The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1877-05-22

United States, and traces the trouble to
Jhe mania Tor railroad building In this
country. which drained money from le-
gltlmate channels OF trade to build roads
not lmperatively and legitimately de-
manded this, as q consequence. stim-
ulated, for the time being, the establish
ment OF additional collieries, iron works,
etc,. at the same time drawing other
milllons OF money into speculative oper-
atlons In the stocks OF these roads and
works, and now that the inevitable re-
action has come, ali that was invested
Is sunk, and ruin and suffering hold
sway.
briefly cite these facts, not to prove
lnat raliroads are evils intrinsically,
but that they may be easily made SO by
the folly OF man. / believe that their
establishment should be governed by
the same natural laws that regulate the
establishment of factories. lines of
steamboats,, ETC., and that interference
with these laws. while it may for the
moment dazzle the public eye las we
nave seen In this country during the
ten years previous to the fall of 1879,
Will Inevitably lead to disaster.
Inc company proposing to tax this
people have recently issued o pamphlet
which Is circulating largely. / propose
to review it briefly.
1. Iney nope our voters will give
La large affirmative vote, and thus
set an example to other parishes.
Ii our action 10 to be matter of ex-
ample to others, / earnestly trust that
my citizens will see TO 1t that such
action Is guided by the ordinary rules Of
common sense and Justice.
II Q. This tax is not asked as donation
to private enterprise, but as a subscrip-
lion to forward nf1hIip yUnrk -
Look the matter fairly in the face,
and you will not fail to see that to uote
that shall use my private funds In an
enterprise that Is not Of my choice, or
that my judgment tells me is unprofit-
able, is to force q contribution through
the po,ce,. Of the ballot-bor, under the
dictate Of judgments no better than mine,
and tbs Is tyranny of the ,oorst kind.
). This company was organized exelu-
siyely by our own citizens land then fol-
lows list of fifteen names) who have
been animated in their prosecution OF
the work by no other motive but that Of
accomplishing measure which all
agree is indispensable to the recovery
OF the lost trade" etc.
| address you not for the purpose Of
questioning the motives Of men. It has
long been said that 'hell Is paved with
good intentions" and yet we never find
: ment. l prefer always to judge men
by their acts. This company started
out before this community on the
J basis OF private enterprise; its pres
! ident got my subscription only
by solemnly pledging himself to
this basis. / told Inn / would cut off
my right arm before would vote away
any nuns property 70 build q railroad
or admit the propriety Of any mans
| ,1ts Ia arI
into the Legislature with their bill to
tax without publicly declaring to the
, people that they had changed their pro.
gramme. The bill was engineered
! through the House 80 irregularly thai
, the House tried to call IL back from the
, Senate, and we have never heard that
either the President or directors made
, any effort to induce the Senate to send
the bill back; and the spirit OF the war
, waged through the public press and
, now in the pamphlet before me against
oil who oppose this tax (amounting at
!, times to bitter denunciation) all this
leads the common sense man away
from the sentimental contemplation OF
good motives. and brings him down to
the rude analysis of acts.
/ do not cite these facts to prove cor
ruption (although our press stands en-
bellished with charges Of worse than
meanness against US who differ with
them, and all clearly dictated by them) /;
, God knows [ should deplore such me-
cessity and should feel like hiding my
own head in shame; but l have right to
charge that such q record as this proves
clearly that the zeal Of the board has
crushed out its regard for the rights Of
others, and has made them even forget
that to rush bill through the Legisla-
(or permit it to be rushed through) as
theirs has been, Is to poison the foun-
tain head of our political institutions.
. Ii q great enterprise Of this kind Is
based on false representations OF its
, contemplated mode OF establishment.
. on legislative jugglery, and on denun-
citation of particular classes of the peo-
pie proposed to be taxed, what Is any
reasonable man to expect?
4. Under the head Of Necessity for
the Road, the board argues five points
, l. "The ruin Of small proprietoTs,
who have not the means to avail OF the
chicanery of the law to evade the pay
ment of taxes" This is low appeal to
the passions Of the poor and a mean
assault on the integrity OF another
/ based on that essential quality of all
things-truM. Any fair reference to
the record will show that, under the
, circumstances that have surrounded
us, it is only wonderful how our people
} generally have stood up to the matter
OF tax paying. And yet it is an indis-
, putable political truth, that inasmuch
: as we were under a government
not Of our choice, it was g solemn duty
} OF all real men not to pay a dollar
/ Of taxes save through force. Could the
, acts Of individuals be closely scrutinized
| it would no doubt be found that those
, who now cast obloquy on class OF
their fellow-me In this unmanly mode
, were ever active in casting cold water
[ on all efforts to crush despotism by tae
only modes known as efficient, and at
| last proved to be 80 in this State, viz
the bayonet and resistance to the tax
gatherers.
q 1.-THE trade OF our port shows a vast
falling off in every department. And
so doeN the trade OF New York, Boston
and Philadelphia, of Liverpool and OF