New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-03-07

Masses Cheated IheWseNes "edn
Purposes of the Democratic Party
Folly of the Republican Party.
What have to say in this chapter will
he brief. involving a few plain facts which
need to be recorded only as landmarks of
warning to the future-tacts that may be
said to be stranger than fiction. and there
fore not without some romance.
The disorganization of the Democratic
party was complete at this time-immedl
ately pending the campaign of lS72-and
its decentralization strikingly manifest. The
few Democratic members who had been re-
turned to the Legislature-Inostly through
the trading process OF Governor WarmOth
as the head Of the State returning board
had, of course, sold themselves to him
during the term then drawing to close; or
if they had not sold themselves to War
moth in any special or specific way, at least
had in one way or another become thor
Oughly identified with some, if not many,
of the numerous and diversified and gigan-
tic schemes of plumber and thievery for
which the administration OF Governor W ar
meth had becom noted. and Tor which 1t is
still remembered with emotions of relief
founded only in the thought and prayer
full hope that it's like may never
again be equaled on earth. And the
bad record OF these demOraliZed Demo-
cratic members, who had run before
the people as candidates pledged to re-
trenchment and reform-pledged to better
order of things, and indeed claiming to be-
long to better and purer style of life than
is known OF ordained to ordinary human
ity-ot course tended to upset and discOm-
mode the oldest and best at home,
throughout the State. The cat was thus let
out of the meal tub, and the masses were
thus left to see what all well informed men
already knew, that the Democratic slogan
of economy and reform, and extra love OF
the dear people, were ali tallaclous, mere
buncombe-in tact huge lie, under cover
of which it was hoped to steal on to power
and plunder. This was all made plainly
and answerably apparent.
Still the brazen Democracy continued to
hope to deceive, and plans to this end were
openly and most impudently at once lnstl-
tuted and attempted to be organized and
put into practice, sin the name OF the dear
people." And to the shame Of the people
the more intelligent and educated portion
of the people-that is, almost the entire
white pOpulation-showed disposition to
lend their consent, ii not their heartfelt
appreciation.
The main plan was to give up the organl-
cation OF the Democratic party in toto, and
adopt some plan to disorganize the Repub-
Iican party. To this end, public meetings
were called, :'in the name OF the people,
and irrespective OF party" on which Oc'
casiOns, however, some played-out fossil
demagOgues of the demOralized and dlsOr-
ganized Democracy, with a few aspiring
scons of the cock-sparrOw teather-wlths
out record and without merlt-were always
on hand to control matters, and give the
"proceedings' turn with view to the
main chance-the said main chance always
being with them simply and solely the ace
quisition of power and place. with view
to plumber.
We had several of these gatherings IN
Homer. They were very funny. l attended
some of them at the start, to sJe tor my sell
whether there was in deed and IN truth any
purpose OF good in the camps of the Moabs-
any truth in the dispersed tribes Of the de-
scendants of Can-and whether any good
could possibly come out of the fragments of
this political Nazareth. | soon found to my
real SORROW that there was no good at all
in the count; for although the avowed pur'
pose was to do something "ln the name OF
the people" tor the common good, ready
willingness was manifest, and openly
manifested, to fraternize with and put tor.
ward none but those Of the flock OF the
fallen Democratic household of faith. of
however rotten record, and at the same
time rule out and meanly prescribe and at
once ostracise every Republican, regardless
of record and antecedents. ltmattered not
if his whole life, both public and private,
had been devoted to the plain rights OF the
people, and to the protection OF the most
sacred privileges OF the entire State and
country; if he was in politics called he.
publican, he was at once ignored in this
pretended move in behalf OF the common
veal, thus proving the whole thing to be
spurious and hypocritical-a mere rotten
plea, under the false slogan Of which rotten
and.false spoil-seekers vainiy, but none the
less meanly, hoped to glut themselves.
And right here the masses OF the white
people proved false to themselves. They
could not in the main have failed to see
this mean and hypocritical purpose OF their
false and rotten leaders; they could not
the coed OF the whole, but only the corrupt
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT of the corrupt few-and yet
they acquiesced in the baseBess, and gave the
cold shoulder to those whom they we'll knew
to be honest and to have a sincere, honest
purpose for the real good of the whole people.
And this is the great sin of our country
the iamentable cause OF all our social and
political woe and financial ruin; the lack OF
moral nerve, of personal and individual
moral stamina; the lack of that great and
redeeming principle in the human compost
ton, and which every American citizen
especially should possess in the largest de-
greenwich enables man, under the most
trying circumstances. to do right for the
sole sake of righteousness. Did every
American citizen possess this redeemlng
and God descended trait or attribute,
we should at once have country and
government second only to the paradise of
God in the realms of bliss.
Hence. l say the people at large-the
white masses of our country who are com
paratively well educated and well informed.
and who are in the main. by instinct and
natural choice, honest-I say they are
greatly to blame for the political and social
woe anu chaotic misrule under which our
State has langushed and pinned in the recent
past, and from the blighting and incubus
influences of which it is not yet altogether
relieved, because these naturally honest
and comparatively well informed white
masses could if they would hold in check
their vicious and corrupt and unconscion-
able leaders. or rule them forever into that
silence of contempt which they SO much
deserve.
But so it was; the programme went on in
the interest of designing and evilminded
politicians pending the campaign of 1872;
and what was the more shameful and
shameless, this was all under the hypocriti-
cal and insulting plea of doing something
for the general good of the whole people.
There never was, and may never be in the
future, more favorable occasion for the
combination of all the best material in the
body polite of the country for the common
veal, than presented itself pending the
campaign of lS72-a more favorable oppor
tunity for all the well meaning elements of
the country to combine in the formation of
an honest and capable State ticket; and the
sin of this failure lies mainly, if not solely,
at the door of the leading Democratic poll
ticians of the State. Their action in this
respect shows unanswerably that the love
of spoils and hope of individual aggrandize
ment constitute their chief object and aim,
and not the common good of the whole, as
they constantly and most hypocritically pre-
tapS