The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1877-04-11
PLAYING GOVERNOR.

Packard, the pet-bagger from
Maine, who would wear the mantle
of the other carpet Dagger from Hi
nois, Kellogg, is still playing Cover
nor in the St. Louis Hotel. The
one act farce, long drawn out is played
to small audience, and we are sorry
that we cannot as is usual call it Csc
lect." But for status quo and the
United States soldiers in the adjoin-
ing building even that audience
weuld have tired of the sombre. and
unsatisfactory play and have left
that dark and gloomy old building to
the silent echoes of the hooting owl
and the whirling bat. A Governor
whose Territory is bounded by four
walls, whose Treasury is empty,
whose Legislature is without even
the pretext of a quorum, whose fol-
lowers are scarce and whose friends
in his own party can be counted on
the fingers, is Stephen B. Packard,
the carpet Dagger from Maine.
Now let us see if we can prove all
these assertions. In New Orleans be
himself acknowledges that his gov
eminent is without authority. His
police do not appear on the streets;
his Courts hold their sessions IN the
St. Louis Hotel and nowhere else;
his militia is a myth, for his recruit
ing officers were arrested and i'm
prisoned without opposition, and it
is a fact easily verified that nowhere
in New Orleans is his authority &C
knowledged outside of the four walls
of the Hotel. He claims that in the
few Parishes surrounding the City
which have a large preponderance Of
colored people his authority is recog-
nized by them, but for this we have
nothing to show but his bare asser-
ton, contradicted as it is by the fact
that the two Congressional Districts
composed of New Orleans and the
surrounding Parishes elected Gene
raj R. L. Gibson and E. j. Ellis,
Democrats, in 1874 and 1875, and
that the Parish of Plaquemines just
below the city elected Warmoth to
the Legislature at the last election,
and Warmoth is no friend or supper
ter of Packard. AS to the other Pa
rishes Packard says they are bull
dozed or they would recognize him.
Except an average of not over six
white men in each the other Parishes
he knows and all the world knows he
has no white support. His colored
supporters own no property and pay
no or but little taxes, and we claim
that as between Packard and Mich
oils, separated from the Presidential
issue, large majority of the colored
voters would vote for Nichols, as
many of them did anyway, for they
are themselves as tired of the carpet
Dagger as we are, and these are the
men of Intelligence among the color
ed people who are unwilling to be
''dumb, driven CATTLE any longer,
and with sense and self-respect
enough to know that they have been
the political slaves of the carpet bag
gers and that they had gained their
personal liberty at the expense OF
their political freedom.
That his Treasury is empty is
proved by the suspension of the free
public schools in all the country Pa
rishes; by the universal refusal OF
tax payers to pay taxes to his gov.
eminent; by the low price of his war.
rants in the market and by the still
more significant fact that he has not
made an appointment Of single Tax
Collector that has come under oul
notice.
That his Legislature is without 8
legal quorum in either branch is
abundantly proved by its own re
cords. 1t is made up of defeated
candidates, rejected by the Returning
: Board and "seated subject to con
test" In his Senate, Kelso from
this District and Percy Baker from
the Claiborne District, were seatet
early In the hrSt session, though
their opponents were returned electe,
by the Board and are acting with tn
Nichols government, and they hav
recently seated Tom Anderson from
the St. Landry District, who acknow
lodged that he was defeated and sail
in the Returning Board that he CAV
it up and would not take the Office
returned as he acknowledged that hi
= opponent, Mr.. Garland in the Mich
oils Senate, was fairly elected, and 0
G. Monette from the Third Distric
under the same conditions. In hi