St. Landry democrat., 1880-10-02
Now and Then.

Registering voters in st. Landry
parish, during the present political cam
paign, is rather an uphill business; or
rather, the registrar finds little to do but
meet his appointments. Unregistered
voters are not registering worth cent"
The registrar and his clerk must find it
lonely and dull, travelling from appoint
ment to appointment over this extensive
parish, without that hilarious train of
candidates and politicians with free
whisky, that usually accompanies. them.
Then, at every appointment, they were
met by crowd of their patriotic fellow
citizens who were anxious to register
and vote, to listen to the eloquent and
patriotic speeches of the travelling
political bands that followed the regis
trar, and to relieve the latter, for the
sake of their tired teams and buggy
and hack axles, of their burden of adul-
terated corn juice. Now, they go from
place to place as if going to the funeral
of man who has left neither wealth
nor friends-the politicians have de-
serted them, and but few come to regis
ter. What can the matter be? Is it
possible that our local POLITICIANS take
no interest in this election? And do
the people take no interest in it because
the politicians do noto Is not the coun-
try to be saved at this as well as at any
preceding election. Are not Hancock
and Garfield pittcd against each other,
for the highest Offices within the gift
of the American people9 Is not the
Democratic party trying to save the
country and the Republican party to
ruin it, or vice versa, according to a
mans political eyesight Can it be
possible that the salvation of the coun-
try is never at stake, except when the
local offices are up for contest That
can not be, and we know our local poll
ticians are too patriotic and generous to
be lukewarm or hold back when the
country needs the services of their
hands, tongues and purses, even though
they have no personal interests at stake.
Did we not work all night printing big
displayed posters, with spread eagle
on them, calling upon the citizens to
assemble at grand barbecue during
the last campaign and did VIC not do a
lot of other work in our line, for which
they promised to pay us in that solemn
manner which begets faith, only known
to the politician; and were we not dis
missed after the election with the state
ment that they had no money, were
busted, had spent all they had for the
good of the country aud the party, and
that we ought to be willing to gre ou1
work for the same cause? We know
therefore that they feel no lack of in.
terest in the present campaign, but we
cannot understand the dizziness, apathy
and apparent want Of interest that seems
to prevail among our local politicians
The barbecues, the gumbos, the bouillons
and other cOntrivances that were daily
and nightly occurrences during the las
campaign, in order to draw the voters
together that the politicians might q
for them, Individually and collectively
do not figure in the present campaign
This puzzles us, we can't understand it
unless our local politicians have at this
late day taken the advice Of L. S. Sena
tor Carpenter to the people of New
Orleans-quit politics and are attending
to business. We will have to see how
they act in the next struggle for loca
offices, to decide this question. In thu
meantime this new phase in st. Landr,
politics is a puzzle, and the Democrat
and Republicans, like the Scripture
lion and lamb, seem to be lying dow1
together, with no politicians to Leaf
them, with no free whisky to drink tina
they may snarl and fight.
There was a fight In town nigh