The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1876-09-27

fnMGlsdctures at home and abroad, ana
depleted the returns If American agrcul
tHre, an interest Iollowed by halls on
people; it costs the people FIVE times more
than it pro luces to the treasury. ols%ruct
the processes Of production and waste
5 tile fruits nj fabar; il PREMISES fTan,9 ans
fosters smuggling, enrches disflnae,
officials aGd bankIupts honest merchants
= We dem@iS,1 enae all custom $,onss tax&
3icn shall he only fer revenue. Rrfo:a il
necessary in tIie scale 0f public expenses
Federal, State end municipal.
FEDERAL TAxAwgo,. 1&s SWOLLEN
from $40 100000 gold in 1850 to Sj50. DOC,
0GO currency III 1870: orr aggregate TAXA;
) ton from Sl34, 100000 gold in 1860 IL
S730,0O0,0 900 currency in 1870, or in one de
, cade from less 5han Ave dollars per head
to more than eighteen dollars per head.
Since the peace the people have paid Sc
their tax gatherc,s more than thrice tia
sum of the national debt, and more shan
twice that sum Cor the Federal Govern
nent alone. We demand vigorous Gr,s.
gality in every department and from egery
officer Of the Government. Reform iu ne
cessary to pnt a stop to 'she profligat
waste Of public lands and their DIVERSION
| ,
winch has squandered tive hundred mil
lions of acres upoa railroads &loue. and
out of more than twice that aggregate
has disposed of less shan y sixth directly
to tillers of the soil. Esefor3a ia naeessegs
TO correct che
oaHssicR'G Or . REEU&Lgc&G coiGG2Esa,
and the errors of oyr CREATES anls orr al.
/ p.omacy which have stripped orr fellow
citizens CS foreign birth ana kindred! race
a'eerossing 5lhs atlantic eG tho shield OF
american citizenship, and aSTe exposed
our bre$hren OF tia Pacific slope to the i'll
| cEssiont OF race Eio5 sprung fam the
same great paTent stock--in fact cow de-
MED by law citizenship shroagj na4ural-
zation, lis being neither accustomed so the
tradition of a progressias civilization, Or
exercised in liberty under equal laws
| We denonnce the policy which thus dis
cards the lih8rty loving German, and toll
crates the revival Of the cooie trade in
dongoiiau women imported for immoral
purposes, aud Mongoliah men hired to
| perform SeTviEe tabor contracts, and de-
mand such modification of the treaty with
| the Chinese Empire. or such legislation
by Congress within constitutional limi-
tation, rs shall prevent tho further imp0r-
tation or immigration ct the Mongolan
| race. Reform is necessary, ard cat never
he effected bnt by making it she control
| ling issue of the elections, and lifting il
above the two false issues with which the
office. holding class and the party in power
seek to smother it. The false ISSUES with
which they would enkimdle sectaran
strife in respect to the public schools, of
which tie establishment and support be-
long cxciusv elY 10 the several States aud
which the Democratic party has cherished
from their foundation and resolved to
maintain without Partially or preference
for any class, sect or creed, and without
contributing from the treasury to ANY
The false issue by which they seek to
light anew the dying emhers of sectional
hate between two kindr, d peoples oncn
unnaturaliy estranged, hnt now reunited
in one ndiyisible Republic and q common
destiny.
REFORM IN CIVIL SERVICE.
Reform is necessary in the civil service.
Experience proves that efficient, ecouomi-
cal conduct of the governmental business
, is not possible if its civil service he SUBJ
| jected to change at every election, and be
purse offered at the balot-box as a brief
reward of party zeal, instead of posts Of
honor assigned for proved competency and
held for fidelity in che public employ
That the dispensing of patronage should
neither be tax upon the time of all our
public men. nor the instruments of their
ambition. Here again professions, falsi-
| fed in the performance, attest that the
party in power can work out 10 practical
or salutary reform. ~!
REFORM IN HIGH PLACES.
Reform is necessary even more in the
| higher grades Of public service. Prcs-
dent Vice-President, Judges, Senators,
Representatives Cabinet officers these
and all others in authority are che PEG
ple's servants. Their offices are not a
private perqnisite; they are public
trust. When the annals of this Republic
proclaim the disgrace and censure of
vice-President; a late Speaker Of the
House of Representatives, marketing his
ruli as presiding officer; three Sena-
tors profiting secretly by their votes as
Lawmakers, five chairmen of the leading
committees of the late House of Represen-
| tatives exposed in .iobhery; a late Secreta-
~ of the Treasury forcing balances in the
public accounts; late Acknowledgement
misappropriating public funds; Seereta-
ry of the Navy enriches or enriching
friends by percentages levied off heprohts
of contractors with his department; an
Ambassador to England concerned in
a dlshonorable speculation; the Presidents
private Secretary barely escaping convic-
ton, upon trial, for guilty completely in
| frauds upon the revenue; q Secretary OF
| War impeached for high crimes and con-
fessed mistlemeanors: the demonstration is
complete that the first step must be the
public choice of honest men from another
party lest the disease of one political
organization upset the whole body polite,
and thereby making no change of men or
party, we can get no change of measures
and 10 reform.
All these abuses, wrongs and crimes,
the product of sixteen years of ascendancy
of the Republican party, create necessity
for reform confessed by the Republicans
themselves. But their refOrmers are yo-
ted down in convention and displaced
from 4be Cabinet The paTty's mass oi
honest sotes is powerless 20 resist the
eighty Thousand office-holders, It's leaders
and guides. Reform can only be had by a
peaceful civic revolution. We demand a
change of system, a change of admnistra-
tration, change of parties, that we may
have change of men.
>.@.N.-e-
III costs 9i05,000 year to sweet
en- the coffee IF the indians at the
agencies. We learn this from the adj
vertisement in the New York Herald
calling for bids for several articles e
be furnished these red legged gentle
men, whose friends are killing our set
tiers and soldiars. In addition t.
7O9, OC0 pounds of sugar, 81 100 pound:
LIZ d mud faa a a