New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1875-07-30
EGYPTIAN DARKNESS,

iican rule a. the cause Of all the decline
and decentralization OF Louisiana, We
almost envy il tina. prejudice and credu
lily which accepts such statements with
out question. It is often said that We
have an ignorant and illiterate constitu
ency. Il is true. II is at the same time
a constituency without prejudice and will
ing to accept any version Of an act which
may be established by honest evidence.
! There is no Egyptian darkness so thick
and impenetrable as that Of prejudice, SO
| that, although the electric telegraph has
exposed and silenced all pretensions to
unity Of principle on the part of the Dem
ocratic leaders. the rank and file will
never know the iniquities practiced in the
name Of Democracy elsewhere.
! Il is our purpose to put in print some
Of this evidence, and it will be the fault
Of the Bulletin and other Democratic or.
gans il they do not in a spirit of candor
tell their constituents what political ini-
! quities are being practiced in the name OF
Democracy in New York.
! Every one knows that since Tweed, the
! light Of Tammany. has been obscured by
! the BATS of the State prison. the seputa-
ton of Tammany and OF the Democratic
party in New York has been an offense in
the nostrils OF all honest men. We can
not SO well describe this degradation as by
quoting the language Of committee on
the reorganization Of Tammany. upon
which We shall offer some further com.
fnents:
It was no easy task 70 restore the Demo.
cratic party Of this city from the low depth
TO which it had been brought by dishonest
and unprincipled men.
An attempt to decdorize the Democracy
has recently been made in this wise: John
Morrissey, the gambler and prize fighter,
has put up his mauleys against the Tam
many ring and rulers, and they have de-
cided to expel him from the club.
The pretense upon which be has been
courtmartialed is this. There is club
composed OF employees Of the Democratic
city government, which has become dis
satisfied with the distribution of city pa
tronage. The city administration passed
an ordinance reducing the pay of laborers.
The employee club disapproved Of this or
dinance, and attempted to secure the Gen.
sure of the Tammany club, because there
was no effort on its part to resist the re-
duction of wages We pause to say that
nothing could have been more Democratic
than to have commended against any re.
duction of labor wages, and nothing more
,mdemocratic than reading out of the
Tammany club those who had protested
against such reduction.
The immediate excuse for reorganiza-
ton is the ''rumor'-not the authentic |
charge
That certain members of the eleventh |
assembly district committee. acting in |
concert with certain members of the COM |
mittees of other Districts. were endeavoring |
to destroy the etticency of the OrgAniza-
ton in certain districts and in the county, |
and we're determined to either be the |
leaders and dictate the future action OF the
or by creating dissensiOns and |
divisions within, attempt to destroy its USE
fulness and fiually terminate it's existence
That is, that there are certain members
of certain districts discontinued with the
Tammany administration and unwilling
to submit to its dictation. When we look
to the fact that Tammany was the appan-
age Of Tweed, and that the exposure Of
Tweed did not proceed from Tammany,
We can not see how any honest protestant
against the infallibility Of Tammany can
be condemned on pretexts so frivolous.
Fhe point Of disaffection against the
certain districts" seems in the highest
legree equivocal. It rests on the dimin-
shed Democratic vote at certain ward
elections. Who can say that this unwill-
ngness to attend the polls was not due TO
he fragrant offenses of which the Demo-
ratio leaders, Tweed, Connolly and others
lad been guilty? Who can affirm that
natural indign alton against Tammany
Hall for permitting the party to be so dis.
raced may not have caused honest men
o hide their faces behind mugs OF bee, or
,randy, rather than to vote under the aus.
ices ofsuch unscyupulous OF unprincipled
eaders. I,
We have cited this state Of party dissen.
ion and Of party disgrace to show: First,
hat the differences Of opinion among the
republicans Of Louisiana are not without |
xample among the Democracy elsewhere.
eeond, that the state Of primary in. {
ocence which the Bulletin predicates Of {
he virtsous Democracy abroad can only E
e applied to those who ore out of Office, | I
be Democracy in power everywhere bav.
ng perpetrated the most fagitious po- {
tical offenses. il
The Tammany Club is self-perpetu- c
ting body, and instead Of filing its va. c
aneies by popular election, as Democrats I
hould do, declares q vacancy in the sub /
rdinate district clubs and fills it upon I
'ammany nomination. It thus results that =
ertain district clubs are to be reorganized, /
nd John Morrissey, Thomas A. Ledwith s
nd James Hayes pronounced dissenters, '
re to be dropped. This pictare of dissen- t
on and corruption now prevalent among r
,e Democracy of the North, will never c
Zach the Democratic voters of Louisiana, q
nd while we regret the prejudice and i
,norance which will never know the ex- '
tence Of Democratic abuses. We sunposa |