The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1875-04-29
Workings of the Wheeler Compromise.
The Color Line the Result of Radical
Corruption.
Conservatives VS.. Democrats.
The Cohesive Power Of Opposition to
Thieves.
Hatred Of Radical Officials.

Cessation Of Federal Interference the
Only Hope Of the State.
| The following letter from that distinguished
author md brilliant writer, Mr.. Charles
NordhofS, we extract from the New York
Herald, Of the Oath inst. 1t will be found
extremely interesting, aud We commend it to
the careful perusal of our readers:
| New ORLEANS, April 10, 1875.
| The long talked of compromise or i'd
justment. determined on by the Congression-
al Committee was completed on Saturday by
the installment of Conservative in place Of
a Republican State S. nator. Its terms did
not entirely please the leaders of either party
The Conservative leaders conceived themselves
to be getting less political strength than the
election Of 1874 actually gave them. and the
Radical leaders. or at least some of them, de.
clare that it is for them surrender of politi-
cal power in the State. Meantime, however,
as3wing of the Conservatives very strongly
favored the compromise. aud were able to
bring most of their side into it; while ring
Of the Radicals, among whose leaders were
|
don, accepted the compromise, and Gen.
Sheridan's advice silenced Pinchback, Sena-
tor West and other Radical opponents who
| were at first determined to defeat the measures
( of peace. Thus m alters stood on Thursday,
when the House formally accepted the ad-
Justin nt and unseated the Radical members
whom the Committee OF Congress declared to
have been wrongly seated by the Returning
Board. But when the resolution of accept
| a ofow &c 20
members voted "No," among them Mr..
Witt, whom some of tbs Conservatives de-
sired to make Speaker. This attitude of
Witt encouraged those in his own party who
did not want him to be Speaker, and on Fri
day these succeeded, with the help Of q con-
siderable Radical vote, in defeating Wilt and
eiecting Estillete as Speaker.
This was the really important and decisive
result ofthe adjustment, for it declared which
of the two branches of the Conservative party
should control its organization.
THE COLOR LINE.
! The State of Louisiana had, according to
the census in 1870, 67,O75 whites and 81, 9l3
black males over twenty-one years of age. It
has since been proved by undeniable evidence
| that the census understated considerably the
number OF whites. 1t was taken in the sum-
ner, when many white people always leave
| the State, and the census takers did not
thoroughly record that part of the white
population which is scattered over the pine
hills back of the bottom lands, on which the
greater part of the people are gathered. I
suppose the truth to be that Louisi ana has to-
day at least TO- 900 more white than black
| voters. The Conservatives claim at least
| Is, 600 more.
| Now, in the election Of 1874 parties were
divided, unhappily, almost entirely on the
color line. Mr. Packard, who unites in his
| person the two important and, l should think,
homogeneous Offices Of United States Marshal
and Chairman of the Republican State Gen.
| trail Committee, told me some days ago that
only five thousand whites voted the Republi-
can ticket, and that the same number of blacks
| voted with the Conservatives. It is, I think,
fair statement that, with the exception Of
the office-holders, State and Federal, aud their
relations there were no white Republicans in
the State in 1874, or at the furthest, but an
in"ppreciated number.
The reason for this condition of things
shall explain to you in detail in other letters.
1t must suffice now to tell You generally that
the ineficiency and corruption OF the S ate
government in all its parts-leaving lawless-
ness UNPUBLISHED, countenancing the most
monstrous and shameful frauds, and con-
tinued thus for six disgraceful years, at last
united all the whites in one party, whose aim
was simply and only to Dust the thieves. OPP
posed to them in 1874 stood those rulers with
almost, but not quite, the whole negro popu-
lation at their backs.
HOW THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY IS COMPOSED.
The situation was one not different in kind
from that in New York city in 1871. The
rank and file OF the party which calls itself
Conservative consists in part of Democrats
who are naturally opposed to Republican rule,
but in part, also, Of old Wings, Know
Nothings, and the mass of citizens not inter-
ested in politics. These entered the Con-
sentative party only to save the State from
further misgovernment and spoliation. 1t
was and it is, therefore, an ''honest mems
party, and was called Conservative" and
the name Democrat dropped, because there
are in Louisiana large number of good citi-
zers vino are SO strongly opposed to the De-
mocratic party that they will not actively,
| if at all, work with men bearing that
name. Many of its most substantial citizens
were opposed to secession, and to-day
think that act was "blundering Democratic
! craftsmanship" as one said to me the other
day. Here Northern man may very COM
monty hear men who have been active and
foremost in the Conservative movement de-
clare that I" as soon as we have driven off the
Radical thieves and robbers who have SO long
spoiled us we shall quickly show these Demo-
Gratis that they can not hold the State. There
is not shadow of doubt that whenever Fede-
ral interference in the State definitely ceases
and honest men have been put into power,
the 6 Conservative party the white mans
party-wiil incontinent.y split into two nearly
equal halves, and each will try, with the help
OF the negroes, to beat the other. But it is
tolerably certain that until this is accom-.
plished the white men will stick together, for
hey cannot afford to do otherwise
THE WEAK POINT IN THE SITUATION.
The weak point in the situation, so far as
the reform Republicans are concerned, is that
they have to deal with two men, both of
whom are weak and both have corrupt allies.
Estilette, the Speaker, ia too deaf to carry on
business in the House, has little strength of
character OF personal presence, and is said to