua-
sion as the Citizens Association. The
difference in travel to Mobile, the superb
ority of the jackson railroad, the change
in the aspect of the levee, the facility of
trade between the country and the bust
ness centre Of the city, the rapidly COM
pleting railroad connection toward Texas,
all owe their existence to the Republican
party, and they owe their only opposition
to these self-same people, who are now
fenced in under the title of Citizens As
ISOLATION And if the State had not been