The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1877-07-19


recent expose of the great and nnpar-
alleled fraud by which Hayes was
counted into the Presidency. descents
as follows upon the carpet bagger and
his crimes:
WHAT THE CARPET BAGGER Is.
The people would not have been
wholly crushed, either by the soldiers
or the negro, if both had not been used
to fasten upon them the domination
of another class of persons whose rule
was altogether uncomfortable. These
we call carpet -baggers, not because
the word is descriptive or euphonious,
but because they have nc other name
whereby they are known among the
children of men. They are unprinci-
pied adventures, who sought their
fortunes in the South by plundering
the disarmed and defenceless people
some of them were the dregs of the
Federal army-the meanest Of the
camp followers; many were fugitives
from Northern Justice the best OF
them were those who went down after
the peace, ready for any deed of shame
that was safe and profitable. These,
combining with a few treacherous
"scalawags" apd some leading negroes
10 serve as decoys for the rest, and
backed by the power of the general
Government, became the stronges!
body OF thieves that ever pillagcd q
people. Their moral grade was far
lower. and yet they were much more
powerful, than the robber bands that
infested Germany after the close OF
the Thirty Years war. They swarm
ed over all the States from the Poto-
mac to the Gulf, and settled in hortles,
not with intent to remain there, but
merely to feed Oh the substance of IL
PROSTATE and defenceless people.
They took whatever came within their
| reach, intruded themselves into all
private corporations, assumed the
functions of all offices, including TIE
courts of justice, and in many places
even "run the churches" By force
and fraud they either controlled all
| elections or else prevented elections
from being held. They returned six
ty of themselves to one Congress, and
ten or twelve of the most ignorant
and venal among them were at the
same time thrust into the Senate.
This false representation of a people
| by strangers and enemies who had moi
even bona fide residence among
them was the bitterest of all mock
| cries. There was no show of truth
or honor about it. The pretended
representative was always ready to
| vote for any measure that would op-
press and enslave his so called consti-
tuents; his hostility was unconceaied, :,
aud he lost 10 opportunity to do them
| injury
HIS DESCENT UPON LOUISIANA.
The agricultural and commercial
wealth of Louisiana made her strong
temptation to the -bagger.
Those vultures snuffed the prey from
afar and ,as soon as the war was over,
they swooped down upon her il floeks
that darkened the air. The State was
deliye, ed into their hand by the mill
tary authorities but the officers i'm
posed some restraints upon their law
less cupidity. They hailed with ds-
liz ht the advent of negro suffrage, be-
cause to them it was merely lagaliz
ed method OF stutfiDg the ballot box,
down to very recent period, they
gorged themselves without let or him
drance.
The depredations they committed
were frightful. They appropriated,
on one pretense and another, whatev-
er they could lay their hands on, and
then pledged to themselves the credit
of the State for uncounted millions
more. The public securities ran down
to half price, and still they put their
fraudulent bonds on the market and
sold them Tor what they would fetch.
The owners of the best real estate in
town or country were utterly impov-
erished, because the burdens upon il
were heavier than the rents would
discharge. During the last ten years
the city ofNew Orleans paid in thefor:n
of direct taxes more than the estimat-
ed value of all the property within her
limits, aud still has debt of equal
amount unpaid. 1t is not likely that
other parts of the State suffered less.
The extent of their spoliations can
hardly be calculated, but the testimo-
ny of the carpet baggers themselves
against one another, the reports of
committees sent by Congress to inves-
tigate the subject, and other informa-
ton from sources entirely authentic,
make it safe to say that a general cen
! tlagration, sweeping over ali the Stale
from one end to the other, and des-
troying every public building aud eve
ry article of personal property, would
| have been q visitation of mercy in
comparison to the curse of such q
| Government.
THE INyENTIvENEss OF sCoUNDREL-
ISM.
This may seem at first blush like
gross exaggeration, because it is worse
than anything that misrule ever did
before. The greediest of Roman pro-
consuls left something to the prov.
inces they wasted; the Norman did
not strip the Saxon quite to the skin
the Puritans under Cromwell did no,
utterly desolate Ireland. Their re.
pacity was confined to the visible
things which they could presently
handle and use. They could not take