The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1877-02-03

WHcTo you NOulu uCFCA AhO 0n~h1
and what would you do to help your
self7 Perhaps you'd sue Sheriff Con-
nor and again came the impudent
question, "How are you going to
help yourselff"
This is a faithful statement of what
took place in the Office of one of our
most respectable and respected busi-
ness men. There isn't any thing
so rotten in the world as the admins
tration of law in this city since the
courts and the officials passed under
Tweed's hands. There Is no re-
sponsibility anywhere, and1A officer
here has nearly as much range as an
Arab official. When Helmbold's store
on Broadway passed into the hands
of the sheriff the entire stock, valued
at over $75, 900, was partly stolen out
right, and the balance was eaten up
in costs the creditors only got a few
thousand dollars out of the whole of
it. There was vast amount of val
liable goods that never appeared on
the invoice, and which the sheriff's
officers could probablyitell all about.
1t is q common thing for them to find
some case of imputed irregularity,
and to arrest the party aud hold him
till he pays, not the claim that may
be against him-that is always com
promised for little or nothing-but
the costs. The officers hunt up the
case, make the arrest, act as gO-be-
tweens, make the compromise, but
mercy what long list of fees they
have! They all get rich. Speaking
of Helmbold, this Prince of medicine
men is poor lunatic in the streets,
without u dollar, and subsisting on
the charity of those who knew him in
his prosperous days. This man was
mt one time worth million-his an
nual income was over y quarter of u
million, and he had the best hOrsen,
| the most expensive carriages, aud the
finest retinue of servants in the city.
He lived extravagantly, got in debt,
dropped out to Europe, and there his
insanity developed in q series of the
most extravagant freaks. His wife,
most beautiful woman, returned, and
WAS compelled to get q divorce, and
| HelmbOld, after being confined in
several iunatic asylums, Was given
his liberty, and he rouuls the city ut
will, mere wreck of what WAX never
very large pattern Of d man. His
| career was q curious Que. Not dol
lar is left of his once great wealth,
and he has become the terror of his
former friends. IC is curious that SO
many of the men who have grown
rich out of patent medicine have gone
insane. Aver, the great pill man,
who owns some of the most valuable
real estate in this city, is insane, and
yesterday an application was made
for guardian.
The suffering poor are likely to
suffer, for Charity moves very slowly
this winter. ST. Johns Guild, the
noblest of them all, is without funds,
and distributes from day to day what
it receives. It has not means for one
tenth the calls that are made upon it.
1t gathers about one thousand dollars
Ii day, but that is a mere nothing.
The other charities are just as poorly
provided for the calls that are made
upon them, and the city is doing very
little work. Last Sunday thousand
men were given twenty-four hours
work clearing the ice from portion
of the streets. Ten thousand could
be SO employed, and it would be a
mercy could it be done. The suffer-
ing this year is among the honest class
of people; the laborers who have
been thrown out of work by the stag
nation in all departments of business.
have seen clerks and salesmen, who
year ago were in receipt of good
salaries, taking relief from charities
because they could do nothing else.
They would roll barrels on the dock,
but there are no barrels to IOll-they
would work on the streets, but there
is no work on them. 1t is terrible and
to add to the distress, the cold is in
tense. God help the poor this Winter.
There are great many places
in New York where, according TO
popular belief, Capt. Kidd, the pirate,
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