The Meridional. (Abbeville, La.) 1856-1906, 1890-07-12

ot ief advancement, bat as | hayi
before said fer the personal anC
selfish interests Of a handful OF mel
many OF them connected with III,
darkest days of the reconstruction
period. repeat it is for them and
to them We are selling out our birth
right for mess of pottage. Wbc
are the six unnamed men who arr
to join with seventh and known
one to constitute the new lottery
company? How comes il that We
are not Informed as 20 their linden
tity and enabled 10 know their
antecedsats and lix tileir record,
there is q world Of meaning in that
silence. In the most trifling affairs
Of life men seek to know with whom
they deal. How comes it that in a
matter Of this Importance the Gene
rai Assembly has been willing Up TO
now TO close lis eyes and move
blindly in the dark?
l call upon 1t to pause before it
takes finally that step and plunges
this State into untold trouble. Is
there nothing significant in the vote
ty which this bill has passed, the
exact two.t thirds vote in each house;
and nothing deeply signigcant 10
twelve Of the votes in the House
and four Of the votes In the Senate
By which that exact majority was
reached. Is not the future foreshad-
owed I? To me it most certainly is.
] say to this General Assembly in
all earn estnes that should this
measure be passed we will enter
upon period of strife, such as has
never been seen before in Louisiana
aud should this contemplated corpo.
ration ever be forced upon as an era
of corruption and degradation will
follow, beside which the era of
reconstruction will appear as one Of
honor and happiness.
And let me say to you that should
this measure be adopted and carried
put, in my opinion, no good will
ever come Of the money which we
will receive as the price Of our
honor and our liberty. Extraya.
yance, proaigacy aud corruption |
viii assaredly follow the receipt as !
night fellows the day.
| feel thoroughly satisfied that
he effect of the adoption of the mea-
Jure will be that while the 6.milll
AK would be kept up there will be |
IN immediate falling off in he legis. |
atiEe appropriations for charitable |
md other purposes for which this
money will have been directed to |
Je applied and Wondrous CORES
increase of the application
# the general fund to the payment |
# the interest bearing debt.
! believe that every possible |
outstanding claim against the State,
'alid or invalid, now rated as safe
# payment By the State or other |
wise will be first deprecated, and |
whilst so deprecated ekillfuIly |
Fought up, to be by subsequentj
udicious legislation recognized and
provided for either through funding |
'peration or otherwise, and that the
edutction onone side will be follow.
ID by an increase on the other.
In other words I believe that at
be end Of twenty-five years we will
lot only fnd constitutional bonds
outstanding to the utmost limit of
he funding law, but believe there |
vill be an additional immense inter.
st bearing debt, which by that time
vill have been acknowledged and
'rovided for as to interest but not |
s to capital; and that 10 those
wenty FIVE years vast amount of
interest will have been paid out
unnecessarily, improperly and lille
ally.
In whose hands those interest
'earing bonds will be found time
rill develop.
At the end of twenty-five years
here will be the same claim Of the
poverty Of Louisiana and the same
,laim on it's behalf for the continued
existence of the lottery. So far
;laim for the necessity of the present
Measure is sought 10 be predicated /
lpon the assumed condition of the
poverty of Louisiana, /, as its gov
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