New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-08-01

l
Picay4ne we hasten to announce, upon
the authority of that paper, the action OF
the Committee Of Seventy at its late meet
ing:
The committee passed resolutions urging
| the Democratic State Committee TO WIN
draw it's address already issued, and JOIN
in a call for general peoples convention,
comprising all the elements opposed TO
Radicalism. to assemble at Baton Rouge
instead of New Orleans.
The resolutions provide that the name
and policy Of the party growing out OF thls
convention shall be decided at lts session.
and that in all essential respects oid issues,
| party platforms and private interests shall
be for this occasion laid aside.
This repudiates the demand OF the
Democratic Central Committee that the
White Leaguers and others shall abandon
their organization and return to their
Democratic allegiance. 1t also disavows
the programme of the White League, that
none but white men should vote or be
voted for, and that employers should dis
criminate against people Of color. 1t pro-
poses AN organization on the basis OF a
peoples party, and comedies that this
convention should be held at Baton
Rouge.
There must have been something pre-
mature in the expectation of the Bee that
Mr.. Mari would unite all conservative
elements under "the grand Democratic
banner" Mr.. Mari had telegraphed Mr..
McEnery that the Democratic Central
and Committee of Seventy would meet on
Thursday to deliberate, and Mr.. McEnery
replied that he would abide by the decis-
ion of the Dsmocr attic committee as the
head of the party. We do not infer from
the report of the Picayune that these two
committees went into joint session, and
| so can not tell whether the White Leaguers
| will disband under the advice of the Com
mittee Of Seventy or not. 1t is significant
that Mr.. Mari should have named those
resolutions, when be had been regarded
as insisisting upon Democratic organiza-.
ton.
Whether we are to have peoples
party, which shall succeed to both the
Democratic and White League parties can
not be told until they shall have done
contradicting or correcting the Picayune,
as has been q not uncommon case with
some most startling discoveries of our
enterprising contemporary. But we will
assume for twenty-four hours that the
advice of the Committee of Seventy has
been accepted by agreement. That all
old issues, party platforms and private
interests shall be laid aside for the reform
of the political system of the State.
We derive great encouragement from
this programme. The Committee OF
Seventy, whether so called from the num-
Der of its members, or that they are gen.
orally septuagenarians, is entitled to great
respect They are men of peace and
order They are property holders, heads
Of business houses, officers in trust of
foreign capital, men who have deep
interest in the order and industry, in the
crops and credit of the State. They were
hostile to an antecedent condition o
things under which the debt of the State
mounted to more than forty millions, and
it's taxes to five or six per cent. They
apprehended from the election of Gov
ernor Kellogg continuation OF the
same abuses which had compelled
the Republican party to withdraw its
confidence from former leaders The
Committee of Seventy spent large
sums of money, and made great efforts to
defeat the installation Of Governor Kel-
logg, but has,found Congress indisposed
to overthrow government upon the COM
plant of defeated minority. This COM
mittee, moreover, sees that the White
League has already demonstrated itself to
be but Ku-Klux unmasked. They see
that already has the organization fallen
into the hands of men who can not be
controlled. They see that the inevitable
violence of this movement must bring
about the armed occupation of Louisiana,
and that this can not possibly rebound to
any material interest which the Commit
tee of Seventy represents.
With regard to the Democratic party
the committee sees that it is etfete,
unpopular and without principle. The
Committee of Seventy sees that the
administration of Governor Kellogg
has effected great retrenchment; that
the Republican Attorney General has
arrested great expenditure; that the Re-
publican newspapers have denounced the
obnoxious practices Of the past, and dis
carded and turned over to the Fusionists
the chiefs who perpetrated these practices.
In the words of the Baton Rouge Repub-
licans, ''the Republican party of Louisiana
has greatly suffered from the malfeasance,
corruption and impurity of former ad-
ministrations, both in the executive, ju-
dicial and legislative departments, and
is determined to make s'unceasing efforts
to preserve our State from the plumber
Of corrupt spectators.
From this spiritualistic Interpretation
of the debate and action Of the Committee
of Seventy we infer that they are conser-
vatives who have at heart the commercial
peace Of this city. Seeing no question Of
principle at stake, they are disposed to
discard the dangerous plans of the White
League, the Jarndyce controversy Of the
Democracy, and support honest and inteli-