The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1878-01-23
THE LONG AGONY OVER.

George Williamson has been ap
pointed Collector of the PoIt of New
Orleans alias Boss of the Custom
House, and varied will now be thu
groans heard from the old granite
building. For one, we commend thu
appointment as q most excellen
one, considering the material from
which Mr.. Hayes was forced to Sc
lect from. We know George Will
hanson we'll, and though he has beer
punctured with Grantism, though b.
is now considered a Republican, ye
we know and believe him to be {
gentleman of culture; a most excel
lent business man and withal an hon
est man, and feel sure he will make {
good Collector; he has ability an6
executive capacity for any sphere
and we believe his Republicanism is
not more than skin deep, and we look
to him to purge and cleanse the Au
gean stable, over which he is called
to preside, and convert it back to its
original and former purposes, the
business place and rendezvous of the
merchants and importers OF New Or.
leans.
To show our readers how Others
regard this appointment, we give the
announcement of it to the New Or
leans Democrat by A. c. Buell., its
we'll informed Washington cores.
pendent:
WASHINGTON, Jan. 16.-The long
agony over the New Orleans collec
torship is at last over. The appoint
nent of successor to Jim Casey
has given Hayes as much trouble as
it gave Grant to keep Jim in. It is
not necessary to 60 over the whole
history Of this wonderful appoint
ment, which began with King, An
derson's brother-in law, who was
withdrawn; then was transferred to
Lawrence, who collapsed; and has now
fallen upon Williamson, who will
probably get through. During the
struggle Mr.. Hayes has made a most
remarkable display of his peculiar
talent for being everybody's friend
at the expense of everybody else
He has made several appointments
which have fallen through; and ten
times as many promises, which have
been broken.
He has succeeded in adjudicating
or disgusting every one Of the Re-
publican factions in Louisiana, and
has at last made an appointment to
which they are all indifferent.
HAYES PROMISES.
He definitely promised Warmoth
that he would renew the nomination
of Lawrence; then be promised Judge
Leonard that he would dominate
Mcmillan; then he held out to Pack.
ards friends that the big ''Boss"
still had chances.
He played fast with John Sherman
and tue Returning Board. loose with
Schurz and .Warmoth, and fas; and
loose both with Packard and Kellogg
and final y dod ged them all.
No single act of Mr.. Hayes admin
istration affords so clear an index to
his character as does his manage
ment of this appointment. After
listening to the advice of everybody
and coquetting with all the factions,
be has fallen back upon his favori,e
tactics of negation, and has nomina-
Ted man whose sole merit is that
be resembles Hayes, in being every
thing that amounts to nothing, and
that amounts to anything.
The nomination of Packard would
have pleased the Radicals, and quiet
ed the Returning Board; that of Law
renee would have pleased Warmoth
and the Louisiana delegation in
Congress, but Williamson's nomina-
tion pleases nobody except William
son, and is equally acceptable and
unacceptable to all parties and all
factions. Williamson will try to
keep the Returning Board quiet, 10
harmonic Warmoth, to conciliate
Packard, to appease Pinchback, and
to be acceptable to Democrats at the
same time.
That is he will try to do in the
New Orleans Custom House wha,
Hayes has tried to do in the White
House. The result will probably be
the same in both cases. This is s
summary Of the views of all the Lou
isiana Republican factions, as repre-
sented here. 1t is the most striking