Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1875-01-08

the ultimate causes of the troubles in
Louisiana have, apparently by COM
mon consent and without invcstiga-
ton, agreed to hold Gov. Kellogg in
large degree responsible for those
troubles. They have, first, assumed
that he was not legally elected, and,
therefore, is a usurper. Then they
have assumed, solely upon the asser-
tons of his enemies, and with no
demonstration of figures or facts, that
he has wantonly and flagrantly
misapplied the finances, filling his own
pockets and those of his corrupt ad-
herents, and plunging the State of
Louisiana still deeper into the mire
of debt and taxation. These things
have been taken for granted, because
Gov. Kellogg iswhat is opprobiously
termed "carpet Dagger" that is, a
northern man holding Office at the
South. Gov. Kellogg has repeatedly
invited the most rigid investigation
of his right to hold the office of
Governor, and has shown, by appeal
to the record, that instead of adding
to the burdens upon the people of
Louisiana, his administration has re-
duced the debt and materially light
encd the load of taxation. Until
quite recently these protests have
been UNDECIDED, and Gov. Kellogg's
accusers in the North have kept up
this fire of denunciation and mis-
representation, either because it was
popular to stigmatize him a villain,
or because a scape-goat OF some kind
was required upon which to fasten
abuses, the responsibility for which
could not otherwise readily be dis
covered.
But We notice latterly signs of
reaction in this regard. AS the facts
regarding the condition of affairs in
Louisiana come clearly into view,
and the desperate character and de-
signs of the Democratic party in that
State are unfoldcd, SO is the animus
Of the attacks upon Gov. Kellogg's
INTEGRITY made more apparent, and
papers that have heretofore had moth
ing but contemptous epithets for him
and condemnation of his acts, are
constrained to say that they may
have been mistaken in the character
of his administration. One of the
most conspicuous Of these journals is
the Chicago Tribune, which under
both its former and present manage
ment, has been anything but friendly
and appreciative of Gov. Kellogg.
Abiding to his message sent to the
Louisiana Legislature on Monday,
the Tribune is compelled to say of
that document:
1t will probably remove many
prejudices and correct some miscon-
ptions of him, which have gradually
arisen at the North, more in conse-
quence Of vague aspersions and in
nuendoes than by strictly logical de-
auctions from the proved facts of
Louisiana politics. The governor
shows very clearly that his financial
administration has been not only
honest but intelligent, and that the
good effects of it will extend beyond
his term of Office, through the opera
ton of constitutional amendments
recent adopted. Gov. Kellogg ad-
vised and assisted in the preparation
of these amendments, and large
share Of the credit which they reflect
upon the Government Of Louisiana
belongs to him. The financial ex-
hibit of the State for the past year is
very gratifying. The governor says
that not one dollar has been added to
the debt during the year; that the
receipts have been nearly equal to
the expenditures; and that there has
also been a great reduction in the rate
of taxation. He gives figures to sub
stantiate his statements. Certainly
such results could not have been
reached without prudent and wise
management, even in prosperous
times; and especially must these have
been needed to accomplish SO much
when the State was suffering from
the overflow of the Mississippi, the
Of the White Leagues,
and the financial panic of 1879.