The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1879-07-16
"TnE REGULATORS"

Is the immediate jewel OF every tru
mans soul, and time was when th
people of Louisiana we're regarded q
second to none on this continent il
the great attributes Of honor, prob
Iity and veracity, on which a goos
name rests. But now, and we ma!
say all of sudden, the odious ant
malignant cognomen which head
this column, is glibely thrown up a
the people of the State, and right ii
Alexandria has it blistered th'
tongue of more than one pure ant
immaculate patriot, and, In fact
passes pretty freely as patent word
And pray, let Us askwbo are these
Louisiana "Repudiators?' The true
citizens Of the State, men who have
been educated to feel the bitter op
preston of the Radical party fol
twelve long years, and because now
they refuse, through their Delegates
ia the Convention, unfortunately fol
stricken Louisiana in small minor.
ity, to recognize the validity of this
so called State Debt, "and the loans
and frauds out of which their letters
were 80 basely forged" We are
called "Repudiators" because we re-
fuse to forget our good and honest
teachings in behalf of our people,
and the fiery oratory of our public
speakers in our still hallowed cause
now passes for nothing, and all is
drowned in the SANDER slogan Of
"Repudiators." These misguided
friends of ours seem to forget our
true position and that of the dele
gates who refuse to foot the whole
debt, good, bad, and fraudulent, and
that these same delegates and some
twenty-five more who have strayed
woefully from the true path of Dem.
ocratic teachings for twelve years,
would only be doing their plain and
marked duty in refusing to acknowl-
edge that debt, less than the "repu.
dating" of some of the shylock in
terest Of the patriot bondholders and
their new fledged friends, who squeal
"repudiation." They seem to forget
that in Louisiana, and notably in Ra.
pides, great many of our people,
merchants and planters, who from
some unfortunate cause or other, did
not keep their houses in order in a
financial point, have had to resort,
and very properly and justly too, to
means by which they have compro-
missed their Indebtedness, and in va
rious instances have honorably ar.
ranged them on a basis of half of,
twenty-five cents on the dollar, and
even have been forced to take the
Bankrupt Act. Why we're these par.
ties compelled to take this course?
Simply and purely in self defence
because they could not pay their
whole indebtedness, but fairly and
honorably paid it on compromise
or bargain basis. Were these men
called robbers, OR even worse, "Repu-
diators," for thus acting within the
best scope to wipe out a certain per-
centage of their debt. We believe
not, We know not, for we know of as
good citizens in Rapides as Louisi-
ana can boast, who have thus acted,
and by that means can now hold up
their heads, and look these patriots
right in the face and tell them we
are not "Repudiators," we have made
q fair settlement as far as our prop
erty and our means would 60 and
our creditors have all received their
prorata, and we have clear con.
science in the thought, that we have
lone the best, under the circumstan.
,es, we possibly could, and have no
,ompunctions in the matter.
We are 'Repudiator" enough from
our past and present experience, to
know that these men acted well, |
wisely and honestly, and still justly
claim the respect and esteem of all
good men, and we are "Repudiator"
still to be maturely convinced that |
'ur State is exactly in the same fix |
that these same citizens were, ex-
,ept that their Indebtedness was a |
valid one, and misfortunes too tedi. |
,us and numerous to mention here, |
,aused them to fall back on the
course we have stated. Our State is |
n this fix, but it has been brought
IN BY fraud and profigate rascality,
unknown save under tue rule of a |
Varmoth and Kellogg, and there
ore, our State is Justly, fairly, char