The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-07-20
ST. LOUIS NOTES.
The sun Plague-HOw 1t Has DesOIRted
the City-The New orleans Interna-
tlOnaI Convention what It Can
Achieve.

the Cfty-The Rev orleans HnGeFna~
tlOnaI Convention - what It Can
Achieve.
ST. LOUIS, July &c. 1878.
| The signal service and the reporters for the
Associated Press have doubtless kept you
well advised of the heat plague that is upon
us just now; but both combined could not
| picture the scenes of suffering and general
desolation that brood over the city. The
mortality for the last few days has been al
| most equal to cholera times, and the deaths
have been more sudden and fearful than those
| caused by that terrible pestilence. In many
cases an hour, or even q half hour, has been
| sufficient to transform q strong man into a
corpse and place him In the Morgue The
| capacity of this dead-house has been unequal
to the pressure. Yesterday evening it held
nearly thirty dead bodies, and the city under
taker was busy all night putting them under
ground. On the streets men drop down like
flies on poisoned paper or bees in a bee fight
From the great hall Of the Exchange, just
under where am writing two men were just
carried out, stricken by the sun plague.
This terrible visitation commenced one
week ago. and while several hundred have
suffered from attacks, fully 100 are now In
their graves. Such @ continuance Of extreme
heat has never been known here before. The
whole business of the city Is paralyzed by the
| presence OF a death-dealing agency that has
fairly frightened the people, and every one
looks to see who shall fall next. Like soldiers
in great BATTLE each man has made up his
mind to take the chances, and only hopes and
prays for the best.
AS for the weather, it falsifies all the calcu-
iations Of the signal man and the WiseaCreS
and holds to its horrid grip with the tenacity
Of death ITSELF Each day Is like the day be-
fore 1t, only little worse and the nights are
about the same. Each morning the sky looks
like the dome OF an immense furnace heated
TO incandescence, and the sun like huge ball
OF redhot iron rolls up through the concave
and drops suddenly down behind the western
horizon But its absence gives little relief, for
the air and earth are full of free caloric, and
even the moon and stars look hot. People
cannot sleep or even rest. They lie about on
balconies and doorsteps, or wander about
their Suffocating chambers o shirtless and
shiftless crowd, trying to fan themselves cool
with hot air. The pavements are bliStering
hot to the feet water thrown upon them
turns to hot vapOr; muzzled dogs wander
about with rabid look In their eyes, and men
stick close to the shade OF a brick wall that
has just been heated up to $50 degrees. AS |
write the ideas, like Bob Acres courage, oOze
out at my finger ends In great drops of per-
spiration. The thermometer stands at 1912 in
the shade, and as Prof. Tice has marked this
as the hottest day of the century, we can only
hope for respite tomorrow.
But did not set out to write an essay on
the weather, SO let it pass. My purpose was
rather to congratulate you and your city
upon the movement just inaugurated to bring
together a convention at New Orleans in No
vember to consider and take action upon
measures Of vital interest to the West and
South, and OF great Importance to the whole
country. The three great interests named in
the programme for the call Of the convention
should bring together large body of repre-
sentative men from different parts OF the
United States, the earnest expression Of
whose convictions must have great influence
in securing proper legislation by Congress.
Nature has given to the Valley OF the MissiS-
ssippi one OF the grandest natural highways
for commerce in the world, and it is just as
little as we can do to keep 1t In such
order as to meet the ever increasing de-
mands for transportation by the score of
States bordering upon this great river. But
between the Mississippi and the Pacific there
lies an immense territory, equal in extent to
the thirteen original States and possessing
mineral wealth sufficient to enrich an empire
without q single mile Of navigable water.
What nature has neglected to furnish man
must supply. II we cannot make rivers Of
water we can make rivers Of iron, and the
requirements of the West and South demand
the construction of a railway on the thirty
second parallel, that shall not only develop
the wealth OF that region, but save the whole
country many millions of dollars by whole
some competition with the present Pacific
line.
These two measures-the improvement Of
the Mississippi and the construction of Pa
cifie railway-will help to transport our i'm
mense surplus products to the sea. But how
shall they be carried thence to the markets Of
the world? Nothing but an increase of our
merchant marine can effect this. We are suf-
fering now from the very plethora Of prOduc-
ton. 1t will be Of no avail to carry our i'm
mense crops Of wheat, corn and cotton to the
sea shore unless we have ships to transport
them thence to the wide world across the seas
where they are wanted. We must have lines
of ocean steamers to South America and all
parts Of the world. Foreign commerce COM
pletes the circle of human industries, and
without this we should gradually drift into
poverty, ignorance and barbarism.
Governmental encouragement to any or all
three of these great enterprises would be no
real subsidy, because it would return to the
government and the people tenfold the
amount invested. Hitherto the West and
South have had but a small share of the
bounties bestowed In aid Of internal improve
ments. Like the poor boy at the frolic, they
have answered very well to fetch and carry
but have been compelled to content them
selves with the crumbs from the table and the
lees from the wine cask. The time has come
when these grand divisions of the Republic
should unite to assert and demand measures
of simple justice. The proposed convention
is the very agency to secure this grand result.
j. l.. T.
Laroche Joubert proposes plan to double
the population of France, which he fances is
hoo inn Hn of1aT from fha hall ot