The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1876-12-02


and comment. But time, at last, full
proved bis facts and figures, and vindi
Gated bis judgment aud ssgacity."
l dou't wish to thrust myself into IN.
letters, but feel justified 10 doing 30 t
this extent in this matter, and to follov
with reasons for my statements 10 the let
ter which has 80 enraged my correspond
ent.
do not wonder that Northern peopl,
are slow to believe the horrible storie
that come to them from the South. l d.
not wopder that they, especially tbos,
who have never been in the South, renc
such letters of Northern correspondent
With incredulity, and donounoe th,
writer's as exapgerators and falsifers.
do not wonder that they are unable tc
comprehend the possibility Of such con-
dition Of things IN the Same land and
uLder the same government with them.
selves. In the North there is quiet, aud
law, and order, and prosperity. There
are schoo-houses, and churches, and
thicklY clustering villages, and green
lawDs, and neatly kept farDa and com.
Portable farm houses. There are railroads
ard teIegrspbs, and newspapers. There
are no hundrends Of thousands Of recently
liberated slaves born and reared 10 degra
dation and ignorance and dependence
10 politics are comparative purity and
honesty. There single vote may possi
bly, elect e uau to an important Office
without contest. There are no carpet
bsggers. There are no organized bands
of public puudcrcrs aud echeming office
seekers. There is no war Of races, no
White League, no Ku Klux, no bull.
dogers, no " bite Liuers
How different from Louislaua--poor.
torn, pluudere1. distracted. demoralised
LouieiaDa! We must fully understand
and comprehend this difference before we
can reslize how these dark aud bloody
tales Of outrages and violence can be true.
Here political morality and decency are
at discount. The politicians arc the
most iosncere snd deceptive people ever
met. In crowd Of them. when one man
Swears to certain thing, there is sure
TO be another man within arms length
who will swear to the opposite. If you
want to prove anything, you may get all
the afiidsvits you require by paying for
them. If you want to prove just the
opposite you can get just as many by the
same means. The political history of
Louisiana since the war is a tale of star
chambers, of night meetiogs, of cabals, aud
ieuds, aud factions, Of dark trescbery ard
deep laid schemes. Of trickery aud villainy
OF fraud and corruption. To. day, q man
rutS his creatures iuto power. aud to
morrow the creatures overthrow him aud
put their own creatures in high places
To day, two uen struggle. shouldor to
shoulder, fer place aud power, TO morrow
their hands are at each others throats,
and their followers are 6ghtipg each
other. Men who are in the same party
a d ere frieodu to-day, bslong to opposite
parties tomorrow. and arc soheming
against each other, Politicians change
party here as the chameleon changes
color. There is hardly one OF the
prominent men in politics here who has
not. during the last ten years belonged
10 almost every party, and faction Of
party. In the North, when a man leaves
one party and joins another, it ia matter
of great comment and wonder, and he
must give good reasons for it, aud in ny
case it is never forgotten against bin.
Here it is very hard to keep track of a
mana political predictions. and the
question is. "Whst party is So.apd go
with in this aghtf" Said Hop. Eugene
Hale to me;
"studyiog the political history of
Louisiana for the last ten years is like
reading tho old tales of the Venetian
Republic. or the bloody old stories OF
feudal tines. 1t does not seem possible
such things can be done 10 this day, 10
this free land. don't blame our people
North for refusing to credit the tales Of
blood and trescbery that 60 up from this
state. l was an unbeliever until l came
here aud saw for myself"
II is not generally 10 the cities or more
thickly settled portions Of the state that
deeds Of violence aud lawlessness are
perpetrated. Ohio is covered with net
work ,f iron rails and telegraph wires.
In Louisiana are whole parishes where
there are not half dozen churches or
school houses. not railroad or telegraph.
yhere ignorance is the rule. and the man
who can read aud write 10 Sir Oracle.
There thousands Of acres of land arc
aeld by single white men. who let them
out in little patches to the negroes. and
force them to vote as they say before
they are permitted to gather their crops
Il is in such parts of Louisiana. days aud
days removed from the capital Of the
state. among the gloomy lagoons. the vast
stretches of dismal pino barrens, and
amid .ha lonely and rsmote sand hill.
that their deeds are done. There the
bulldozers ride and law ia deded. and tho
shotgun aud revolver are tho arbitrators.
To those regions the carpet baggers seldom
penetrate. and there Is not that excuse
for the deed done. After the war there
was a general cry from the South for and
invitation to Northern men Of wealth and
energy and enterprise to emigrate to this
country and assist in improving aud
building it up.
Many responded to the call. Among
them we're some political adyenturers
who have been a source of trouble and q
curse to the state. 1t lis not to DO denied
that scores Of these fellows have no
intorest 10 Louisiana but to pluuder her,
90 residence here, and no baggage beyond
a trunk aud vslise. Theso few would, il
tho state were declared Cor Tildeu and
Nicholls. pack up their few traps quite
hastily and depart for the North, and 1t
would be good riddanes to bad rubbish
for the state. But they are very much
10 the minority smung the Northern
immigrants. What has been the fate oi
others who cama here at tho invitation IN