The New Orleans Democrat. (New Orleans, La.) 1875-1876, 1876-01-22
INV LOUISIANA IS GOVERNED
AFFAIRS IN EAST BATON ROUGE.


nm the 10Th inst. one OF the largest
ass meetings ever held In East Baton
m".ae NO" assembled in the city Of Baton
200 to discuss measures to check the
''.sIossncss which has for some time
.st disturbed the peace Of that parish.
The % meeting had no political bearing; it
raa composed Of white and negro citi-
."ns and the best element Of the pou-
,s,,an from all sections OF the parish,
~aa largely represented. After passing
soyies Of resolutions condcmning acts
:, violence and pledging the citizens to
I'd in preserving peace and protecting
ma and property, "a committee, com
sosed of J. w. Burgess, ESQ, DR.. w. A.
purris. Vim. Garlg, Esq, and w. s.
pootb. ESD, was appointed to visit New
orleans, lay the condition OF affairs be-
tore Gov. Kellogg, and solicit his coo p
ration In the measures necessary to
sarry out the objects Of the meeting and
restore order.
CHARACTER OF THE COMMITTEE.
fast evening the comittee, accompa-
,,ed by several other gentlemen from
nation Rouge, called at the Office of the
rruocRAT, and from them we learned
someting OF the wretchcd situation to
vhich q long era OF misgovernment has
,duced one Of the richest and loveliest
factions of Louisiana. The gentlemen
wbo compose the committee, and from
whom we learn the facts we propose to
a.ate. are gentlemen OF unimpeachable
voracIty; and they are citizens OF the
highest character and influence, fully
identified in property and business
with the community i'm which they live
and which they represent on their pres
ant important and most urgent mission.
0ur readers, az home and abroad. can
implicitly rely on every statement made,
and we invite their attention to story
which should smite with shame the
mower that placed the present corrupt
and Infamous government over an en-
lghtened people.
ORIGIN OF THE TROUBLES.
For O number of years past the parish
81 East Baton Rouge has been in the
hands Of officials, ignorant or corrupt,
who have used their official positions to
Cypress the property holders and white
people generally, and to encourage the
largest license among the negroes. 1t
seems TO have been their idea that
their whole duty was to organize the
negroes for political purposes, and use
the public moneys for their own bene-
AZ, Under this sort OF administration
there soon ceased to be any protection
from the law, except what might be pur-
chased for price or obtained by affllia-
: ton with the Radical party. Little
stores, or rather, we might say,
depots for the purchase Of stolen
goods, sprang up all over the country,
and the negroes began regular system
Of stealing seed cotton from the plan
tersand selling it to the keepers of the
stores This evil Continued for years,
and finally grew to such proportions
that large portions of the annual crops |
Of the planters were thus stolen and dis
posed Of. Cattle and hog stealing be-
came daily practice with the negroes,
and the stock of the country was liter
ally exterminatcd, and it became inn
possible to raise hogs, or even mich |
cows. The class Of citizens who were |
the victims of these depredations could
obtain no redress In law. The parish
officials were ignorant Of their duties,
deficient in courage, and many of them
we're no better than the cotton and cat
tle thieves who were scourging the par
ish and threatening to make it untena-
bic. Thus, literally driven to despera-
tion, and forced to resort to violence to
protect their property, certain Of the
sufferers, In companies, after warning
the store-keepers to desist from their
neiarious traffic, and the thieves rode
through the parish and burned num-
Der Of the seed cotton stores, and sue
ceeded In checking to some extent the
depredations upon their property.
TAe property holders and business
classes Of civilized community are
Always extremely conservative, willing
70 bear many evils rather than resort to
methods unknown to the law for re-
aress. Where they take up arms, seize
ne torch, and engage in civil broils, 1t
Is absolutely certain that they have
Oeen the victims of unbearable oppres-
SION, and that they have been ut length
forced to choose between acquiescencc
VI tneir own ruin, or a resort to vio-
ence. Such were the evils which
Sullcted for years the people Of Baton
noage, and the steps which they finally
ook to protect themselves, must be
!us'lned by every right thinking man
acquainted with the facts.
THE REGULATORS.
- misgovernment provoked no graver
e'us than forcing the oppressed to re-
'Vl'w the measure Of violence ncccs-
sary 70 protect themselves against its
miquities, there would be no great harm
, uuue. But, unhappily, in every COM
Iunlty there are men, by nature law
Mss' turbulent and cruel, who are kept
les'ralnt only by the rigorous and
ma ,.alless administration Of justice. These
Ien are the first to realize the impo-