The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1876-01-28
THE NEW ORLEANS BULLETIN, FRIDAY, JANUARY 49, 1876

judgment as containing the germs good. Or tn
philanthropist, who donates OF his means to for
ward work which will give employment to labor
| We mean every man who lives in the city OF New
Orleans, and who therefore benefits by it's pros
perity. We mean every mechanic, laborer, artl
san, cleik porter dray driver; every honest maj
who works and who thrives in proportion t
plenty of work and good wages.
We mean every one who has means, whetne
| this Sc means come from hard work or brain wdll
of themselves or inherited from the accumua-
| tiCns of ancestors. We mean every woman, mar
ried or single, who has enough property to pur
| chase single share Of stock. We mean every
| body, in word, who makes New Orleans a home
and who wants to soc it become what it has
right to be, the great city nature Intended II Il
be. What,then is our duty: To stand by ant
see the enterprise fail, or each one help as h
can, TO the extent Of his ability, to secure the
| compilshmtnt of what we all admit ls lndl,pens
| ably necessary to the welfare of our clty
suppose mans title to his house and lot i
| attacked; supposed lawsuit brought agains
| him which involves half his fortune; or let u
say, one which, if successful, will ruin him ell
| tirely?
Does he sit calmly with folded hands and lie
| these proceedings go on without stirring, ant
trust to his neighbors who are defending s-inl IL
| suits to attend to the defense of his
| 1t would be an injustice to an idiot to compare
| such man to one who acted thus. Yet, fellow
citizens Of New Orleans, have you considered
that inaotlon in regard to this matter of building
| railroad connection to Texas 10 something very
near akin to the supposed imbecllity Of his de
| fendaat?
| There is a lawsuit now going on, involving
nearly all you possess. That lawsuit is conduct ed
| by the people of st. louis and other cities and
| Is directed to depriVlng You not only of the ca
pacty OF further growth, but to the depression
| OF the values Of what you now possess to a de-
gree b Jrdering ON ruin. Day by day the cause
goes on. Day by day your property gees down
The great jury of the State of Texas is rendering
verdicts against you every hour, and ihere is nc
appeal from their decision.
You sit calmly, aud take Lo part in your own
deteuse. Somehow you fancy somebody will dc
something for you. Why he should, you 10 not
know. You refuse to raise finger yourselves
in your own behalf You complain cspltally.
You moan like Mrs. GamrnidSc in ''Dayld
Copperiield,' over the past.
You cry cut against the political rascalites
that have burdered our dear state the lat ten
years. But you forget, in the words of Macau
lay, that "protuse expenditure, heavy taxation,
%bsurd commercial restrlctio H. c.riupt trlbu-
nails. disastrous wars, seditions, persecutians,
couflae ra'inns and inundatlons, have not been
able TO destroy capital so fast the exertions Of
private citizens have been able to create it, and
that, Notwithstanding all that Louisiana has suf-
fered and all it now suffers, can not prevent its
growth. If its citizens have enterprise, courage
and determination.
Do you know, Mr. Chairman, the gloomiest
sight the Gun looks upon? 1t is DEAD CITY.
Not one dead like Pompei. Walking through
Its silent streets, you might fancy would Cypress
The heart with painful emotions Looking a. the
solemn walls OF her rootess houses; entering the
rooms once gay with life and bright with pleas
ure, ana passing INTO court yards once cooled by
sparkling fountains and perfumed with Chamber
ing roses, you might say must be the saddest
spectacle this world can show.
Not 80. There Is one more touching still. 1t
is the death in lile of living city, Il is where
the people live and move and have their being in
the past. Such as Athens, such as Venice.
Where there is no present ard no future; where
all energy seems sick, all industry paIsied, and
the inha btants wander idly and purposelcss
as the ghosts on the Stygian shore, waiting to lie
ferried by Charon.
What does New Orleans look like to-day Gaze
on her grass. grown streets; count the tenan less
houses and the empty stores Note the decay
sapping her public buildings and neglect running
her thoroughfares
Ask for the ships that once lined her wharves.
and the steamers that once filled her levees with
produce! Peep into the countenances of her
business men and scan the care broodilg there!
90 into her countiDg-rooms and calculate the
falling off in her trade. Hear the cries of dis
tress from labor without employment, and the
wants of women and children without br, az
Is Senator Morton right, fer once in his life,
when he says that New Orleans is dead city 2"
1t is Tor you fellow-citzens, answer. 1t is for
you to say: 81 Not Dead but sleeping 1t is for
ou " Guilt UuJ OI your tents, Ike Achilles, and,
regardless OF all you have suffered in the pas,
like the Grecan hero, proclaim as you put on
your armor:
These things among the things that were, and
though
They make grieve, let us subdue our minds
10 what the time requires
HON. J. B. ELAM's SPEECH.
Mr.. Elan said-Mr. Chairman and citizens of
ftrl. nYaa ayryal L
PRESIDENT of the railroad company to come down
md address you. l came down, and after arrly-
ng looked into the business, and shall now pro-
iced to make few remarks. | don't propose to
inter INTO any argume ut based upon the informa-
Ion have received. That has been done bv the
Gentlemen who have preceded me. An assem-
,iage OF this kind is Of the most i'm porta mt
bat has ever come together in the United States
lot only as to the character and intelligence of
he gentlemen who compose it, but also for the
Importance OF the question we are called upon to-
ilg ht 10 discuss.
II may be asked what are the advantages of
ailwa s-do they pay? l shall answer the ques-
ION by referring to the great extent of railways
throughout the United States. Let us go back !
hirty years go back even to the time when New !
orleans was in the height of her prosperity, aad
ASK the difference. The question naturally !
rises, what is the cause Of this Is it this gov
rnment! Is 1t IN consequence of the result of
he war, or was it caused by bad government? l |
elieve that New Orleans is destined to become
s great and prosperous as it was before the war.
One Of the great causes why we have lost go
ch OF the trade that belongs of right to u, is
he want Of artificial means of com nunica.ion.
.ook at the railroads that have sprung up in
exas within the pas, few years. There can be
cry little doubt upon the subject, and gentlemen,
Gu must bestir yourselves, do something
= yourselves, in order that you may ben
fit your present condition. Gentlemen,
lere is an old fable about an old bird
lat had built her nest i'll a wheat field.
ne went off on one occasion, to get something
eat for her yonng, and when she came back
ley commenced to talk, and told her that the
yner Of the wheat field had been there and was
oing 10 cut it down. She asked them how they
Jew. They replied that he came there with his
ms, and told them that the wheat was bout ripe,
I'd that they must get their neiShbors to help
EN- to cut it down. She told them that there
As no danger. She went off the rext day to
cure food for her young. She reformed the
cond day. They told her that she had better
owe them. she asked them, why? They
ain replied that the owner of the field
ID been there with his sons, AID said
You must go to your uncles and cousins {
ID relatives, and ask them to come and assist !
-. OIL |