The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1875-02-23
OUR PUBLIC MEN AND COMPROMISE

died the great Louisiana problem boldly an
skillfully, but their public men, now that III
campaigning is over, seem to have ignored 0
forgotten the essential theory Of original &C
ton and are blundering along after the accom-
plishment Of something never contemplated
. by their constituents, and the unknown
quality or quantity OF which is to the latter
source Of the deepest anxiety.
have Just been reading the letter Of Mr.
Iaelarie, published il the New York Haa,
Of the 18th, and am surprised T. tind that Il,
too seems me .pable of treating tie Lousi4n;
question fairly and in strict accordance witt
the theory winch impelled the whole Conser
yatiye people Of tile State to united ana sue
cessiul action il Tie last election.
Ia the last paragraph Of his letter Mr.
/ac5are says
"To relieve themselves from this situation
Of desperation our best citizens. through Their
representatives., have sought every means OF
honorable adjustment without the sacrifice Of
principle
/ deny this proposition IL toD. The
people, at tho election last fall, chose a
| set Of Representatives and Senators, who,
within their legitimate ana defined spheres
were to carry out the public will by all legiti-
mate means towards rcdrcssin9 their wrongs
| and preventing the inliiction of further evil
| But they never have clothed those Represent
/ tatiyeS and Senators with the extraordinary
| power e make any q adjustment with Fede-
| ral or de ftrio State authorities They eX-
plcted III adjustment Of their troubles 10
come through their own legitimate and in
Eerent power, as erted lnantully at the ballot
box
Up to this moment no. one parish in this
State, through any public meeting has
clothed any Representative OF Senator with
the least power to wander from his true
sphere and undertake the work Of bargaining
and adjusting with members of Congress
And yet we witness to-day the extraordinary
and the astonishing spectacle Of the State
Of Louisiana represented in Wash
ington by so-ca.!ed Conservative Com
mittee, arranging and adjusting" with
ont the shadow Of authority from the
people who COZ stitute tie State.
When we inquire for the source Of the
power this committee seem to be welding
We are told that it is the conservative eau
cns, or the Representatives and Senator's
elected by the people tor other and specific
purposes. In other words, our pubic ser
wants usurp authority. and then announce in
the public prints OF the North, lar away from
home, that = our best citizens, through their
representatives have sought every means OF
honorable adjustment" and yet '.our best
citizens have done nothing Of the sort.
Again, Mr. Ilcharie says
. The counter proposition made by them
lthe Representatives > has the sanction Of
The true people Of Louisiana, etc. How does
Mr.. Ilcharie know this? On what OCCASION
III any parish OF the State, has lie heard OF
the true people" or the people at all, ex- |
pressing their views on this subject? On the |
contrary does he not know that the people
have publicly expressed no opinion, and That
the general private expression is absolutely |
adverse to the 'counter-prOposltion = Just /
as surely rs Dir. Itcharie is III Washington,
this much represented people are hourly
ance between the Wheeler and the "counter
is Just about the difference be-
tive II tWcedlc-luTn and tWeedle-de".
Indeed, there are not few who rather
deem the Wheeler the better Of The two, as Il
from the other side, while the
J. counter cmauates from the - Conserva-
tive Caucus, and being intrlnsically as bad
is the Wheeler il in reality worse for rs.
But, at the same time that Mr.. Ilcharie
asserts that th, "counter-proposition has
the sanction OF the ''uue people OF Iousi-
ana, he goes on to say; And While it con-
tains a forced acquiaacence in the existing
government SO long rs supported by the
President, and pledge not to disturb ii
for past political action, would leave them
free to reap the fruits OF the election OF
1871 by conservative organization n
tonp OF the House, and to punish crime and
)tlln against the State, although the
offender might be the head OF the State.
Now it is ust this "torced acqulescence
Which the "true people OF Louisiana re- (
gard as IN extraordinary proposition to ,
4 Il .
,c now 50 zaalou>ly supported by the Con ]
ervatiyc Committee " in Washington. For
ears we have been under this forced acqu- !
we Were under 1t when the caucus
made Its countcr-proposltlOn and we are :
lnder it still. What is the attitude, then,
II which the people OF Louisiana are
placed before the country by the
aucus and the Washington committee |
Why that Of proposing to General Grant l
hat We will DO what he has been forcing
5 to do for more than two years, if he Will '
MY permit Us to have a majority in the
louise point nit ~ IRON tqi,}j NJ TN bajiot- :
VI atd orer ,rLict ~ hay 10 eutbiy control SIRE
tFo0gb He Wt3W um arbi'tnhy use W ne c
ayoHd. Or worse yet, when Gen. Grant APP +
lied the bayonet to the House our repre-. |
entatiyeS left in n body as became men: now G
e crawl back, kiss the rod that smote us |
nd propose to emasculate ourselves mt his a
God will
The people gained through the ballot-box
toothold upon which they could stand and
ght down the despotism that is destroying l
5, and now the representatives OF that peo l
lie themselves propose to be permitted to oc
upy the ground without retaining the priv L
age 81 making the fight Turn ana twist a
his counter proposition as you may this 9
t last Is the great revolving feature that con y
ennis II, even were it otherwise unobjectiou- )
BILE. On tie highest principle known to |
.eamen our representatives, abandoned the "
tate House on the lowest known to free \
zen they ayt uyl ti to 20 back. y
| have earnestly tried to convince myself 7
mt if our representatives 90 back under the 7
that they Will have 2
le opportunity ITO reap the fruit, Of tie 9
lection OF ISL, rs assertedby lIr, /acharie. II
ut il is beyond my comprehension y thai q s
ny one with whom | have seriously dis u
lssci the subject. Victorious At the ballot y
x, occupying their seats as the free servants
n