The Daily telegraph. (Monroe, La.) 1870-1886, 1883-10-18
A CA MPA1GN ISLANDER.
ATTEMPT TO INyURE
GOV. M'ENERY.
Complete and Overwhelming Refuta-
ton Of the Charge,

The following communication to the
editor Of the Bugle Call was published
IN the Picayune,of Sunday morning:
Editor Bugle Call:
The Times-DemUcrat of Oct. /, 1883,
reproduces an article from the Baton
Rouge Capitolian.A Advocate headed
"Wil1 the combination bolt ~ l see
no better way of answering our friend
Jastremski than by.putting to him the
very pertinent counter question, can
the administration a,asmers
A .tev of the anti.administratio
Democrats who, like myself, are of a
rather skeptical turn of mind, refuse to
accept without better proof the posi-
tion of martyr and of injured innocence
which the administration organs
throughout the State have ingeniously
created to order for the special benefit
OF the present incumbent of the guber-
material chair Of the State Of Loui-
siana.
These organs seem, with singular
unanimity, to have united upon the
following line of defense to clear Gov.
Sam ID. McEnery of all responsibility
in the damning frauds which have
characterized the administration Of the
State Land Registers office under his
appointee, Jas. G. Richardson.
They all claim: |. That the land
contract, under cover of which these
frauds were perpetrated, was an act Of
Gov. Wiltz's administration, for which
Gov. McEnery was clearly not reSpon-
sible; 2. That Jas. G. Richardson's
appointment being based upon the re-
commentator of some of the best men
in the State, again clears him of any
responsibility as to the frauds COM
mitted by him.
Ii we were to charitably accept the
above premises, without instituting
any further inquiry into the true in
wardness of these apparently very
plausible propositions, we could I'M
doubtediy reach no other conclusions.
But rs we happen 10 have been told
a thing or Two on this, to the voters Of
Louisiana, very important subject, we
propose, were it only to vindicate the
memory Of the late Gov. Wilt to let
the people have the facts as we hold
them from what We believe to be first,
class authority.
When Gov. Wilt signed the land
contract with er de.jlp'e GOV. John Nc
Emery he happened to have placed at
the head of the land office gentleman
whose recognized integrity and capa-
city rendered the preparation Of any
fraud an imposslbility.
1t is fact susceptible of proof that
John McEnery attempted, under the
tenure of Office of James q. Rchard.
sons predecessor, the very peculiar
transactions which he managed under
Gov. Sam. McEnery'S appointee to
cOnsummate.
The land contract then, with Gov.
Wiltz's appointee in Office, had not
worked any injury 10 the State,
dHhoagh attempts IN that direction had
been repeatedly mode, but happily frus-
trated. We consequently think that
all fair-minded men will agree with us
that the reputation OF our lamented
young Governor cannot be contamina-
ted by this cowardly attempt 70
blacken his memory.
Having disposed of the first counts
let us now look into the inner fact,
connected with James g. Richardson,
appointment to the then very impor.
tant position of State Land Register.
When the State Land Office was
removed to Baton Rouge the gentle
man at the head of this Office by ap-
pointment from Gov. Wilt, being a
man or family and a resident of new
capital of the State, and in consequece
rendered his resignation as State Land
Register.
This resignation was carried in per-
son to Gov. Sam McEnery, who, ex-
hibiting several applications for the
position thus made vacant, asked the
conttam N "a mi niOn 1nnn tho uuo1ifs.