The New Orleans Democrat. (New Orleans, La.) 1875-1876, 1876-03-26

OF the yellow fever, or TO spreading
the smallpox among its enemies. as Il
denies the right OF the poor man. to
vote. or advocates property qualifi-
cation. The Republican has discovered
a likeness between the real proposition
of tho DEMOCRAT and its own statement
after the fashion OF the clown who asked
the ringmaster why an elephant was
like young lady, and replied, because
neither OF them can climb a creased
pole. The likeness between our prop
osition and the Republicans statement
OF the Democratic principle is only IN
the fact that neither of them includes
an expression of opinion on the
Herzegovinian imbroglio. What the
DEMOCRAT af1lrms now, and affirmed
in the quotation the Republican makes
from its columns. Is, that the rights oi
property are protected by the consti-
tuition, and that there is no power in the
majority to destroy or impair those
rights. TO hold that three men have no
authority to divest one man OF his house
or portion of the value of 1t, is simply
to assert tho principle upon which SO
cicty and all its interests are based 1t
is no denial of the right Of the three
men to vote for public officials, or upon
other matters Of public policy. It in
no respec. pronounces upon the right OF
suffrage. II leaves that right just
where II Is open to the property
holder and the property hold
or alike. The world is full
of rapacious and bad men.
there must be check somewhere
to their unruly inclinations. and while
we conccde the right of all men, under
our institutions, to vote. whether he be
laborer or millionaire, we at the
same time assert that the rights of prop
erty and life are inalicnable. except in
the manner and for the purposes pro
scribed by all governments; and that
there Is, IN no sound. safe and free gov
eminent, any authority in tho majority
to destroy or impair these rights.
The strength and necessity of our
position may be easily illustrated Our
own people, represented by honorable
and able men, propose to levy a tax
upon the property holders OF New Or
leans for the purpose Of aiding what we
concede to be n valuable and important
enterprise. The Republican claims that
the Radical party will carry this State
in November. IT 1t does. Warmoth. or
Packard. or Anderson, or some man
equally Objectionable. will be elected
Governor, and the Legislature OF 1875
will be composed as were those proceed
ing the last. The people Of New Or
leans will, probahly.by their vote on the
New Orleans Pacific tax, have admitted
the right OF the majority Of the voters to
tax the whole body Of property holders
to aid railroad enterprise. Now, then,
what is to DO done in case Gov War
moth, or Gov. Packard. or Gov.
Anderson, shall project few more
Chattanooga and Backbone rail
roads several Bnuf and Crocodile Nav
igation Companies; half dozen or 80
Mexican Gulf and Ship Island Canals.
and his obsequiousL Legislature shall pass
a bill commanding the City Council OF
New Orleans, and the police iuries of
the parishes, to submit the proposition
to popular vote, as to whether or not
the property holders shall be taxed
certain sum for each and all Of these
gigantic schemes What will we have
to say then, II we now accept the doc
trine that the majority OF the voters
have the right to levy upon the
holders for railroads or
other enterprises? We may cry out that
the New Orleans Pacific was benef-
cent and an honest enterprise, and that
these schemes are swindles. Bot when
Warmoth or Packard clutches the
reins of power in Louisiana, rallies the
negroes in the country, and the bum
mers. and thugs, and henchmen from
he city and its neighborhoods, and puts
N motion the machinery OF ballot-box
;tuffing and election returns, OF what
avail will be the cry that an enterprise
S swindle? The majority, misled by
heir leaders, may respond that the
charge of fraud is a lie of the id arts
ocrats, and that the projected work is
IN honest and important one.
The Republican has much to say
lbout the constitution, but nothing that
means anything. 1t also has much to
ay in pity of the poor whom its party
las brought to Indebtedness. 1t sets
lp its party as the friend Of the poor, in
ace Of the fact that its party has robbed
he country in thirteen years, in whisky
'evenues alone, Of over one billion of
dollars, to enable the Shepherds, Bah
'ocks and Belknaps to build palaces
md riot in wealth; this in face of the
act that its party impoverished the rich
n Louisiana, brought the poor to the
ioor OF starvation, and enriched only
he Warmoths, the Packards, the Kel-
oggs, the tax collectors, and all the
herd of office-holders in its ranks. The
Democratic party, as we understand it.
$ the party Of neither the poor man nor
t the rich man. 1t is the party Of true
epublicanism OF honest and economi-
al government. Its purpose is to shell .
er under its wings no particular class
4 the people, but to endeavor to re-es- !