The People's vindicator. [volume] (Natchitoches, La.) 1874-1883, 1878-06-29

plain language shall have the Ell CT "l
arou>juo one future country member 10
effort in the right direction, ! snail 't''
that have not written IN VAN, and
will be wholly reconrilr'l to having ar'"S-
ed the anger of ten others.
want onr ttllnw-citizrns OF To-" r"'n-
FRY to know that Ne" Orleans Is lhiS Gay
one of the wnl>t managed cities "l ''"'
civilized world, and her people are not
only heavily but most unJnstly take" '"'
the benefit of Il class who produce MOTH
jur. who contribute nothing to he gen
clal welfare, and VIII" (thr'r business ne
inc that of >n-calltd creditors or th'
ritv> live by lobbying Courts. L'%'S'a-
lures and City Councils. :,
But | hear you Say-"How is TINS : IT
will be six years next fall since city AZ
fairs fell into Notwithstanding
hands. and can things he as bad as all
tli,y answer yes, worse than you pe".-
pie of the country have amy idea OF;
The Witt administration was calI'"
Democratic, but it smothcrcd its nrmor-
racy Nv asking commissions OF off'rr AT
thr hands of Pinchback, and by retain
inc the dcspised George 5. Lacey as CITY
Attorney. OF course, reform was I'm
possible. They simply run the machine
in the Radical rut in which they found 1t,
and when they went ont Of office they lett
thinrs worse than when they entered.
It is a long and sad story-tlc history of
that Standardization long TO tell IN
these letters. Suffice to say. the actors
in the farce tragedy stand as notable en-
anrIcS of the utter nnltncSS OF men
who seek office. and the worse than
folly of people voting for men who 90
seek Office.
The Leeds administration was next III
order. and it will always be known IN
our history as an administration whereof
one eighth part was really chosen by the
people and not by ''ring' of enemies OF
the people, Politics had reached fever
point under Kellogg that forced the l''o~
ri, themselves to selection. did Halter
myself on that occasion with the hope
that thew would do their work we'll. but,
as usual, they stopped short and seemed
satisfied with debating Mayor. Charles
| |. Leeds was drawn ont from his prefer
red retirement and made Mayor after a
desperate struggle in Convention against
the ring power.
All who knew Mr. Leeds felt that he
would. to the fullest extent of his intel.
lect and physical capacity. be the fr'end
and servant IF the whole people, and
work for the removal Of the bnrthens
which oppressed them. The history OF
his ncumhency is rrplrte with evidence
of his faithfulnrSs to the trust repo>rd IN
him. To say that he did all he could dc
as Mayor, is not saying one word toe
much: but he was poWtilt>s at last 10!
his hands were tied by a taithlrss Board
of Administrators who owed their alk
glance to the rings that put them in the
offices they sought, and whose beheSts
We're wholly antayonistic to those OF th'
people. =,
have lived here long time, and
have seen many pnhlic official take hi
seat in our City Hall; but can freely
say that Charles |. Leeds is the only mai
| ever saw seated of whom it might bt
said-he has no axes to grind for self o1
friends True, | do not agree with HIM
in all his views of public policy; on tn,
contrary. think he occasional ~ erred
as he would not have done, h. d he hee'
surrounded by Il Council in full sympa
thy with him. and intelligent enough tt
comprehend. his broad views of things
tut, if he did err, ! believe it was OF TIT
head alone. His heart always was, i
now, and ever will he, on the side OF RICH
and honesty.
One would suppose that such mar
would be kept in office by the people
No, that is a hard thing for the people tt
Ito, and they will only do it when the.
are ground still further down under tn
heel of the money power. And yet, l an
distinctly disposed to blame Mr. Iced
for the fact that neither he nor anothe
man like him are in the Mayors seat to
day. -,
! have said that Mr.. Leeds was tn
Mayor of the people. He would hav
much preferred the retired life he had y
long led ; but, he accepted the baton q
reform when called out, and he shoul
have given distinct sign at the end OF hi
two years service Of bis willingness t
serve again. This two years service ha
but prepared him for real efficiency, and
more important than all, it. bad let hin
fully into the secret of "the ways tia
are dark" among Councilmen. TO no
one of those with whom he bad serve
was Mr.. Leeds under any obligation
whatever, and, in announcing himself b.
letter, or by speech among the people
as a candidate tor reelection, and brave
| ly revealing the inner workings OF hi
administration, he could have 80 aroHse'
the people as to have insured not onl
his own return, bnt tho election OF
Council that would have fully sustained
him and led us ont of the wilderness
But this form of public devotional de
votion that Overrides all selfish consider
atoms and all misconeeived considera
ton for public servants, who are know
to have been tlagrantly derelict in dut,
is not given to many men. Mr.. Iced
is too modest and too kind to take hi
gloves off in politics. He would handle
rough of the City Hall as he would on
OF his babes at home. And | wonder a
this too, for the man has spent a mos
useful life in the atmosphere of an Irol
Foundry, and is full y accustomed to see
ing that it takes hard blows to accom-
plish great things. When we look a
the great trip hammer of Foundr,
we see that it accomplishes its mission
only through aggression. New Orleans
! like the State at large, needs a trip ham
mer. .
And this brings us down to the
! PRESENT CITY ADMINISTRATIONS.
On May 2lst, the people of thel1t'
Ward of this City held a Mass meeting
to protest against the late arbitrary rul
ing of the Parish Central Committee il
| regard to ward organization for the com
ing campaign. A speaker remarked
I'VE have a City Administration of on
own selection"-when' man in tn
crowd cried out -"yes, and a bad 10
they arew :r;,. .......j
! Sententious and correct remark, that
and 10 doubt made by one of those whor
we are in the habit Of calling the 'oi poi
lo1. But it is my experience that it
among this element that most Of wha
we term political sagacity and virtue
to be found.