The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1873-05-23
Tne Louisiana Diniculty-Tho Prcsi-
dents clamation-Kcilogs sus-

morning, all doubts are removed as TO his
position and his purposes on this vexed ques-
ton. He sustains the Kellogg State govern
ment and commands certain turbulent and
disorderly persons" who shave combined to-
gether in force with arms to resist the laws and
constituted authorities of said State
''to dispense and retire peaceably to their
| respective abodes within twenty days from this
date and hereafter submit themselves to the
laws and constituted authorities of said State"
or, as he leaves it otherwise very plainly to be
inferred, the military forces of the United
States will disperse them and put them down.
In this proclamation the Presidents consist
ency, ct least, will not be questioned Nor will
it be doubted that to any extent that may be
necessary to enforce the authority of the Kel-
logg government he means to employ the
army and the navy. But he assumes higher
grounds for his consistency for his proclama-
ton. He justifes it as a constitutional duty
from which there is no escape.
He contends that "under pretence that
William p Kellogg, the present Executive of
Louisiana, and the officers associated with him
in the State administration were not duly
elected, certain turbulent and disorderly per-
sons have combined in arms to resist said
State officials, although duly certified by the
proper local authorities, and judicially deter
mined by the inferior and Supreme Courts Of
said State as lawfully entitled to hold their re-
| spective Offices This 'pretence," we appre-
bend, is entertained as an honest conviction
by majority Of the citizens Of Louisiana who
participated in their last November State
election; but we shall return to this
| question presently. The President next
justifes his proclamation upon the ground
that Congress, at its late session, upon due
nized the said Executive (Kellogg) and
his associates, then and now in Office, by
refusing to take any action with respect
thereto;" and upon Ibis plea our national
Executive is strongly entrenched. Towards
the close of the last session Of the Forty
second Congress, which, by its constitutional
limitation, ended on the 4th of March, the
President transmitted several special messages
to the two Houses, and among them were one
urging reconstruction of the organic Terri
torial law of Utah, in order to enable the
United States officials in said Territory to
enforce their authority, and one appealing for
, 2 settlement Of the Louisiana difficulty
In this appeal the President had no special
line of action to suggest. He left the matter
entirely to the discretion of the two Houses
notifying them at the same time however,
that in default of any Legislative action on
their part he should adhere to the Kellogg
government
The two Houses were so embarrassed, be-
logged and demoralized by the pressure upon
them of the Credit Mobilier scandal Sen
atorial election briberies and corrup-
tons, the regular appropriation bills
and various other things, oil crowded
upon the deck at the close of the session,
that the Utah and Louisiana cases were neg
lected. In the Senate, however, by Mr.. Nor
toms special committee on the Louisiana en-
tanglement there was something approaching
at least ga due consideration of the subject. !"
But what were the resultsp One member Of
the committee reported in favor of the Kellogg
government as q choice between two evils;
another member reported in favor of the
McEnery government as entitled to recogni-
ton; another reported in favor of a compro-
mise between the contending parties, and a
fourth member of the committee reported in
favor of the rejection of both Kellogg and
McEnery, and all concerned with them,
and that call be issued for o
new election. Arguments were made in
support Of each Of these propositions, but the
strongest argument of them all was that ex-
posing Judge Durell and his judicial decision
in favor of Kellogg as entitled to no respect
whatever. Confused by these discordant
counsels, and pressed for time in reference to
what were considered more urgent matters,
the Senate cast this Louisiana case aside,
Congress adjourned without action upon it,
and thus it was left subject to the President s
discretion, with the understanding that he
should continue to support the Kellogg State
; government.
The responsibility, then, for the continuance
of the alarming disorders Of Louisiana, with
all their evil consequences belongs to Con-
gress and to the republican majority of the
two houses. This republican majority lacked
the moral courage required to meet this ques-
ton fairly and so they waived it and tacitly
recognized the Kellogg government in leaving
the whole burden upon the Presidents Shout
ders. They could not, perhaps, conscien-
tiously vote to sustain Kellogg, while they
repudiated McEnery; but still they lacked
the courage to adopt even the alternative
Of providing for new election, although
they had thrown out the Presidential vote of
Louisiana, as claimed by the Kellogg
party and the McEnery party, from
the same election as irregular and un-
satisfactory From this rnlinn the settlement