The New Orleans Democrat. (New Orleans, La.) 1875-1876, 1876-03-14
LOUISIANA.

usr AMERICAN cENTrNNlaLulrs hht ,aa y
TIE ruE ACTUAL STATE OF AFFAIRS IN
ar COUNTRY. AND 10 THE LOUISIANA
lag prTy OF CONGRESS OUR DEMO
,rtc MEMPHIS MUST ACT AT ONCE
rury CAN SAVE LOUISIANA
,a-.,ospondnnee Of the N. O. Demecratl
p,u,su or ST.. JAMES, March IL.
s..ould the crushing events which
rolled over the country, involving
n MA All its sections. continue their hid
a progress a month or two longer,
eva' Great Philadelphia gathering OF
I Inly next. whereat the World is pomp-
III, called to witness the result OF
ols s,jrad years Of American liberty, may
well be declared ut once not only
es.n,ipht abortion. but n ridiculous
s arce, o shameful as well as an lnsolent
p'vWvbbatl Speak Of the Centennial Ami
..rsarv Of American Liberty when the
m .eonle Of thirty nine, so-called. indie
F.uuaant States. are knee-deep i'm poll
XII debarchery. peculation and crime?
usb Washington Republic is noto-
,nausly dead. and has been, for the last
insalye or fourteen yearsl When we all
.somble before the knitted brow OF n
Saosnot When the successors or Clay,
calhoun and Webster, and the actual
u.Yuno,lnders Of the supreme law OF the
Ind are. avowedly. such venom0us
FEATURES as Morton, Conkllng ana
nlsnet When Buffers are suffered to
!sa andjL : esper; Beechers to preach
ru,,ioion and virtue; Woodhulls to lec-
i r,s mon chastity; and Belknaps to
W. wi The morale IF an army. which
Nv and their like would drag down to
aa,1vernstipg infamyl When nothing Of
~ mast glory Of otr country Is now
n liant but it's dorisive name and it's
ttaae,ed souvenirs. when the greed for
, Do,ar hand in hand with the greed for
ppoId Is the dominant passion OF the
fmarican leaders Of our day. when De-
nocraey covers down before despotism
mi no longer speaks with constitutions
d. u a,mneas. but whispers bastard words
y !, aattery and fear TO the assassins of
). ear iiberties when sovereign States are
sorced to bow, lower and lower, TO the
.,le Of ignorance. corruption and
.aame when the South Ia threatened
sh Africanization. the North with
,M.nral bankruptcy. and the whole co,ln-
,rv lettering under the baleful influ-
~ oreea If Irresponsible powerl
'D AZ this iuncture Of our National life.
vith such prospects and such scenes be-
tore in. with SO eloquent n list of tell
ing facts to convince the world OF the
raal actual value of American fnstitu
Mons. political and others. how dare
This President, this Congress. this whole
,eople. invite strangers to our fnidStl
re those strangers blind /? Will they
not. on The very day Of their landing on
our shores. discover all our political de-
cets Ali our mendacious displays: all
ar IN hopottep wealth: all our counter
ieit liberty?
Fools are we. and worse than fools,
n believe that they, or any one, can
thus be hoodwinked and deceived.
They will laugh at us, turn their bucks
upop us, treat us with nerited scorn,
and deride, with more reason than be-
lore. the alleged blessings Of our
Amodel republic''-the best govern
ment tho world ever saw. |"
Ali different would have been the
feeling, different also the result upon us
and them, had both sections OF the
country proflted by the hard lessons Of
our four years warl Had the North ex-
hibited true spirit of magnanimity to-
ward the South. and remembered its oft
Wanted assertions of battling only for
the preservation of the Union Had
Reconstruction and its horrid features
OF hateful tyranny never been imposed
upon us. thus Keeping alive In our
hearts the burning embers OF the pastl
Had our former slaves. eufranchised by
the result of the war-and justly
so--been allowed to gravitate IN
their proper sphere, and not used
TO. foster tho hatred and crlmi-
nal ambition Of low adyenturers.
whom our downfall alone dragged up
to light and made potoriousl Had e1-.
perienee, intelligence, patriotism and
Integrity been permitted to govern the
country now rs heretofore; had tho Re
publican party used its power with q
semblancc even Of moderation and wis
dom. instead of trampling upon all con-
aitutional barrier. upon all adminlstra-
tive duty, and all political right Then
might the Centennial be consistently
inaugurated In these Re United states.
Then might the North and the South
meet. and. forgetful Of the past. sing
together anthems OF praise to liberty
World, our invited guest at Philadelphia
In July next, not be surprised with tho
unmistakable signs Of uneasiness, dis
comfort and estranRement existing
among us. The blow these people
have received Ia yet too fresh upon them
and their memories. to allow all traces
Of discord to have disappeared from
among them. would the Old World
say; but the germ of liberty still lives
In their midst. They cherish and re-
wre t.. Let them only have few years
Of good, wise and paternal government,
and they will again resume their former
career of political grandeur and pros
perity. The American people are free
people. and are worthy OF being SO.
But, In Gods name, what can the Old
World say to us, when, under the actual
state OF things, it will be welcomed at
the meaningless and--so far rs the South
concerned-deviso festivities Of the
Centennial What has become of
your purity, what of your virtue the
natural basis of your Republie--w ii
ask, In utter astonishment. of our peo-
plel Where are the boasted liberties
you celebrate ? / see their emblens,
but nothing more. How comes IL that
all your children are not equally free,
equally happy, at this the Nationa!
birthday Of your Independence and
theirs Where is South Carolina and
whereas Louisiana Are they no longer
OF your Union2 Are they no longer
sovereigns among you Why fettered
are their arms, when free are
those Of their sisters? Where
the successor OF your noble
and pure Washington, whom we, as
we'll as you, admired and proclaimed
Is one Of the greatest of all patriots
And pray, have you altered your Or
nj \ L. e.