The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-06-23

policy
not care red cent what we do with Howard's
lottery, or any other monopoly; or that We
abolish useless offices, or cut down ex0rbttant
salaries; or that we recognize the judiciary
emo, know that the will say, but then
you know, 1t Is very doubtful II we eol1lc
carry the State and get our own people into
] the convention In commanding majority; and
you know 1t would be disastrous to fail and
have Radical convention"
But did we not carry the State in the Nc
Emery campaign"
"Oh! of ooursep'
"And did we not carry 1t again in the
Nichols campaign
ooh yes, that's So"
"And did we not. in both those campaigns
have Radical officials in charge of the ma
ehinery, and the United States troops to
back them"
Eyes, but you know "Oh? the ID
take your butts. When you were after office,
and could vote for you, you gave me credit
for common sense; now you have other mas
ters to serve, and am id fool"
/ And this Is the whole thing In nut shell.
h Let the people Of Louisiana not be deceived
on this great and underlying question of a
constitutional convention. ALI objections to
1t come from "the money power" the hold
ers of unnecessary offices and the receivers of
exorbitant public salaries or .perquisites in
office; and those public officials who have
thus far defeated the public demand for q
convention are either the instruments OF one
or all of the elements, or else are so feeble of
opinion as to be worse than active enemies.
i Another every day
ARGUMENT OF THE AUTHORIZATION Off
CALLS
| / must not forget to record here All of them
speak the little speech as glibly as the ten
| years old school boy does his commencement
| platform exercise, though not Us innocently.
This so-ealled argument Is, that In s'the
| present excited state of the DeoDle-flushed as
nr tvif pxTpr n reln
less and despotie political foe-they are not to
| be trusted In constitutional convention; they
would surely run into excess. After awhile,
when the cool and sober second thought pos
sesses them, it may be right to hold O convens
ton"
If this argument were uttered in SINGER
ity | should be forced TO brand 1t as insensate
twaddle, and worse than unworthy Of real
men; but there Is no sincerity in 1t, and If the
people do not mark and punish every holder
who has dared thus to insult their patriotism
and intelligence, then they deserve to wear
the collar Of servitude all their days.
Talk of the people OF Louisiana going to
excess" in constitutional convention as
sembiedl What part of the history Of this
people thus charaeterizes them On the con-
trary, does not their conduct under War
mothian and Kelloggian rule prove them to be |
almost eriminally patient? Look back to
the Fourteenth of September, 1874, when with
arms in their hands they strangled despot-
ism in an hour and paid the price of the best
blood in the.land Who then, was guilty of
excess r Not one man. And was not that
the hour for excess" IL it was ever to come T?
Gould we not then have wiped out of exist |
ence the last villain who had had his accursed
foot upon our neck And If we had done so,
even though the haunts of unreasoning and
raventng Radicalism would have seethed and
boiled over with bowling condemnation,
would we have found no hearts to have
sympathized with and approved the act ?
Excess" indeedl Would it be "excess
fS, Frny hat IF al
vania, on like unto any other in this country
that has emanated from thinking and patri- |
otto people, And do the people of Louisiana
desire q constitution worse than that OF
Pennsylvania
Out upon the faithIess political huckster In
Office, who, while holding lucrative or honor
able position at the hands of the people he
has fiattered and cajOled into trusting him,
plays basely false in their hour of need, and
even insults their manhood and intelIi-
gencel
II additional proof were wanted in regard
THE WONDERFUL PATIENCE AND FoRBEAR-
ANCE OF THE PEOPLE OF LOUISIANA
In matters political, it is clearly to be found
in the caininess with which they have re-
eeived the hitherto unheard-of action of the
late Legislature In virtually resolving itself
into constitutional convention, and Offering
their usurpatory spawn to the votes OF their
constituents.
Let us hope that the calrnness with which
this outrage Is received Is no indication of
submission to the indignity or acquiescence
in the wrong On the contrary, let us hope
that 1t is but that calm which preeedes the
storm, and that through the ballot box this |
fall the men who composed the last Legsla-
ture will receive rebuke which will make
them hang their heads in shame and confu-
sion.
1t will never do for the people of Louisiana
to even appear to sanction the outrageous
usurpation attempted by the last Legislature
in offering to their votes some twenty amend |
ments to constitution which the people never
framed, and at the same time retaining In
tact the most Odious and oppressive features |
OF the instrument. Even II the amendments |
included the elimination of every objectiona-
BILE feature, people tenacious Of their rights
and watehful over their liberties will never
permit servants whom they have appointed |
to perform specific duties to so far transcend
their functions as to attempt the manufacture |
of an organic law for them.
In the past ten years have passed with my |
people through all the deep humiliation that |
attends subordnation to resistiess military
despotism, and this ordeal Is the great cru
cible which tries the metal Of which we are |
made. i have seen many fall on the wayside, |
sick at heart, weary, fainting, yet loyal In I
spirit. / have seen others die from sheer ex- |
haustion. And have seen not few desert, |
go over to the enemy, and become the worst |
prosecutors OF their former friends. But the
great army OF the people !. has chung together
which was surely to come as q reward for |
faithful adhesion to the undying principles |
which underlie legitimate and beneficial gov |
eminent. The people have been faithful to- |
themselves in the face of a foreign foe; will |
they be less faithful In presence of the foe |
that strikes from within ? Will they use their |
ballots to riyet chains upon their wrists more |
CALLING when realized, mere difficult to rend |
asunder than those just broken to pieces and |
cast at the feet of our foes2
] will only believe in the quiet submission |
Of my people to domestic usurDation when |
see them cast their ballots to sustain 1t.
AMERICUs CURIH.
- . -
choice line of lawns. organizes, jaeonets,
etc to be opened tomorrow at M Il, Byrne Il