The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1874-11-18
OUR COURSE.

deemed and regenerated, and our Ra:
pides is part and parcel of these glo-
ries, We hope and trust our people,
our newly elected rulers will at once
commence posting up the books and
have the profit and loss sheet all
ready and in working order. 1t is
true, it is happily true that our home
standards have been crowded with
victorious laurels, justly and fairly
won, it is more than true, historically
true, that the victory graced banners
of the unsubdued Democracy are now
waving in triumph "o'er the land of
the free, and the home fthe brave"
and far more justly and aptly true
that we have been feasting in this
carnival Of victory, luxuriating over
our we'll earned and triumphant
rights, won at the ballot box, but we
should now pause, ponder and regu-
late things accordingly. All now de-
ponds on our future acts, all on the
sacred performance of equally sacred
pledges, and all on our promised and
much preached reform. To the vic
tors belong the spoils, and thus be-
lieving the Augean stable of Radical
ism must be purged and cleansed,
and then we commence the dawn of
our renaissance.
First and foremost here in Louisi-
ana, in Rapides, we must not forget
our allies of the colored race, but
make the graceful and truthful ac-
acknowledgement that to them and
their votes in our behalf, we owe
thanks for our recent victory, our re-
cent home success. Believing that
our people are cognizant of this i'm
portant fact, and are never backwards
in acknowledging favors for favors
fairly rendered, in their name and in
their behalf we take the responsible
ty of here returning and recording
these thanks to the colored people of
Rapides, who amidst the greatest of
threats and "curses dire from those
who had for seven long years ruled
them with rod of iron, needed not
these radical curses but nobly came
to our assistance and helped us to
elect gentlemen to the various offices
for which we had nominated them.
We have the next lower branch of
our Legislature by large and deci-
ded majority, and therefore must go
to work at once with the pruning
knife ofreform and retrenchment, and
not for a moment hesitate to repeal
some of the most prominent, extrava-
CANT and infamous Acts of Louisiana
radicalism, under which we have
groaned and suffered, and our perse-
cutors thereby have crowned rich.-
Without going too far into speciali-
ties, and certainly in no spirit of die
tation, we will just now mention three
laws of radicalism, (which now dis
grace our Statutes, which are use
less, and Of whose fraudulent extrav-
agance we have but too strong proofs,
and which if repealed will serve our
State annually over half million of
dollars, and we repeat should be re-
pealed on the very first day of the
next session Of the newly elected
Legislature. We mean and are aim
ing at the Printing Bill, the Registra-
ton Bill and the State Tax Collec-
tors Bill. The two first are useless,
Infamous and radically extravagant,
and a simple repeal will be blessing,
a monied blessing. AS for the latter
repeal it, and let the Sheriff, as of
old, be ex-officio collector, and reduce
his commissions exactly fifty per
cent. AS we have stated without go
ing into specialities, we think these
three radical bagatezles properly at
tended and at once as we have desig-
mated, will be good beginning and
an earnest first step to reform. Who
will be the honored ones to start the
ball on the opening of the House p
Can't we take the honored response
bility to state and pledge that our
three Representatives, Stafford, JEFF
fries and Luckett will take up the
matter and dig at once to the very
roots of the accursed evils we have
alluded to? We really think so, and
so thinking, we hereby pledge them
in the name of their nearly withered
constituency, as the pioneer cham
pions in the consummation of our
most devout and urgent wants and
wishes.
GONG HoME.-Snow, his cavalry
and his sneak-spy, Henry HUE, are