The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-07-14
A DROVE OF sOOUNDRELs.

We have seldom seen anything more brutal
| in the examination OF witnesses than the man
ner In which Gov. Cox bulldozed u. l.. Weber
| last Thursday, Mr., Weber Is not, 1t Is true, o
man Of very high moral perceptions nor
savory political record; but that Is no excuse
| for the rude and unfeeing assaults of the
| Ohio gentleman upon the character Of his dead
brother, and we instinctively sympathize
with the resentment manifested by the wit
ness. The zeal of Gov. Cox, however to
prevent, or dlscredlt, the disclosure of
the villalnies Of his party In Louisi-
ana has defeated his purpose and
provoked the very result he desired to
| escape. The testimony of Mr. Weber given
before the committee Thursday and Friday Is
OF the most extraordinary nature; and yet
there is not an intelligent citizen Of Louisiana
| who does not know that every word he uttered
was true. eff there was villainy," said Weber
TO Gen. Cox, cit was on the part Of John Sher-
man and the visiting statesmen" On Friday
he said to the Governor, "you have ruined
me- and now / will ruin them all. Ii / am TO
go down, they shall go down with me, by God
| IT | am q rascal they were all rasCals-alI of
them"
| BY all of them Mr.. Weber meant John
Sherman, Stanley Matthews, the sauctified
JOB Stevenson and the other visiting states
men, together with Kellogg, Packard, Mad
| Wells, Tom Anderson and the other worthless
who stole the electoral vote of Louisiana and
attempted to steal our State government. Mr.
Weber did not utter o mere furious denuncia-
ton Of these men. Before he used these
eplthets, and after he had done So he related
facts which are within the knowledge OF all
we'll informed men In this State, and the mere
recital Of which was competent to brand
upon the brow Of every one Of the gang, from
John Sherman down to the dirtiest sneak
among them: "SCoUFDREbw
Certainly Weber was himself one Of the par
ty But that does not weaken bis testimony.
Therascaliues he testities to were notorious at
the time; they were exposed by the Louisiana
press; they were denounced throughout the
State and throughout the whole country. They
could not be proved by direct testimony be-
cause the gang were enjoying their plumber
and tho fruits of their vilainy, and none Of
them would "squeal"
But IL was impossible to always pre-
serve the harmony Of such an Infamous com
blnation. Indeed, 1t is wonderful how such q
|
Sherman, and creatures like J. w. Jones, the
professional forger 80 long kept faith
with each other. We were certain how
ever, the breakup would come sooner or
later and 1t has come now. Weber, in expos
| ing the rasCalities of his associates has not
spared himself; he has told the whole story
and though the Republican press may try TO
discredt him though they will turn their mud
batteries upon him with d view OF shielding
the balance OF the gang, the dsmning record
cannot be expunged; 1t Is the truth, and the
country will accept it as the truth. Indeed,
we are certain that If Gov. Cox were to ex-
pose the secret feelings Of his own heart he
would express the conviction that the preten-
tons Of Packard were based on villainy and
that the counting OF the electoral vote Of Lou
isiana for Hayes WAS an act Of damnable
fraud, disgraceful to Hayes, disgraceful to
the Republican party, to Congress, the Elec-
boral Commission, and the whole country.
Nav, we think we would find that he Is now
ashamed OF his party and cause and Disguised
with the gang of thieves, bribers, bribe-
takers. forgers, blackmailers and swindlers
who for eight years ran Louisiana on the
reconstruction policy.
Mr. Weber did not spare himself. He said
only in palllation Of his part in the rascality
he detailed, that he was young man and
that he had been tempted and corrupted by
the leaders Of Gov. Cox's party. The plea In
abatement Is q good one. Weber and bis
brother and J. L. Anderson were yet young
men when Gov. Cox's party Of great moral
ideas began to reconstruct Louisiana. These
young men were perhaps, not possessed
naturally Of o high sense of integrity. But
under healthful conditions Of society they
might have lived honest lives and made good
and useful citizens. But the craftsmanship
of the North decided that Louisiana had tC
be plundered and Inundated, and they sent
down men like Warmoth and Kellogg to dc
it.; here they found for the work men like
Tom Anderson and Mad. Wells; and wher
the carnival OF political debauchery begar
these swept into its vortex hundreds o.
, men like J. Il. Anderson and the Webers
tempting them with Office debauching them
with plumber, until they became capable o
any crime short of murder. The heads o
Q these men were turned; they were infatuated
. with plumber and power. We do not blame
= them now. We trust and believe Mr.. Weber
Z is sincere when he pleads that he did not real
' ize the enormity of the crimes he was perpe
= = trating In the interest of Gov. Cox's party
h Of great moral ideas, and that so soon a!
q he did realize it he determined to make
I clean breast of the whole vile business
But the history of that party in Louisiana ha
l. been made, and no power on earth can un
d write the black, damnable, filthy record Of vii
q lainy. Nor can the John Shermans, like tn
4 smaller men, claim any excuse for their par
a in it, The merciless prosecutors OF State
!. the debauchers of young men; the apostle
q of the Evangel Of perjury, forgery and rot
berry, though they are in power to-day, whe
they fall, as fall they must, they will go dow
l. despised by the people as men who have dis
a graced their country and their generation.
. OUR CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS.