The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1875-10-15
Results of Grantism in Louisiana.


A report on the State debt and taxation
OF Louisiana, just published by the Central
| Council of the Property Holders Union,
contains some curious details relating to
the various fraudulent pretences under
which millions of indictment have been
fastened upon the taxpayers OF that state
by their irresponsible rulers. Reviewing
| the different items OF what purports to
| be the State debt, the report specifies each
act which authorized the issue Of bonds
or other evidences of debt and the re-
suit is astounding. II shows that the
different LEGISLATURES have voted, mainly
N private individuals, bonds which aggre-
gate In principal and interest for the
whole time they have 20 run, more than
the entire value of the taxable property Of
Louisiana. The most Of this reckless exc
travagance has been the work of the Leg
islatures which have been in power since
1868. The report says that II city and
parish bonds donated in like me3gss ~
added, the aggregate will be nearly double
the value OF the taxable property in the
State.
The total debt authorized by legislation,
according to this report, reaches $40, 52e, go;
but deducting N,O00OO0 the estimated
amount of miscellaneous debts of all sorts
regarding which no satisfactory informa-
ton can be had, and various bonds OF
different classes which were authorized
but never issued, there still remain liabili-
ties to the amount of $50 $50 exclusive
OF interest, which were actually incurred
and remain unpaid.
The most interesting feature of this re-
port is found in the comments upon the
disposition of the various bonds. Thus,
from 1865 to 1870, the amount of IS, 1874 600
was issued in bonds for levee purposes, and
there are yet no sufficient levees; while a
State debt of 81, goo 600 has been created in
favor of levee company without any Sc
curity that the company will build the
levccs. when the lcvees were made by each
land proprietor in front of his own prop
erty, they were a more efTectual protection
against overflow than they are now.
This report gives new fact in relation
10 the Vicksburg, Shreveport and Texas
Railroad swindle, which was fully exposed
long ago in THE Sun, and in which John
7. LUDELINa, the present Chief Justice of
the Supreme Court of Louisiana, bore the
most prominent part. 1t says that in
lS72 the Legislature passed an act TO ex-
change bonds of the state for stock Of the
company, when the company was already
In debt more than twice the amount OF its
assets and that GOV. WARMoTH at first re-
fused to sign the bill but after sudden
visit from LUDELINo the act was promul-
| gated late In the summer Of 1872, but ap-
peared on its face TO have been approved
on April 10, thus antedating a suit that
had been brought by the Attorney-Gene-
raj against the company for interest on
the bonds. Both WARMorH and KELLOGG
issued to LUDELTSG and his associates
hundreds of thousands of dollars in bonds,
KELLOGG giving them 100000 in 1878. long
after the suit was commenced in the
United States courts, charging those
frauds which the Supreme Court after
ward decided were undoubtedly proven.
In the space of three years from 1860 the
Legislature made donations to the New
| Orleans, Mobile and Chattanooga Railroad
Company amounting TO 1900, 900, in bonds
| bearing eight per cent. interest and run
ming for forty years, thus binding the tax
payers TO pay altogether, in principal and
interest, the sum of sl6, 500, 600, the COM
pany having agreed TO build a road to
Houston, Texas. No road has been built
further than Donaldsouville. eighty-two
miles above New Orleans. and that has
been sold under first mortgage the state
| having received neither value nor security
for its advances.
These are but few examples OF the
wholesale robbery of the property holders
of Louisiana which has been carried ON in
legislative bodies where ignorant negroes
fresh from the sugar and cotton fields
competed with rapacious carpet-baggers
in the open sale Of their votes to the
swarms of adventures who were engaged
In all kinds of plots 10 rob the Govern
ment. And when the people of Louisiana
twice lawfully emancipated themselves
from the rule of such robbers by fairly
electing men Of their own choice, GRANT
stepped forward to interfere by illegally
using the United States army TO maintain
the plunderers in power