The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1874-11-01

eI furnish him with all noce0S8f1eS OelOIe Nc -
h Are such men, women and boys to be forg'
ten7 Let those who survive them see that
hair falls from their heads unremembered
,e earth.
k HOW THE SOUTH Is FLEECEB.
70 The temporary overthrow Of the Kello!
o Government in New Orleans may be credit
with at least one good result. It has had Il
is effect of directing the attention Of the who
e nation to the condition Of the South. II
e public demand for fuller information on
o affairs than has hitherto found its way in
}, Northern journals has been promptly +
It sponded to, and We are gradually getting
o clearer idea Of the evils affecting some of IL
s Southern States, and of the men who are n
= lsponsible for them. BY the time Congres
: meets, the public will have received much in
, portant information on many points which
r is highly desirable should be clearly apprt
f hended, for it requires no prophetic gift to Sc
: that Southern affairs will largely occupy tn
attention of Congress at its next session
, The Democratic papers, North and South
, have urged again and again that the Demo
cratic party in Louisiana was held helplessl
under the military heel of the Federal Gov
eminent, passive and powerless spectators o
substance. There was enough of truth il
these charges to give them weight with fair
minded men of both parties in the North
there was enough to impress them with the
fact that gross injustice was being done to the
State of Louisiana; and public sentiment hac
reached that stage of concentration and de-
csion which precedes and effects q very
thorough reform when the White League
revolt startled the country. The food
of light which this event has been the
means of letting into the secret history of the
State, has revealed some things not at all in
accordance with many of the ideas previously
entertained here. They are not it is true
likely to present the " carpet-bagge,s under
better aspect than before but they exhibit
the leaders of the "down-trodden Democ-
racy," in an attitude which enables us to get
n much better idea Of the way the State has
been robbed than any mere partisan exposures
could do.
The history of The Louisiana Levee Com
pany is a simple one. Some time in 1870 a
number of patriots, seeing that the State
levees were in q ruinous condition, drew up
bill in which they were incorporated under
the title just mentioned. The bill gave ITEM
exclusive control of the construction and re-
pair of all the leyees in the State, and they
were to be paid at the rate OF sixty cents a
cubic yard for all work done. But as the
company contracted to do SO much work an
nually, lump sum Of 100000 was to be
paid yearly tor twenty-One years, the amount
to be raised by an annual tax of four mills on
all the taxable property of the State. The
provisions Of the bill we're drawn up in an OBJ
scure and roundabout way, except those
Which related to the payments to be made
to the company These were strikingy
specific and exact The bill being passed.
the political ring who had projected the
scheme sold the franchise to another set no
better than themselves, but who had little
ready cash in hand. just enough pretense OF
carrying on the work was made by the COM
pany to enable it to demand its money of
the State; but. the levees were scarcely
the better for its operations, and totally |
Intellectual against q rise of the river
This the company was well aware Of |
SO when it became known that disastrous
rise OF the Mississippi might be expected. an |
little bill was rushed through the |
Legislature and subsequently signed by Gov. |
Kellogg without attracting much attention. |
of people who had been impover
lshed by them turned to the Levee Company
for damages, it was discovered that the little
bill had repealed that clause of the companys
charter which made it liable for losses caused
oy its neglect The consideration for this ex
emptlon was reduction of ten cents per cubic
gard on the price of the work, but as this still
eft the company fifty cents per cubic ward
while the average cost of the work is be-
ween twenty-five and thirty-three cents
will be seen that the company could well
'fford to make the sacrifice. The books of
he State Auditor show that the Louisiana
Aevee Company has received OF the public
unds since 1872, total sum of 81, $3.50. 400:
directors ella |
more, asserting that they have paid this
mount out Of their own pockets As q
natter of fact, the work done is not, accord
ag to the best engineering estimates, more
nan one-thlrd what the company is bound to
% by the terms Of its charter.
With this explanation an idea Of the charac-
er and magnitude OF the fraud may be gained.
he question will naturally be asked what
arty and what men are responsible for it, S
luckily, the official records are on hand to {
nswer. 1t appears that the bill was originally {
rejected by combination Of Republican I
nd Democratic politicians, and that they sold II
ut to another combination of precisely SINH c
II makeup. {
The President of the company is "Hon" c
Ohm Henderson, rich and prominent Demo- ! I
TAT OF New Orleans, and the Vice President | I
no less person than Mr.. Duncan F. Ken |
er, the Chairman of the Democratic Con-
renee Committee. So here We have two f
rominent leaders Of the down-trodden and !! 4
esplsed Democracy. as the principal officers II
as gross scheme OF robbery as ever Tweed n
vented, and one which has helped to burden c
|! e unfortunate State with the principal load n
Its debt Next to these bright lights appear 0
directors, Hon. James Casey, slightly T
1o~n TO the country as the Collector of the S
ort at New Orleans, and Mr.. Felix Herw;o 4
S deputy, a gentleman not SO widely known E
1t who appears to be quite worthy of his c
incipaL q
1t may be objected that the Democrats are s
mpiy set Of rascals brought uppermost by a
g disorders Of the times, aud no more
listed by the masses OF their party than the d
1mmany Republicans were in this city. The N
,]ectlon would be valid were it not for the v
fortunate circumstance that Mr. Vice Presi- C
az henner was voluntarily chosen by bis b
.rty as the Chairman OF their Corfarona :;
'mmittee after the popular uprising against o
sLogg. What confidence would the Com. 70