The Portland daily press., 1875-01-12
Our New York Letter.
The Louisiana question--A Democratic
Outrage Mill-The Presidents Course
Justified - Democratic Indignation
meetings.
NEW YORK. Jan, II, 1875.


sneer. The Democratic newspapers and stump
orators were fond of repeating that the country
had had enough of the "outrage business"
But now forsooth when the government in
terferes to protect a state from the carnage OF
violent revolution Democracy takes down the
shutters and displays an Outrage" emporium
as glittering and gorgeous as the tnsel of soph-
lstry can make it.
1t was no "outrags" to kill ''niggers" be-
cause they would persist in voting the Repub-
lican ticket. Oh! no! That was merely the
outflow Of the manly spirit of Southern chival-
ry. But to take five bogus legislators by the nape
of the neck and hoist them out of body in
which they had no right 20 sit and where their
presence occasioned disorder and riot is deed
which threatens to shake the very foundations
Of the temple of liberty. Indignation meetings
are to be gotten up in the highest style of the
sensational art, with new scenery, decorations
and dialogue, and no effort will be spared to
make the show attractive and profitable to its
projectors.
Now, when you come to penetrate the thin
disguise which covers the real motive of all
this fuss about the doings in New Orleans,
P'NNN
and demagogism as was ever put in use to im-
pose upon popular credulity. The Democrats
want to win the next Presidential election.
They conceive that the surest way to do so is
to court an alliance with the South Hence
they seize upon any pretext however fiimsy, to
manifest their sympathy with and subserviency
to their rebel brethren. They humble them
selves before this power as sbjectly
as their prototypes of ante-war period-the
dough faces submitted to humiliation and
self abasement for the sake of getting votes.
They commend the white leaguers for in
voking government aid in maintaining spu-
rious state administration. they denounce the
Republicans who ask and the President and
General who render assistance to protect de
fdcto government from overthrow and its
officers from probable assassination. They
apologize for and even applaud lawlessness
when practiced by their friends, but insist
that every nice legal technicality shall be ad-
hered to by their opponents, They are con-
slstent in ouly one thing and that is in de-
manding that the Southern whites shall be
under no restraint whatever, provided they
vote the Democratic ticket, and that they shall
have no rights whatever, not even the right to
live, if they will persist in being Repubi-
cans
OF course tbere are some Of the more recent
ly admitted members of the new firT that has
embarked in the "outrage business who are
perfectly sincere in the intention to run the
shop in an honest way and offer no goods for
sale that are not of genuine fabric and fast
colors. But they are sadly imposed upon. If
the concern fails they will bear the largest
share of the odum, because they are the only
ones in whose good faith the public trusted; if
it prospers, they will find themselves badly
cheated when the division of profits takes
place.
The American people are acutely and justly
sensitive about any interference of federal au
tbority with the affairs of state or of a small
er community. They will not tolerate the
slightest intermeddling, unless it is prompted
by the most unmistakable motives of humani-
ty and patriotism. The President who orders
troops into an assembly of citizens wherever
located, or of whatever number, for the pur-
pose of controlling or dispensing them must see
to it that the exigency which has occasioned
the order is important enough to justify it. But
Wncu IL Gan DC Cicdiig "bCN ~ 10 Pioiu
in fact on its face. that the peace and tranquli-
ty of whole state is in jeopardy, and may be
assured by the timely interpostion of few
soldiers who prevent violence without practic-
ing it, it is an affront to the intelligence of the
nation, to suppose that any fever of indigna-
ton Into which it may be wrought by the dsser
tations of casuists, or the blatant vaporlng5 OF
Democratic stump orators will last long enough
to prove of any service to the party which is
trying TO make capital by such dsreptuable ap-
peals Sensible people look at motives. Meas
ured by this standard the President deserves
and will receive the appreciation of his coun-
trymen for his efforts to rescue unhappy Louisi-
ana from the horrors of civil war.
There is little danger that the merits of the
Louisiana question will be obscured by the fog
of verbiage which envelopes it. The state has
been in chaotic political condition for two
years. One party held the government and an
other claimed it, Outbreak and turbulence him
dered the progress of industry in every parish.
Arevolution was attempted by Penn and McEn-
cry last year, but the matter was compromised
by the promise of fair election in November.
tits doubtful whether fair election is possible
in this semi-barbarous state. The Republicans
have an uuquestionable majority in the state,
for all the black men are instinctively Republi
can, and they outnumber the whites about
5000. But the Democrats are mostly ex rebel
soldiers, and in the interior parishes, where the
blacks are most numerous, they keep them
from the polls by organized terrorism. If the
negroes don't take kindly to that sort of treat
ment, they give them bullet instead of bal
lot, and that settles the matter definitely.
There have been several hundred negroes muir
dered in cold blood in louisiana within the
past two years for no other reason than be-
cause they ocould vote the Republican ticket
As a general thing the brave cavaliers of the
sunny south think it fine sport to shoot "nig
gers Bat oh! how they do love independence!
how devouty they worship the constitution
what doughty champions they are of magma
charta and the bill of rightsi WE'LL 1t is said
that to offset their loss of votes by Intimidation
and MURDER the Republicans cheat in the
count. Perhaps they do. If so, nobody can
Justify it, Two wrongs do not make right
So far as its political consequence is concerned
Louisiana is not worth bothering about any
way. 1t would have been good thing in that
state for the administration to have thrown her
over long ago, to he CONSUMED and laid waste
by carpet baggers and white leaguers. But it
would have been infamous to have left the un-
armed and defenceless negroes to the mercy of
their oppressors. That was what Andy John
son wanted to do and the people stamped him
out with scorn. That was what Gen. Grant
would not do and for that whatever foolish
things may be said of him in the frenzy of
distempered hour, posterty will hold him in
grateful and perpetual honor
The whole course of Gen. Grant toward Lou
isiana has been marked by patience calmness,
prudence and fores sht. He urged Congress
to deal with the problem year ago. He advo-
Gated conciliatory policy after the uprising of
Penn. He recommended that there should be
a free, untrammeled expression of the will of
he people through the ballot. Aud finally,
when both sides came to him with impor-
tunate complaints, the one of brutality, the
other of fraud, he made up his mind he would
get at the facts of the situation. To that end
he despatcbed thither his trusted comrade