New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1872-07-25
HOW TO SAVE LOUISIANA.

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1t is a mistake to suppose that the evils
with which the people of this State have
to contend spring from political abuses
The idea that they do is one of the fctions
invented by seedy ''outS" who want to be-
come Gins" Every mans fortune de-
ponds upon his own exertions, and the only
way a good State government could
''redeem Louisiana" would be to set the
loafng Democracy and vagabonds of all
kinds to some steady and useful labor
We have had for the past four years as
good a government as any State was ever
blessed with The only fault we can find
with it is that it has been rather expensive
Some of its legislative employees tried to
raise their pay, and succeeded in making
their fellow members dissatisfied We
now see most Of those who were to blame
for this expense running for Office either
on the McEnery or Kellogg ticket. But
an expensive government is not necessa-
rily a bad one. Economy is doubtless a
fine thing, but there is deal of hypocrisy
displayed about it on occasion. We
can not "save the State" by econ
omy or honesty. And if we could
we should never go to those who
write their own certificates Of character
for these virtues. If the State is about to
be lost, which, of course it is not, it is
because not more than one-ffth Of the
arabic land is in cultivation. Not more
than two-thirds of the population follow
any honest or useful calling. The rest
are drones and dependents upon the
bounty Of others, social mendicants, who
eat away more of the substance of their
more thrifty friends i'll one month than is
paid for taxes in a year. If we can set
this army of consumers to work the State
can take care Of itself. But the mainten-
ance of 100000 men in complete idIeness
is too heavy a tax.
Now, will the Democracy agree to make
such regulations as will utilize and
economic the forces of the State? When
it finds man itinerating with a long face,
and trying to palm off story of what he
''has been" for temporary gain, will such a
man be set to work =? Will they abolish
all pretences Of any kind, place all man
kind on one common footing, and let each
scratch for himself, with the understand
ing that the devil will surely catch those
that fall behind? Or will McEnery, when
he comes to represent the State, cuddle
the idlers, especially if friends or the
relatives of friends, in his arms, and sup
port them at the public expense.
When the Almighty imposed the curse
upon Adams race in the garden of Eden
He mercifully tempered the severity of the
sentence with the permission to work for
a living. Had He imposed idIeness in ad-
dition to the loss of favor, Eden would
have been as completely 'ruined" as Lou
isiana is now, and for the same reason.
But He had not concluded to destroy the
human race at that time. That pretended
lunatic. George Francis Train, when he
was down here picking up nickels for
street preaching, told the people that one
way to prosper was to gather up the Ioafers
that rally around our corner rum mills,
and set them to work. Train is right.
The laws of the Radical Legislature, the
heavy expenses of the State, the high rate
of taxation, the heavy stabs at the State
treasury, though regarded by many with
disfavor, had no more to do with the ruin
of Louisiana than the fugitive slave law
had with Jacob Bankers bankruptcy
And it is the sheerest hypocrisy and
fraud to attribute to Republican State
administration the faults that arise from
the proyerbial shiftlessness of the people.
We have more politicians than field hands.
More office seekers than Offices, and more
Of the latter than workshops and factories.
The best law that ever was made will not
raise a stalk of cotton, or make a boot
And until the people can live on senti-
ment, breakfast on ''respec liability" dine
on 'shigh tone" and cIothe themselves
with fine figures Of speech, they must have
cotton, corn, pork, boots and blankets
If some Of our Democratic talking ma
chimes can do something to utilize their
promises, they may then ask for their re-
ward. But Louisiana can not have her
distresses relieved by gas.