National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1875-08-12
LOUISIANA AND THE NEW ORLEANS
"TINRSu

which come up to us from Louisiana through
the columns of the New Orleans Times
there is q passage so wonderful in its lack
of sense and grammar that it passes all oom-
prehension. As near as can be made out
from the article, immigrants are not con-
sidered desirable in Louisiana, unless born
South of Mason and Dixon's line. This Is
only another form of enunciating that most
ridiculous conceit Of the Southern mind,
that the natural and only "kings of men"
spring from the loins of Southern men;
whereas, the truth is that the South, as 9
whole, is by no means superior to the
North, and in point of native intellect
Louisiana is particularly unfortunate. The
men who make laws, who progress in in
vention, who establish literature, who
build up commerce, who thread States with
railroads and trace the land with Geographic
wire, in short, who represent progress in
all the great departments of human indus.
try, are the real "kings of men," and in
this regard what has Louisiana to boast Off
Nothing, absolutely nothing of her own
production. Long years ago when the
hardy, persevering French were estab-
lished in Canada, battling for a foothold
against the snow, and ice, and rock, party
of them explored the Mississippi to the
Gulf and Iberville from the North planted
the first colony on the soil of Louisiana, in
1899. Bonaparte sold it to the United States,
in 1903, but the purchase then included
what is now the territory of the States of
Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska and
Kansas, and good part of Minnesota, and
all of the Indian Territory, and the fifteen
millions paid for it were derived principally
from Northern sources ofrevenue. Louis
lana has been State of the Union since
1912, sixty-three years, and in all
this time it has not produced q single
citizen, "native and to the manner born"
who has won what is called a national
reputation for transcend ent talent in any
walk of life or sphere Of action. Only
twice has it been represented in the Cabinet
of the United States first by Edward Liv
ingston, Secretary Of State for two years
under jackson, and second by Charles NJ.
Conrad, Secretary of War under Fillmore.
Livingston was q osrpet-bagger, having
been born in New York in 1894, and was
forty years old when he went to New Or
leans. Conrad was a carpet Dagger, having
been born in Winchester, Virginia. 1t
never had citizen eminent enough to be
even thought of for the Presidency. John
Slidell, her cunning Senator once, was a
carpet Dagger in Louisiana from New York.
Pierre Soule was d refugee from France
and born at Castillon, in the Pyrenees.
Judah Peter Benjamin saw the light of
life and the ark of the family covenant on
the soil of San Domingo. He emigrated
to Savannah and wandered from there with
his carpet-bag into Louisiana, and for his
education he is indebted to Yale College.
Miles Taylor, q man somewhat distin-
guished as member of the Thirty fourth,
Thirty-fi and Thirty. sixth Congresses
from Louisiana, was carpet-bagger there
from New York, where he was born.
Thomas G. Davidson and John N. Sandige,
members of the Thirty sixth Congress,
were not natives of the Pelican State and,
to 90 back little, Alexander Barro v, a
Louisiana Senator from 1841 to 1916, like
the living R. 81. Mari, was a native Of
Nashville, Tennessee. William L. Brent, q
member of Congress from 1928 to 1929, was
a native of Charles county, Maryland, and
its old Senator, James Brown, was native
of Virginia but Henry A. Billiard, one of
the ablest representatives Louisiana ever
had, was born at Groton, Massachusetts,,
and Thomas Butler, another able man of
that State, was q native of Carlisle, Penn
sylvania. Thomas W. Chinn, another
member, was Kentuckian, and John B.
Dawson, who did so much for the State, in
and out of Congress, was a carpet Dagger
from Tennessee. Solomon W. Downs went
into Louisiana from Tennessee and thence
into Congress, and Benjamin W. Flanders,
who has filed up good deal of Louisiana
history, is q native of Bristol, New
Hampshire, and Henry II. Garley, a
representative from 1928 to 1881, was
a native of Lebanon, Connecticut. Mi
chael Hahn, its Governor in 1864, was
born as far away from Louisiana as Bavaria.
It's well-remembered John II. Harmanson
was a Virginia carpet Dagger; another
member, Theodore G. Hunt, was South
Carolina carpet-bagger. and Henry john
son, the old Wing leader in Louisiana, was
an emigrant thither from Tennessee, and
one of her best known names, Joseph s.
Johnston, was a native of Salisbury, Conn;
Alexander Porter, Senator from 1888 to
- he Ernarold Tola. and
Eleazar W. Ripley, so long one of her
Representatives in Congress, was an humble
emlgrant from Maine /; and Philemon
Thomas, who was q shining light in the
State, wandered through North Carolina
and Kentucky first before going there;
John NJ Landrum was a native of South
Carolina; but there is no end to this sort of
illustration, for only four or five out of
all her Senators and Representatives
in Congress have been natives, and only
two or three of her Governors, and her
public instructors are all emigrants; and
yet the Times, controlled by Northern and
English directors started with Northern
capital and indebted for what sense it has
in its columns to Southern subordinates,
says that ''the most useful emigrant we In
" Louisiana could possibly secure was born
"south of Mason and Dixon's line" The
really great men Louisiana has had were
either born north of that line or in foreign
countries, as we have shown; but, in all
seriousness, we do not strip the poor bosster
of the Times of his pretensions and expose
the poverty of one of the States of this ma
tin for any other purpose than that Of