The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1879-07-15
A PUBLIC PEST.
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4 DR., Sam, Chopin, has been tue SuDlecL OF Inc
most unjust and scandalous attacks by the
/ Cifg Item. A gentleman Of the highest stand
| ing. he has been derided in the most contemp-
tuous terms; o physician of the highest dis
tjnction and with national reputation earned
BY learning, skill and ability, he has been de-
nouneed as pretentious quaok; citizen OF
public spirit, he has been represented as
charlatan attempting to ruin the commerce OF
the city for some sinister purpose. With
commendable patience DR.. Chopin has borne
these Injurious insults In silence. But an ar
ticle In the Item of Sunday last has placed
these attacks In new light, and given them
an importance to every citizen OF New Or
leans; hence Dr. Chopin has at length
deemed it proper to characterize them In
terms which no just man will say are not de-
served. The Doctors open letter TO Mr..
Bigney, the editor of the Hem will be found
| In another column.
| The immediate provocation OF the blasting
epistle of DR. Chopin was the editorial In the
Item OF Sunday, headed "Choppnism I'm
masked" All right thinking citizens Of New
Orleans were startled and shocked by that
iniudicious and violent dfatrtbe. 1t recom-
mended the citizens to treat the Board OF
Health and their representatives in
obeying the laws as burglars
and thieves, and broadly intimated
that L. In the discharge of certain OF their
duties designed to protect the public against
the ignorance superstition or obstinacy OF
certain classes, they we're shot down, they
1 would meet their deserts. It was further as
sured by the editor Of the Item that 1t was
the purpose Of the Board OF Health to con-
ceaI the existence Of any cases OF yellow lever
which might occur In this city, so that DR.
| Chopin and his associates in that body
might claim the credit of having e1-
Guided the yellow fever by their system OF
quarantine. Such utterances OF a newspaper,
appealing to the bitter prejudices of the most
Ignorant class of our own people and to the
fears and doubts OF excited ard credulous
communities abroad, cannot but work great
injury to this city, and must be universally
condemned. We all know that it will be
almost as disastrous to New Orleans to
have the Idle rumors sent abroad that vel
low fever Is here believed as to have
the pestilence here In truth. We know, also.
that 1t requires all the high character CT the
Board Of Health for veracity knowledge and
skill to counterfeit abroad even the idle tale
of an ignorant negro or malicious mischief
maker What. then, must be the effect, at
this critical time, when q newspaper OF the
city boldly and broadly asserts that 1t Is the
crlmnal-the infamous-purpos OF the
Board of Health, for a disgraceful end, to
conceal the existence Of the fever here We
have never seen anything to equal such
i malevolence, such reckless and criminal
maievolence, In the brutal persecution OF
body Of public officials, distinguished sclen-
lists and honored gentlemen.
4 Returning to the personal aspect of this
warfare Of the Item upon DR.. Chopin and
other gentlemen Of this city, we must say
that, II not injurious to the public in
terests, 1t ought still to be disgusting to
! all good citizens. The editor OF the Item
does not hold himself responsible for any
insult he may put upon his enemies Hepub-
llcly declares that he will not fight; he will
daily murder the characters Of men; he will
strike at and stab the good name and honor
of gentlemen with the greatest GOODNESS and
courage, but when called upon for satisfac-
tion he refuses 1t. He will neither apologize
nor fight. He delights In being denounced,
and epithets which sting even ordinary COW
ards to madness and fierce resentment,
fall upon this extraordinary and anomalous
creature like water on duck s back. Indeed,
he seems to like such denunciatiOn, for 1t
affords him an excuse to vent his spleen and
abuse for weeks through the columns OF his
paper.
What can a gentleman do who Is SO unfortu-
nate as to displease the fancies or run counter
to the views of this brutal ignoraraus? To
submit, day after day, from one weeks
end to another, to his disgusting abuse
at length becomes intolerable while to
repress his seurrility 1t is necessary to
use such measures as quiet men, with
families and business interests, will not resort
to except In the EXTREMIST cases. A man
such as this, In d civilized community, with
newspaper In his hands, is public pest