The Opelousas courier., 1896-02-08
The Pops and Their P1incerpuls. "

were being published in Populist pa
per at Washington, while there were
three Democratic papers in the parish,
two of them at Opelousas, we said
Thus we have the spectacle of the
patronage of a Democratic administra-
tion being bestowed upon one of it's bit
terest assailants, which is waging a
fierce and relentless war upon every
thing Democratic"
This simple statement il absolutely
incOntrovertible, unassaiable; but it
has afforded our Populist neighbor an
opportunity to indulge in some of its
characteristic quibbling and dodging,
probably hoping thereby to break the
fierce OF our statement, and in its last
issue it says:
"That we, the Populists, are fighting
tho Democracy of Jefferson, jackson,
Washington or Lincoln, we fatty deny,
and challenge the COURIER to prove it's
assertion, either by our national plat
form, our state platform, the utterances
of our paper, or the action Of the Popu-
list party at large. Assertions prove
nothing
We accept the challenge. We fully
agree with the Tribune that " assertions
prove nothing "-particularly its asser-
tions; though, to be candid, we must
add that it it persevcres in the silly, H.
logical and untruthfuI tergiversations
that have characterized it from its
birth, people will soon be convinced
that its assertions actually prove tho
reverse of its propositions. AS to its
utterances," therefore, they do not
amount to a hill of beans. We had in
our last issue sufficient answer to the
balance of it's challenge and denial,
which, as the reader has perceived,
lave no relevancy to our statement !;
Dat, for fear that it may have been over
LOCKED, we take pleasure in firing it at
the Tribune again. 1t is clipped from
the Bastlop Clarion Appeal:
The very idea that man who holds
to "Ocalaism" and "Omahaism" should
appeal to jackson or Jefferson as the
underwater of such nonsense is SO
absurdly ridiculous that we are amazed
when we read the Alexandria platform.
jefferson and Jackson contended to the
end of their illustrious lives that gov
all be creatures of the pe6pfe, and that
the less the people were gorerned the
happier they must be. Upon that prin-
cipl. both urged to watch their govern
ment to the end that it should never be
invested with authority or power which
the people only should exercise. Never
lived there patriot who was more jeal
ons of the Inherent and inalienable
rights of the people than the illustrious
Thomas jefferson. All of his grand ad-
monitions to the young republic. rs
given in his public utterances by both
tongue and pen, warned the people to
steer clear of the dangers which arise
from placing the Government above
and over the people.
But how about the Populite party
1t boldly proclairos that the people
should be suppliants at the feet of their
Government. 1t holds that the govern
ment has the right, and should assert it,
to take charge of the private property
belonging to certain people and manip-
ulate it as she may deem best for her
self-and that such assertion of gov
ernmental authority h in line with the
doctrine taught by JEFFERSON and Jack
son! Never was All honored mans
teachings so ignOrantH and maliciously
perverted.
The Alexandria platform denounces
the Democratic party in this State by
charging it with all of the sins in the
catalogue of crime. The authors of
that scurrillous manifesto are as igno-
rant of the results of Democratic rule in
LOulSIaua aS lHey are Ol tuo tedculuSS
of jefferson or the principles of Demo-
cratic government; or else they are
base slanderers OF party which has
pulled this State into the ranks Of the
most prosperous States in the Union.
Let the honest populist compare Lou
isiana's condition to-day with that of
Kansas or any other State which has
been under the domination of the Popu-
lite party, and he will find that our
State is in splendid shape. Her bonded
obligations are worth their face value
her cHrrent bills are paid on presenta-
ton, her public schools are conducted
upon the highest plane of modern ideas
of education, her benevolent insttu-
tions are maintained with single eye
to the comfort and happiness Of those
dependent upon them, and, above all,
the rate of taxation in this State is
reasonable and within the reach to pay
of every man who gives more attention
to his own private affairs than he dees
to questions of State about which he
is as ignorant as i, free negro! -
AS IL platform adopted by State
convention the Alexandria abortion is
a conglomeration of lies, ignorance and
rancorous prejudice-a mess that will
meet the scorn OF a vast majority of
the best people in Louisiana.