St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1879-02-22
No Pay for the Patriots.
IN. O. TinleS.i

An awful doubt aud q grisly fear arise
as we review the financial situation.
Can it be possible, for instance, that
these frlghtful legislative blunders and
these inexplicable feats of mismanage-
ment will result in leaving the State
without money to pay the per diem and
mileage of the delegates to the forth
coming Convention Can it he possible
that the burning patriots who rally to
the clarion call of glory and emoluments
will be left without red cent to settle
with their landlady and to pay the
tripe- and-liver man at Poydras market?
1t is a horrible and revolving thing to
think of, but we fear it is only too true.
We fear that the orr ginal idea will have
to be abandoned and that the great and
good men who assemble here to make a
Constitution for the State will have to
pay their own expenses and to go back
home very empty as to their pocket
books, however bloated they may DO in
the matter OF self-esteem. There is
Ouly one construction to be put upon
the facts before US, and that is that the
appalling middle in which the late
Legislature left the State is likely to
last us until we can convene another
Legislature for the specific purpose of
getting us out OF the scrape. AS things
now stand, the appropriations come to
about 100000 or 100000 more than the
practicable revenues OF the State, and,
to forestall the disastrous consequences
Of such state OF affairs, Judge Hous-
ton and others have njoined the Audi
tor from issuing and the Treasurer
from paying any warrants drawn against
these appropriations until the salaries
of the Constitutional officers shall be
paid. The result OF this arrangement
is that there will be little OF nothing
left after paying the judges and the rest
of the Constitutional officers and, hence,
that nearly it not all the other appro-
priations will fall to the ground. We
have not the data or the time for emu
merating the appropriations that are
likely to remain forever eDjoined, but it
is safe to say that the expenses of the
Constitutional Convention are among
them. We feel entirely justified in pre-
dieting that there will not he an Access
sible dollar for the purpose OF paying
the mileage and per diem of delegates
or for paying the salaries of clerks, ETC.,
employed by the Convention. Gentle
men i'll distant parts OF the State-or
right here in New Orleans, for that
matter-who are calculating upon the
$4 per day alluded to in the Convention
bill, may as well dismiss the fascinating
vision at once. There will be no 81
day for them. The chances are that
there will be nothing at all-but even if
the injunctions should be raised by that
time and the Auditor be free to issue
their warrants, those warrants will not
be salable upon the streets for the actual
worth OF the paper upon which they
are written. Those who desire to sit in
the Convention, therefore, may as we'll
make up their minds to do so on grounds
OF pure and unseltsh patriotism. Not
in this year of Jour Lord 1879 will the
treasury of Louisiana have money to
pay accidental officials Or, indeed, any
but the few and favored ones especially
provided for by the Constitution. OF
course the prospect will not deter any
one lwho has resolved to sacrifice his
time and labor upon the altar of his
native land. We only mention the
matter by way of illustrating the plight
into which Louisiana has fallen and of
impressing upon her atfectionate chill
dren the occasion for extra devotion Oh
their part.