The Opelousas courier. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1852-1910, 1888-01-07
The Poor People.
N. O. States.

cd bOlter; every disappointed and soureu as
pirant for dictatorship in politics sets up the
cry that 'the machine" must be smashed, and
that the people are gagged and their will
by ringsters." Our esteemed con
temporary tho Pcayune, is not an exception
to this rule. For years past it has been nspir-
ing to Democratic leadership; it has invaria-
bly, been sat down upon by the representa-
tives of the party in convention assembled, ahd,
after each and every upseeo it's pretensi"ns
it has bolted the nomination and sought to
mbue the rank and file with sense OF their
duty to follow its example.
The Nicholsites or Reformers, in this cam
paign, have proclaimed the Pic. their organ
and their ideal of Democratic newspaper,
and hence endorsed its utterances. Under
these circumstances the States has felt bound
to review the record of this ideal Democratic
paper.on boiling, and submit to Gen. NICHOLS
and the Reform leaders generally, the ques-
tion, whether Or not, in endorsing that jour
nal as their organ and their ideal Democratic
paper tioey endorse that record
This morning our able neighbor makes Il
Very sorry defence of itself, and, of course,
maintains that its boltings and boltlng- -tcach-
ings were always prompted by tender alice
tiOn for the poor helpless people whose voice
in the Democratic conventions has been sup
pressed by the Machine run by the rlDgsters'
Thus in 1884 it assumes that the voice oil the
people was suppressed in the State convention
that nominated McEnery over Nichols by a
decided majority; that little later, Ill tue
same wear, the voice of the poor helpless peo-
Ole would have been again suppressed had Mr..
Hunt gone before the regular District cohVeh-
tion for o nomination Though how our apos-
tie of boiling reconciles this proposition with
the fact that, on direct appeal to the peo-
pie" they showed Mr.. Hunt under so deep
that he is not likely to be heard of again as Il
Democratic candidate for Congess, we are nor
toldl; then we do not believe there has been
d Democratic municipal convention, III many
years, in which the organ OF the Nlchoiisites
has not held that the voice OF 1.-THE people,
was squelched, and which it has not bolted TO
support an independent ticket; and hntily,
| the Reform organ finds, that, even now, right
in the midst of the present red hot struggle
of the Nichollsites to defend the rights OF "the
people," who are all huddled under the Re
form petticoats, the ringsters, with their ma,
chine, succeeded in trampling, openly and
boldly, upon the people and nominating can
didate they do not wish.
Alas, the poor people Was the like of 1t
ever heard Suffering and groanIng 9nder the
| iron heel of the cabal of riugsters,I they are
powerless to protect themselves. Though
thec..aare "the people with the Pip at their
| back, or in their lead, they cannot get Justlce
| they cannot elect @ representative conven-
| tion they cannot secure the omiuaton OF II
| candidate of their own choice. Alas, the poor
devils! The little band of ringsters in this
| free country, with les equal laws, it's universal
| IfalCllSS, lIS uuEeSaIElCLcu pGiSOudA
of thought and acti IN, are keeping down 1.-THE
people, What una aualifed demagogicai non
sense is this The .erouble with our esteemed
| contemporary is, I'll 1t it has mistaken itself
and its own little r-lg for "the people" and
hence finds i" the L>eOple" defeated III every
but support the nominees OF the Democratic
party, or roar out that ''the people" have been
| gagged, and bolt and SOFT bolts.
Now let the States not be misunderstood
| We do not pretend to hold that the machine,
rngism, bosses aud corruption do not enter
| as factors in the selection OF our conventions
and in our elections. One must be simple
ton or a hypocrte who maintains any such
| thing. But we do maintain that there are as
| many schemers, bosses and corruptiOnists on
| the one side as on the other that in the long
run their evil forces about counterbalance
each other and that in every canvass, in which
tho real people of this or any other eniighten-
ed and free country take an active interest
after discounting all the tricks and schemes
of interested workers, the real voice of the
people predominates and controls the politics
of the country.
which we are engaged now. In our expo
rience we have never known q more thorough
ly organized. o more powerful or, In politlca
| Vaccinations, more audaciOus and graspin&
machine than that of which the "Big -Four" o.
this city are the engineers, which ramifioI
| every Wafu anu pEGSluCb VI NOW oilosIDS
which is supporting Gov. Nichols for Cover
nor and on which he and his friends solely ant
exclusively depend, to carry this city, II they
carry it at all. Against the conventions which
this very machine has in the past. in whole
in part, manipulated, the Picayune has sev
erai times bolted, on the ground that tace viii
of the people had been suppressed by thu
ring" But, when the Picaygpe kicked agains
| this particular machine it was O Democrati
machine, and hence, not in accord with 0u
neighbor; now, however, it is Reform an'
! Nichols malIline and it is altogether lovely
and, though our friend John Fitzpatrick ma
rise in the Third Ward Club and haul out o
his pocket the Nichols delegates from the ol
Third, "the people," that is the Picayune, an
its little band, will be heard throughout th
State in laundering tones rebuking ringisi
and proclaiming the gospel of Reform. An
yet we are in IL no wise apprehen?,salve that q "a
, Pic and it's Reform machine will override tn
. voice of the real Democracy of Louisiana j
the State Convention.
The Pic has made most lame and impt
tent defence of its bolting record; and we no.
repeat eur question to Gov. Nichols and IN
friends OF Gov. Nichols we ask: Did yo
l in 1884 actively support Gov. McEnery fl
Governor? Do you approve the editorial
the Picayune, embodied in the Radical circ
j lar during that election, calling upon Dem'
: Gratis to bolt the regular nomination, or thos
in which, during the Hunt bolt, it inculcats
the duty of Democrats to bolt regular Dem
cratic nominations To Messrs White, Mile
: Zacharie, Don Catfrey and Hollingswerth, Y
ask: Gentlemen, do you indorse the Pie
/. yune's article circulated in the Stevenson CT
) cular aud those maintaining the duty OF Dol
: ing during the Hunt canvass DO you lnd0r
= Gov Nichols participation in the Hunt be
in 1884, and his active and strenuous and u
tiring efforts, in copjuntion with Warmo
and other Radical leaders to defeat the reg
lar Democratic nominee for Congress in Il
First District
If these gentlemen are with the Pic. whi
is their announced organ, and Gen. Nichol
who is their candidate, on these questie
they should not hesitate to SO inform the pc
Pile to whom they are appealing Ii, Ct
contrary, they repudiate such doctrines, =.
such actions9 it is proper for them to expla
to the people how they can at the same til
urge General Nichols nomination upon {
party.
Donaldsonville Chief: Our distinguish
and esteemed contemporary, the Shrevep'
Democrat, has never tired of ringing
IL changes ON the fact that Negroes We're p
IN mitted to part ticipate in the election of Mel
ra cry delegates to the State convention in O
IS chita, although the Governor is O stickier
white supremacy but our talented conir
he has studiously avoided reference to the v
er known fact that the friends of the admin
st tration proposed in the State committee
IN prescribe the essential qualifications OF yot
IA par ticipating In the primaries througnout
he State, but the proposition was opposed ny
30, RefOriners, who insisted that the various
& ish committees should have jurisdiction
OF that question. The Democrat has, furti
of more, ignored the salient facts that the
Ell groes Of Ouachita are recognized Democr'
his voters who have for some years past 81