The Opelousas courier., 1885-10-17
The Louisiana Mugwumps.

The Louisiana Reformer is
che same kind Of a political fence
straddler that is known through
out the country as a mugwump.
Ifhe calls himself a Reform Dem
oerat it is simply that he may.
bly, his methods with a view of
disrnpting the Democratic party
and if he gives himself out as a
Reform Republican you may be
sure that his chief aim is to de-
feat the Republican nominees.
The Reformer or mugwump,
or fence straddler, or independ-
emit, for these are all Synonymous
terms, has but one developed
chronological bump by which he
can always be distinguished, and
that is the bump of conceit which
covers the whole of the Uranium.
Hi ~conceit is that he alone is
honest; he alone is descended
from the Olympic gods and has
a right to sit in Judgment over
his fellow men; he alone has the
heaven-born right to vote for
Republican nominees and indie
pendents when such a course
suits his autocratic notions and
for all that, he alone has the
right to monopolize all the pa
tronage to be dispensed under
the Democratic administration.
This class of individuals in
New York, styling themselves
Reform Republicans, elected
Cleveland, and metaphorically
speaking, laid Jim Blaine out in
the cold. This class of individ-
uals in Louisiana, with the COW
ert object Of sowing dissensions
in the Democratic ranks, disor-
ganizing the Louisiana Demo-
cracy and turning the State over
to the Blaine electors, first or
ganized a so-called Sugar Plant
er's Convention, over which
Gov. Nichols presided until he
was succeeded by Hon. E. j.
Gay. Next, they endeavored,
with the backing of the Custom
house Republican officials, to
disfranchise 1000 Democrats in
the First Congressional District,
and in their stronghold-the Sec
ond Congressional District-cast
a solid vote not only against
Judge Houston because, as they
said, he WGs J,Rmy's brother, but
also against the Cleveland cleo
tors, as the returns of the cleo,
ton will show, and for no known
reason except, as we suppose,
that they voted against Cleve-
land because he WGsn't Tnney's
brother.
The Louisiana Reform mug
wumps have been straddling fen
ces 10, these many years, ready
after each election to get down
on the winning side, throw up
their hats and claim the fruits
of victory.
If Blaine had been inaugural
ed they would have croWed as
Justify and would have scram-
bled as heroically for spoils OF
Office as they did when it was
definitely settled that Blaine was
defeated and Cleveland was cleo
ted.
1t was perhaps charitable, but
certainly not polite, that Presi-
dent Cleveland should have
given all the Federal st. Jacobs
oil ait his command TO soothe the
festered sores of the fence strad-
dlers.
There is this marked differ
ence between the New York mug
wumps and the Louisiana mug.
%wnlnps-the former have the
power to defeat the candidates
of the Republican party with
which they claim alliance; the
latter pretending to be Demo
Gratis and having endeavored by
all manner of means, for the last
few years. to defeat the Demo
cratic nominees, have been woe.
fully and conspicuously power.
less. OH LINER,
in OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES.
Texas, New Mexico, Arizona,
Colorado &c. Whire the great