New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1877-05-23


viii vote for the cit subscription unAcE
the guarantees to which the REPUBLICAN
has heretofore adyerted.
This railroad will create an immediate
demand for labor. The laborers can go
to work for three months in the summer
time, and the drayman and laborer on'the
levee can get ready to receive at least two
hundred thousand bales and hogsheads
which the railroad will bring to the city.
Who is to haul, handle, compress and stow
this trader The colored laborers in great
part. But is the city subscription to go
ont of the StateP BY no means. 1t will
be paid to country contractors for labor,
bridge timber and cross ties. All the
money so paid out must come back to the
city. The landlords, grocers, and-we
regret to say-the keno and barrel houses
will find these taxes returned by the con-
tractors and laborers, and may reinvest
the money if they deem proper in real
estate at advancing prices.
The ultramontane opponents of the
railroad undervalue greatly the patriotism
and good sense of the non-taxpayers.
They argue that man who works in New
Orleans should not be trusted to tax the
property of his landlord who lives in
Paris or New York. They argue that the
man who is called on to risk his life in de-
tense of the building in war or in confa-
grafton will confscate this property which
he has risked his life to defend. We
know Confederate soldier who returned
from the war to find large arrearage of
rent accumulated against his wife and
children. This man, who had gone forth
on his theory of home defense, was o
non-taxpayer, but he went to work to pay
that rent and did so, If he was inimical
to the interests of the landlord he should
have refused to defend his property. So,
if non-taxpaying fireman wished to
make profit on the landlords he should
go in with the incendisry and refuse to
attend the fires 1t is too late to intro
duce European ideas in the United States.
1t is better to trust the non-property
holders, white and colored, than to insult
and denounce them.
With singular disrespect for the intel
igence of the voters, the ultramontanes
have circulated the ridiculous report that
the Texas railroad is to be built with con-
Wet labor. This is fatty contradicted by
the placarded advertisement that the rail-
road company want fifteen hundred la
borers at 81 so day. With the cost and
delay of prosecution; imprisonment and
conviction it ought to be more economic
al for the State to build the road than to
pay the cost of catching thieves enough
to do the work.
We trust that. all laboring men, white
and colored, will go to the polls and vote
for this subscription. The city has lost
her subscription to roads ruined by the
war, but would fall into rapid ruin
if these same roads were now de-
stroyed. There are perhaps 10000 col
ored voters in the city; they have an
opportunity to convince the enemies Of
progress and the friends of free suffrage that
they have the intelligence to comprehend
the true interests Of New Orleans with the
atrength and industry to execute the
work. They will not spend their wages
with the Ultramontanes in Europe OF
New York. They will bring back to
New Orleans every dollar they earn, and
pay it over honestly for the supplies Of
food, clothes and rents of their families,
We have called on the railroad authori-
ties for a guarantee that they will faith
fully apply the city subscription to the
construction Of the road, and have re-
ceived their published pledges to that
effect. The City Council must, on behalf
of the people, see that these guarantees
are redeemed; the people will then, with
out respect to color or past condition, and
with or without tax receipts go to the
polls and supply New Orleans with proper
railroad facilities for replacing the trade
which she has lost The colored voters
will do their part in favor of this great
work, and the future will demonstrate
that in having done SO they have vindi-
Gated their intelligence and their common
interest in TIE common welfare of the
city.