New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1873-12-07

selves, in neglecting to secure to them
selves a comfortable subsistence. L
they really desire to help end Louis
iana's difficulties, they should come home
and go to work at something useful
TWEED AS a [DEMOCRATIC] ESTATES
MAN"
When this very vulgar villain registered
| himself at a prison as Statesman, we
were inclined to regard it as the last ex-
piring flicker Of a bloated arrogance,
about to be extinguished under the stripes
Of convicted felon. We attributed it to
an improper motive. 1t was the constant
claim of the politician that he had done
no act unworthy of his profession. He
was Stafford going to condign punish
ment for the too faithful devotion to the
interests of himself and of his king.
Tweed insists that his acts are but those
Of which political partisans have been
guilty, and he does not consider he has
forfeited his position because he has been
detected. If we analyze Tweed's reasoning
from his standpoint, there will be some
color of justice in his plea. The party to
which he belongs has long constituted a
political ring Into this ring any would
be admitted who would agree to con-
tribute their political earnings to the COM
mon cause In that ring the abolition
Democrat of Ohio was the peer of the nulli-
ication Democrat of South Carolina, the
Pennsylvania or Louisiana protectionist
took stock with the free trade Albanian.
That sterling Democratic journal, the
Cincinnati Enquirer, thus confesses this
last combination
We don't think that any Democrats ought
to be protectionists, but unfortunately the
whole party in Pennsylvania are such and
always have been. with thousands and tens
of thousands in New Jersey, New York,
Ohio, New England, and other States. We
don't think it would be exactly expedient
to read out of our party the whole organiza-
ton in Pennsylvania.
In like manner he who refused to allow
a navigable water within his State to be
deepened at federal expense, gave an ar
dent support to the statesmen from Mich
igan or from New York, who improved
harbors or built roads from that liberal
fund. Most astounding of all: The states
men of the South who believed in the
right of peaceful withdrawal from the
Union, had been hand in glove with those
who afterward gave their sons and sub
stance ''to crush out the rebellion" They
were seen dragging their conquered allies
back into the Union. They claimed their
votes as spoils, and very soon they were
both as thick as they had ever been be-
fore. The Democrats of the New York
World and Mr.. Democrat Wood, who, we
think, fitted out regiment or battery
against the South at his own expense, seems
to claim the Southern Democratic vote
by right of conquest, and the claim has
been ''duer paid than the Turks tribute"
The GROWING act of craftsmanship,
was, however, the celebrated Greeley
combination. In this all these differ
ences of principles were sunk in a parti-
ton Of spoils-to be captured. There
was reproduction of this same combina-
ton at the minor theatre of Louisiana
The Democratic reformers coalesced with
the alleged author of debt and corruption
for similar prospective partition, which
has resulted in similar delusion. Now,
such fragrant dereliction of principle for
the sake of money and Office, was i'm
pressed by the Democratic press and
orators as the highest perfection of states
Men who claimed that such
an alliance was destructive alike to good
morals and political entity, were, in Ken
lucky and Louisiana, driven to the wall,
as traitors and disorganizers. Democrats
attempting to send delegates to the Dem
ocratic convention at Louisville were
disturbed at one of their meet
ings in New Orleans.
Here was the analogy which brought
Tweed under the bars and stripes of the
State prison. He saw men combine with |
their opponents for Office. He brought
about similar combination by buying the
votes Of Democrat and Republican at AL
oany. He saw the credentials of tarifists,
war Democrats, aboitionists, State rights |
md free traders, all audited and passed BY |
'he Democratic convention. 1t naturally |
occurred to him that an auditing board |
Gould do the same for the bogus bill of
or carpet dealer, and that if the |
political auditors who passed the Greeley |
md Warmoth men into a convention were |
o be paid for SO doing with.a percentage
# the patronage which should accrue
rom their successful manipulation of
hese enterprises, supposed it would be
'qually the work Of the Statesman" to Sc
ure the appointment of board of audit
or the city of New York and receive
wenty-four per cent of the claims allowed
y those agents
In the Greeley combination the spoils
we're apportioned by contract, and the
omparatlve' percentage of the parties is
ot known. In the Warmoth fusion the
Democrats claimed about fifty per cent.
With such eminent examples of Estates
Tweed must have been aston
she'd and indignant when arrested, con-
icted and clad in the robe worn by the
,naves that the people delight to is
onor. To this day he sees nothing in
is own conduct inconsistent with high
tandard of craftsmanship, which con-
called from the people an illicit combina-