St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1890-11-15

| " accounted ingrates because they
cannot or will not reward all who sup
ported them. It is therefore ridicu-
Ious to assert that the lottery's con-
tribution created an obligation on the
part of Judge White and Governor
Nichols to aid the present lottery
movements. On this principle no man
in the river parishes can honorably be
opposed to this lottery proposition.
He is under obligation /; he is bought !;
his gratitude has been purchased. We
have every right to presume that in
making his contribution the lottery
chief was actuated by patriotic desire
to assist i'll placing good men in Office
rather than by any personal preference
for Governor Nichols as an individual
or by any understanding that Cover
nor Nichols would assist the present
lottery venture. If it be asked, since
the use Of lottery money does not
create any obligation on the part of
those benefited, why then did Cover
nor Nichols refuse preferred aona-
tion of 100000 for leyee protection
during the recent overfow-though he
accepted money on his own behalf? I
do not believe in fattering the people
and SO can assert that Governor Mich
oils is far better able to appreciate the
relation which in this case subsists
between him and the lottery company
than the vast body of the people can
their relation with the lottery. Many
ignorant and unthinking people might
imagine that from motives of graft
tude they should support the lottery
though they are really under 10 sort
of obligation to it except upon the
hypothesis that they were bought by
the profuse and tardy generosity OF
this company. The St. Landry Demo-
crat itself recognizes the existence of
no obligation and merely complains Of
abuse which Morris has received.
Neither Governor Nichols nor Judge
White have ever abused Morris. For
what others may do they are not res
ponsible and take occasion to enter
my earnest and indignant protest
against the indicriminate virulence
with which some extreme and over
Jealous opponents of the lottery at
tack those who favor the acceptance
of this proposition in the ranks of
whom are found some Of Louisiana's S
truest sons-men who are hedged with
the purple shadow of as royal a man
hood as hedges the best and proudest
in the land. IF it be treachery and
ingratitude on the part Of candidates
for office to accept the unconditional
services of those whom they will not
be willing to reward when installed in
power, then the world is indeed full Of
treachery and ingratitude, for this
very thing happens in every campaign
and will happen ito the last syllable
of recorded time" And / can see no
difference in principle, as it appears
the Democrat can, between receiving
that support and those services in votes
and receiving them in money. The
principle is identical, and the Demo-
crat merely makes distinction with
out difference. The species of help
alone is different. In the one case, it
is votes, in the other money. Votes
are transmutaEle into money; and
money may easily be transmitted into
votes-not necessarily in a criminal
and corrupt way, but gratiam conviyiis
quaerendo and all the other well known
methods by which political favor is
obtained. The lottery people judge
Governor Nichols and Judge White
By severe and more austere code Of
ethics than they apply to other men
in politics or than they submit to
themselves. They might as well blame
the national Democratic campaign
committee for accepting unconditional
and voluntary contributions from in
dividual protected manufacturers Of
the east (Which nobody doubts but
what they have done,) and then blame
the Democratic party for revising the
tariff against the interests of these
same manufacturers, as to blame Gov
ernor Nichols and Judge White for
merely allowing Mr.. Morris to further
public interest and demonstrate his
own civic wisdom by helping to put
them in office, even if they do subse-
quently adhere to those sentiments of
hostility to Morris scheme which had
passed into the history of this State
and of the existence of which Morris
was charged with personal notice.
Assuming as ! do that the highest in
terests OF the State demand the defeat
OF the lottery in its bold, daring and
unscupulous attempt to fasten its
deadly fangs upon us for another
quarter of century, / cannot bring
myself to condemn any measures short
of what is positively criminal and un-
lawful taken with the view of compass
sing its destruction. In this case it
seems to me that the end j;lstifies the
means. Ordinarily the moral rule is
otherwise but cases often arise when
the good to be obtained so far exceeds
the evil done to attain it that if the
moral law is violated, it is really
violated in its own interest. In cases
Of self defense, the end justifies the
means. The suppression OF the negro
vote in many parts of the south-a
thing otherwise indefensible becomes
right if White supremacy alone can
preserve our civilization. An en-
ployer is not traitor to moral prin-
cip.es if suspecting on good grounds
the honesty of an employee, he sinu-
Iates friendship for purposes of detec-
ton nor is sheriff or detective i'm
moral because he has to resort to
treachery and falsehood to entrap a
criminal. Does doctor lie in an i'm
moral sense when he tells really very
sick man that his condition is not