The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1875-02-25
THE CAUCUS AND THE COMPROMISE.

| Last evening the Conservative members Of
decided, after hot and exciting debate, which
lasted for hours, by majority Of oae, to &C
cept the Wheeler compromise
| That is brief sentence, easily written, but
it is one which we never expected to be called
upon to write. 1t is a brief sentence but it
is big with meaning, weighty with shame,
pregnant with mischtf
1t declares to the people of the country
that the people Of Louisiana are whipped;
that after all their wonderful and long con
tinued struggle against the Kellogg usurpation
after the sacrifice of vast sums of money, and
what Is above all money value, the sacrifice
of noble lives, after bearing ourselves with
the dignity and manfulness that spring from
rectitude and ksincere convictions, they are
willing to throw up their hands and cry for
mercy from the men who have wronged them
most deeply, to ask and receive as a privilege,
what they should demand as right
This is not true. The people are not
whipped, they are not willing to yield acqui-
escence to the Kellogg usurpation; they will
not do it if forty caucusses meet and deter
mine it must be done. The people are the
power, not the Caucus. Where did the mem
bers OF the Caucus obtain the power to com
promise? Who told them that the people |
were prepared to greet the great criminal and
fraud, Kellogg, as Governor :"
Where did they obtain the information that
the people would condone the crimes Of
Grant and Sheridan in dispensing their Lei is-
lature by their soldiers and bayonets: They
have oyerstepped their power and mistaken
their authority The power that created
hem, the sovereign people, gave them no au-
hority to treat upon matters of compromise
Or to bargain with the emissares of the Gen
eral Government.
Fortunately the people are not dead and
hey will repudiate the unwarranted action of
heir elected Representatives in tones that
an neither be smothered nor disregarded
They will place themselves on record as
eing unalterably opposed to any bargaining
nth the usurpation and as being in no wise :
ound by the acts of men who have, in plain '
isregard of their solemn pledges to support
le platform Of the party, done the very v
ling they were elected not to do.
Who can read the platform adopted at ?
atom Rouge and reconcile the action of the
heeler compromise Herewith? The one .
edges undying hostility to the kellogg usur- 7
stion, the other Joins hands with it roI.sr,- g
riy. o
We ask every member who voted yesterday o
accept the hard and cruel conditions of the al
heller compromise to take copy of the u
atform which he and all of his friends were "
solutely pledged to stand by and support,
ad it carefully and then ask himself if it is u
ssible for him as an honorable man, who d
sires and expects to live here and enjoy the VI
ntidence and respect of his neighbors and p
e community, to enter the Kellogg House vi
d address Hahn as Speaker, and Kellogg as u
)yernor. W
The people have spoken once ON this mat W.
OF promise-spoken so emphatically ~
It they believed no further attempt would
made to go counter to their desires They WI
speak again tomorrow night more i'm
lssively than ever before, and as repre- III
tatives Of the people, we believe the men, 10
$ OF the Caucus will listen and be guided ~
reby The question is so grave and mo- 81
ntous that it rises very far above any per- ~
al considerations ~
he honor and welfare Of the people Of the ''ss
az ~ ct Ia IA |
deeply it is because they have been deep ~
irreparably wronged, insulted and spat ie'
n by Grant and his petty TOOLS and they zen
scientiously believed the acceptance of p,,
compromise would ruin them and dis
e them in the eyes of the whole world the
IL 4