The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-03-16
A CORRUPT JUDICIARY,

| New Orleans enjoys the distinction whether
enviable or not we shall not say In 30 many
words. OF being the only city in Amer
lea where a baby show hasbeen al
lowed to go off without disturbance, and
the judges awarding the prizes to
escape being mobbed by infuriated mothers.
LIS 1t possible our Southern woman have been
RECONSTRUCTED" at last, and are we to accept
the meekness with which they have, in the
aggregate, submitted to the awards of the
judges as the evidence of spirit broken by
| oppression What more convincing testi-
mony could the North demand of the peace
full disposition of our people than this won
derful display Of humility on the part Of the
collective maternity of this city? There is
not another city in the Union where the same
number of mothers would have peacefully
resigned themselves to the declaration by
public award that there was more beautiful
baby on earth than each one of them claimed
as her own. ..-.
1t Is true that this fact may be attributed,
In measure, to very questionable trick ON
the part OF the judges which established the
arbitrary rule of weight to decide the ques-
ton Of superiority. This was clearly a cow
ardly and unworthy evasion of the RESPONSE
bility imposed upon them, and we must con-
TESS our establishment that the proud and
high-spirited mothers of Louisiana permitted
their darlings to be valued by the pound,
like so many marketable pigs. There
is something revolving to us in the
very suggestion of such thing. It Is a
thought worthy of cannibal and if such
notions about the merits Of our progeny are
to maintain, we might as we'll adopt Dean
Swift's political economy for Ireland, and eat
our own babies to save the expense Of raising
them. Babies by the avoirdupois. forsooth!
What mother loves her baby by the pound?
When Cornela said proudly, "These are my
jewels, did she speculate In her Utmost heart
as to how much they would pull down on the
green-groeer's scales around the corner?
Perish the base and degrading thought!
II there is an object in all the world of beau
tiful creation that appeals to the esthetic
sense more entirely than another. that object
is baby, rosy, laughing, growing, kicking,
rollicking baby.
Babies have points, just as Mark Twain's
jumping frog had, though muddle-headed
committee mem may not know it. Some
sleep all night without being walked, some
never have collie, and some have more teeth
than others, and others have more hair, or
are whittier, or have nicer clothes Are all
these considerationssto be ignored for mere
of weight? Who knows that
the winning babies were not loaded with shot, |
just as Mark Twain's frog was?
We do not mean to insinuate that such was
the case; we merely ask the question to show |
what miserable subterfuge the judges at !
this show resorted to in order to escape the |
delicate responsibilities imposed upon them.
Indeed, we volunteer the opinion that the |
babies were not SO loaded. as our purpose is |
TO arouse the indignation of their mothers as
well as OF all others Interested, against the |
Judges and not against ourselves. This, |
We trust, is q purpose entirely consis-
sent with an upright and fearless jour
lalism. IT the judges at our baby shows
Ire to resort to such cowardly evasions; if
hey are so shameless as to hide themselves
behind such miserable expedients through
;oieitudes for their personal safety, we are
lot to be blamed for exposing them to ridicule
md contempt We wish it distinctly under
stood that, in a matter of this kind, we know
10 personal likings or animosities. We make
10 charges against any one-we only know
hat standard of merits of babies has been
rected. and we believe through fear and
ther unworthy motives, which no woman
nth the instincts OF maternity can ever &C
ept as true one. We believe that the