New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-04-24

! We hope some of our local journals, who
grace and discredit upon this city and State
by publishing exag gerated views Of political
matters, will .endeavor to make come
amends by answering the following severe
article from the New York Times. When
| we come to that stage that even friendly
neighbors speak i'll of US we have but one
| Of two courses to take, either to reform
suddenly and truly, or say we don't care
what people think of us and give up all
hope of trying to be good:
| CIVILIZATION IN NEW ORLEANS.
! To those who believe. with us that duel
| ing is not only a crime against the laws, but
| an outrage on civilization, it is dishearten-
| ing to find that there is one section of the
| country where it is still as firmly intrenched
as ever in public opinion. Elsewhere it
sometimes occurs that duelists are not at
| all. or only inadequately punished. But
where there is not a show at least Of en-
forcing the law, public opinion for the most
part prOnounces strongly and openly
against practice which, if too often toll
Grated, is no longer approved. In New Or
leans the duelist appears to reign as firmly
as in the days when men murdered their
dearest friends before breakfast for joke,
and when not to have fought at least one
duel was to be decidly maurois ton. Nothing
could be more painfully significant than the
fact than in the two fatal dueIs recently
fought near the Crescent City two Of the
four principals were lawyers and the third
an editor. That is to say, three of the four
were men most concerned by every obliga-
ton, professional and moral, to uphold the
law they have thus been foremost i'll tramp
ling under foot.
The encounter on the fourth Of April, in
which Mr.. Alfred Il. Phillips, an attorney
at law, put bullet through the head Of
Mr.. Aristide Bienvenu, a stock broker, at
Bay st. Louis, had even silier and more
unworthy origin than is usual in affairs of
honor Mr.. Bienvenu had been sued for
payment Of millinery bill, and Mr.. Phil
lips was plaintiffs counsel. At the close of
tho trial, Mrs. Biepvenu appears to have
forgotten herself SO far as to address un-
complimentary remarks to Mr.. Phillips.
The latter contented himself with observ-
ing that he would require her. husband to
restrain such exhibitions Of temper, and
did SO insist upon meeting Mr.. Bienvenu a
moment after. But that gentleman not
only accepted his wife's opinions as his
own, but added still more untiattering COM
mentares, whereupOn the indignant lawyer
knocked him down, and next morning had
the still further and peculiarly legal salts
faction OF blowing MS Drains OUT.
The details of the combat make us doubt |
if New Orleans is really a Christian COM
munity in the last quarter of the nine
teenth century. The weapons chosen were |
double barreled shOtgtns, and numerous |
company attended the cOmbatants to the !
field, among them Bienvenu's brother. |
While the preliminaries were arranging, |
1.-THE spectators broke into groups, or |
lounged about under the trees" consider |
%1x.,p ITnv,
venu was shot dead at the first fire, and
"his brother appeared to be greatly affect
ed and burst into tears" The rest OF the |
company must have regarded him with |
unusual curiosity. To them j. was simply |
a spectacle that was over, and the most |
important thing was to catch the next
train. As an evidence that the ill-breeding
of emotion was exceptional, we read that
Mr.. Phillips and his seconds before retiring
the usual civlites and express
sons of regret" and then the dead man
and the slayer went quietly back to the
city by the same train.
Horrible as the whole proceeding was,
there is something almost grotesque in its
incidents. The uncouth and barbarous
weapons, the interested crowd, the weeping
brother, the exchange of civilities, most of
all the strongly asserted companionship on
the return trip, give this duel flavor of
simple savagery which is quite unique. The
duel of former times. the duel which civil
zation has rendered almost obsolete, was at
east not matter of public exhibition, and
the duelist who had slain his man paid law
1t least the homage of pretending to run
away But the New Orleans duelisJ knows
10 such weakness. He goes to the ground
attended by half the town, and, alter doing
lis little job of murder to universal satisfac-
ion, washes his hands, goes quietly back to
lis office, and sits down to his business. If
has is civilization, where shall We look for
)afbarism
The worst of it is that it is not clear where
hese things will end. Phillips plainly can
lot be punished in community which
nade no attempt to punish Rhett, and the
scape of Phillips will be an additional
precedent for a renewal of his crime. We
public opinion in New Orleans
N the prospect before it.