The Opelousas courier. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1852-1910, 1873-02-22
Stealing as . zine Art i'm Con-
gress.
EFrom the N. o. Pieayune.l

LC1oAA lAG 1ss&0s EiGtty HuG
This conntry is now experiencing the
results OF our recens civil war, i'm the
constant exposure OF politicians who
rose to notice by pandering to the ex-
citement of the hour, who dealt in cor
ruption and fraud as business, who
had no ability for honest Legislation or
any true sense of honor or maliliness.
Men of this character have undeniabiy
foisted themselves into Congress, State
Legislatures, financial business, and
every species of fidnciary trusts tosucl
an extent that the national spirit is de-
moralized, and the people laugh at an
act us SMART and esteem q rascality
sscnnning'' which, before the war,
would have placed the perpetrators in
prison, OF banished them from the soci-
ETY. of honest men.
Fortunately for a nations safety, q
time of reaction does come, when the
common sense of the masses begins TO
realize that the basis of business isstrnst
in the faith of contracts, and belief in
the yeracity of each other. It appears
to Us, that just now we arei in the iuitia-
tire Of such q change; those Senators
and Representatives who were brought
from the bottom to the top by the polit-
ical questions TINT caused our war, or
who, at its close, exiled the Southern
States from the Capitol until they or
ganized their rule Of plumber and pill
lage by means of tile vilest expedients,
arc now on trial before the nation, with
some prospect of mt least moral judg-
lnentI and banishment from future office
holding. The s.Mobilier'' exposures,
Pomeroy and Caldwell Senatorial hri-.
berries Patterson, of Pennsylvania,
buying his Senatorsllip in South Caro-
lima; the election iniquiGies and frauds
of this State; the extensive Custom
House cheating by firms of the highest
standing in the North. the Tweed trial,
and numerous other corrnptions, from
the pilfering of hundreds totheabstrac-
tion Of millions, are all indications of
what's beneath. AheaIthy body poll
tic would no more suffer from such
sores and cancers, than the human body
when the blood is pure and the consti-
tuition sound and purgatian and tonics
areas much needed for the cure and
health of the first, Us the restoration of
the last.
The newspaper press OF the country,
with rare exceptions, is now attending
tn tile health of the patient, and chron-
icles daily the course Of disease. This
same press had also much to do in
elevating some ofthose men to opositicn
and power; but MS they made, SO they
can unmake, and the downfall Of some
popular idol is not far off In the light
sof these discoveries of past and present
rascality, and of more and more to
come, as we fully expect, there lies the
only hope of this community. The
whole atmosphere 0f business must be
purified throughout the country before
we can hope Tor 4 proper recognition
of our trtis position, and the privilege
of self government, BY Selecting honest
officers iii All its departments.
We have no belief tllat the end Of
x Congress, next March, will closs the
progress of investigation, unless tile
guilty escape under cover Of some for
eign disturbance diyerting attention
from the subject; and we are IN nd
means certain that these Identical
sconndreis are not Fastening such D.
colsumation If they are, 1t belaooyes
the press and honest men to make quick
work, aud finish with them before they
escape.
gT 6. T,eFeriet, Esq. /, one ofthe best
and YealtIliest citizens BIZ New Orleans,
has presented Il memorial to the Legis-
lature through Hon T b. Mortee, of St.
Tammany. charging JnaEiees Labelling,
Howell and Taliaferr0 fthe louisiana
Supreme Court, with high 'crimes and
nisdemeanors, and pra ring TOR their
impeachment. The memorial vas re-