The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1877-09-01
Our New York Letter.
A Church Scamdal.-HAeIMO
&c T'rOubIe--.The Great TeIe-
graph Consolidation
Business OutI IOOl6--.VariOus.
NEW YoRk, August 25, 1S76.

graph consolidation ne
Business OutI IOOl6---YariOus.
New YORK, August 25, 1876.
EDITOR CHIEF
The little town of Vineland, near
the city, is greatly exercised over the
development of a transaction that re-
Gently occurred in the Catholic
Church at that place. A man named
Gregory, worthless sort of fellow
who had more than half forsaken his
church, was at, the point of death.
His wife, deyout Catholic, begged
the priest to shrive the dying man,
which he refused to do on the score
that he was not good Catholic, and
was not entitled to absolution. Mrs.
Gregory ilnplored, and finally after
many interviews the priest did go
and confess him and gave him full
absolution. Priest Viver was indis-
Greet enough afterward to say that he
now had means enough to pay off the
debt on his church, as valuable
piece of land in Newark had been de-
vised to him ; and Mrs. Gregory, now
that her husband was safely through
purgatory, dropped hints that it had
cost her more than she liked, to get
it accomplished. An inquiry was set
on foot and it was made known that
the dying man and his wife had
decided the Newark property to the
priest, besides giving him 500 in
mouey-in short, all they had-before
he would absolye him.
Congressman Adrian Muller of the
first district in this city, had q
vacancy i'll West Point to fill, and to
avoid the responsibility of making
selection, advertised that competi-
tive examination would be held, and
the boy making the best average
would be appointed. Probably Mr..
Muller would not have done this had
he had the faintest idea of the result,
for behold you, IL nigger" named
Charles A. Minnie, came out ahead,
and Muller was compelled to appoint
him. There were Il hundred appli-
cants, but Minnie had II clear majority
of points, and there was no mistake
about it. There is loud swearing
among the Democracy of the first, at
the " dirthy nagur" who had the
audacity to stand first among the
youth of that district. John Norris
sey is astute enough to turn this lit
tie draught of gall to advantage.
There is very large negro vote in
that district, and the gallant John no
sooner hears of it, than he sends his
cheqne. for $500 to Minnie, with
which he may provide himself with a
proper outfit. This is shrewd stroke.
1t will be convenient thing for john
TO have at his back in future political
contests some hundreds of the negroes
of that section, for they are looming
into political Importance every day,
and even the enmity of the Irish can
not keep them out. Minnie is very
bright boy he has been more than
two-thir,ls educated at home, and has
done the most of it himself. In the
examination the maximum was an
hundred, and he stood SO. He un-
derstands fully what is before him at
West Point, but he is determined to
go through it like q man, and do
something for his race as well as him.
self.
There is no more competition in
telegraphing, aud the public is as en-
tirely at the mercy of monopoly as
it was before the Atlantic and Pacific
was started to give us relief from the
monstrous exactions of the Western
Union. With a healthy competition
rates had got down to a point that
enabled the people to use the tele-
graph freely. A message from New
York to Chicago only cost 25 cents,
and rates for shorter distances were
even lower. This did not satisfy the
grasping managers, and so this week
they got together aud consolidated
the two companies, and up go the
rates just as far as the patience of an
abused public will permit. 1t will
result in the Government taking the
telegraphic system of the country
under its wing at least, it ought to.
The people are Iliots if they permit a
company of grasping spectators to
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