The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1877-07-24
THE OALOAsIEU LOG BUSINESS.

uuHeCt5SdIy mystery Hnu COIupUCHtlOn ii
connection with the Calcasieu log seizures
For some reason, which we confess ourselves
| unable to understand, it has been so far impos
sible for the public to arrive at the merits O
what should be very simple matter There
Is certainly some one to blame, but we are al
loss how to determine with certainty where tt
locate the wrong. There are number Of in
explicable circumstances connected with this
business and some Of them have livery an.
cient and fish-like smell"
In the first place. why is 1t that there have
been SO many difficulties and SO much delay
In the matter Of the making Of inventories OF
the property seized? This should be very
simple proceeding, and we see no special dill
ficulties In this instance to excuse or explain
the hardness of the Marshal in complying
with this ordinary but very important for
malty. Herein seems to lie the main cause
of complaint and trouble, and 1t should be
very easy matter to remove the cdsus tett
that subsists between the deputy marshals
and the logmen.
The latter certainly have legal right to
require that the property seized be inven-
toried and appraised within reasonable time,
and 1t Is to the interest of the government,
not less than Of themselves, that this be done
as.speedily as possible In order to save costs,
which must eventually come out OF the pro-
perty seized or out Of the treasury of the gov
ernmcnt. Several weekS have elapsed since
the seizures were made, and we cannot UNDER
stand why these inventories should not have
been completed long ago. 1t is stated that In
all this time inventories have been made Of
but 800 logs out of the 10000 or more under
seizure. II this be true, 1t will be impossible
for the Marshal to excuse such culpable de-
lay on the part Of his deputies
The mill owners declare their readiness to
bond all the logs seized. and, as they clearly
have the right to do so on fair appraise-
ment and solvent security, the Marshal,
whose duty it is to have the inventories made,
must bear the responsibility of oil unneces-
sary delays and distractions that his remiss-
ness In this respect may have occasioned
The distress in the parish is represented to
be very great, and 1t is said that in many
instances the logmen and their families are
on the point Of starvation. Humanity as
well as justice demands that their suiferings
be relieved by the speedy application of every
facility the law provides.
Certainly none but the very best Of reasons
will be accepted in extenuation Of what seems
to be most cruel and uncalled for prolonga-
ton Of the sufferings Of the unhappy log
men, and these the United States officials
must give IL they would escape the imputa-
tion of personal motives In respect to this
delay.
There is one phase Of the matter that Is
In the densest mystery, and that is
the role played by Commissioner Chamber
lain and the appraisers appointed by the
court, and the troublesome complications
they seem to have introduced into the case.
Somehow or other the apparent zeal of the
Com missioner in behalf Of the logmen does
not impress the public as bearing the stamp
of genuine philanthropy, while the exu-
berant friendliness of the appraisers seems
hardly justified by their relations to the
is, IL their connection with 1t
is of the ordinary and proper character.
We make no charges, nor do we wish to do
anyone an injustice, but we feel it our duty to
warn the logmen, who certainly have our
entire sympathy, Of the extreme folly Of any
attempt to escape from their misfortunes by
sharp practice of any kind. They should
that this whole proceeding is
a legal one, and that the rights of all par
ties must be determined iudicially, after
full examination under the law and in
accordance with the testimony. The
government seems determined to enforce its
rights, and these will certainly be upheld by
the court, but so, Also will those of all parties
interested. Any one whose property shall be
shown to have been wrongfully seized will
have the right to sue the Marshal on his
bond for all damages he may have incurred
from wrongful seizure. The burden Of proof
is in every instance on the government, and
such of these logs as it may fail to prove to
have been cut on public lands will necessarily
be presumed to have been illegally seized and
will be recovered by the owners. Let these peo-
pie, then, rely upon the justice Of their cause,
or, in any event. upon the disposition of the
government to be lenient. They should real
ize that Commissioner Chamberlain has no
power to help them in any manner, and that
the only relief they can hope for will come
either through the courts or from the depart
ment at Washington. 1t must be plain under
these circumstances that they should be very
careful to do nothing to prejudice their cause.
Finally, we wish to say a word about Mr.. J.
J. Carney, the deputy marshal who seems to
be conducting the log war in behalf OF the
This individual is not unknown
10 us, and what we know of him justifies us
in saying that he is not the proper person to
be placed in such a responsible and delicate
position. His conduct is represented to have
been overbearing and arbitrary in many re-
spects; it was outrageous and ruflianly in
the extreme on the occasion of the arrest OF
the captain of the brig Alert, and the denun-
citation it provoked from Commissioner Cham
berlain was richly deserved.
We understand that Commissioner Cham
berlain and the special agent of the govern
ment Carter, will both be in the city to-day,
and that there will be general discussion OF
this whole matter. In this event we may
hope to arrive at the true inwardness OF the
case, and shall be better able to show to
whom blame in this bungling affair should be