The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1875-05-12

The Weak Point in the Situation.

The New York Herald has sent
Charles Nordhof South to learn the
actual condition of affairs, and he
has sent from Arkansas some yalu-
able hints for Northern people. Now
he is dissecting Louisiana politics.
We give the concluding part of his
first letter from New Orleans:
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, is too deaf to
carry on business in the House, has
little strength of character or per-
sonal presence, and is said to have
for friends one or, two men known as
corrupt. Governor Kellogg is gene
rally acknowledged, even by his bit
terest opponents, to be a man of
amiable intentions, but he is consti
tutionally a trimmer. He seems to
me almost incapable of a direct
course, and for such movement as
he now heads he lacks courage and
determination. If Marshal Packard
were Governor, he would succeed =
but Packard's interest is not that
Kellogg shall succeed, for he is Kel
logg's rival for the United States
Senate.
Meantime, so sore are the white
people of the State over the too long
continued misgovernment, that they
view every movement and every man
with suspicion; and only the most
answering, bold and determined
course, the most vigorous punish
ment of corrupt men could satisfy
the State sufficiently to gain the new
combination prolonged life. You
cannot travel far in Louisiana with
out discovering that the politicians
who, in the name of the Republican
party, rule it, and have done so for
the last seven years, in all the de-
partments of its government, State
and local, are vehemenently and
unanimously detested by the white
people. l have been amazed to see
how all white men, and many blacks,
to my own neutrality-suspicious. rich
or poor; whether merchants, mechan-
les or professional men; whether
Americans, French, Irish, German. or
Italian by birth; absolutely all ex-
cept the office holders and their rela
tives-unite in this feeling of dctest-
alton of their rulers. 1t expresses
itself SO wildly at the polls that, as
| noticed before, only 5000 whites,
out Of over 10000, supported the Re
publican ticket at the last election.
and it is a fact that most Of these
5000 are office holders; the greater
part are strangers in the State, and
very many Of them may be Justly |
called adventurers. 1t is so uniyer-
sal a sentiment that I have found
scarcely q colored man, out of office,
who did not complain to me that the
Republican whites are as faithless to
their duty as they believe the other
side would be.
Now, this small band of white men
have for more than six years monop-
olized all political power and prefer
ment in the State. They have laid,
collected and spent Tor rather mis-
spent or stolen all the taxes, local
as we'll as State; they have not only
made all the laws, but they have ar
bitrarily changed them, and have
miserably failed to enforce any which
were for the peoples good; they
have openly and scandalously cor
rupted the colored men whom they
have brought into political life; they
have used unjust laws to perpetuate
and extend their own power, and
they have practiced all the basest
arts Of ballot -stuffing, false registra-
ton and repeating at election after
election. In the last election it was
proved before committee of Con-
gross, that the Republican leaders
had, in the city Of New Orleans
alone, made not less than 5000 false
registrations. A few days ago 1
went down the river to attend court,
in order to see the working of a ne
gro jury. The court had to adjourn
for lack of jury, and no panel had
been drawn, because, the names be-
ing taken from the registration lists
of the parish, thirty six out of forty
eight were found to be fictitious