The leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1895-1905, 1904-09-28
Politics Of Tie Machine.

The governor of the State OF
Louisiana, N. 6. Blanchard, is
Just now appearing before the
public ID a very unenyiable light
and The press of New Orleans IS
up in arms over bis action. New.
Orleans, like most large cities, is
governed BIZ ward bosses. These
bosses come together with their
delegates and nominate city tick
ct 10 convention. Now New Or
leans Is q large city with varied
interests. There are people In
that city high up financially who
have made their money by ques-
tionable means, others who are in
terested in things that are not
strictly in accordance with the
law. The office Of district attor-
ney is an important one. 1t IS
this official who directs the prose
|cution of all the criminals in the
city. From what the New Orleans
papers say it seems that the gov
#ernor Of Louisiana has allied him
self with the worst interests Of
the community and has given out
the word that Chandler Luzen-
berg, the present district attorney,
who has made a remarkably fine
record in the Office, shall not be
nominated. The ward bosses were
all in favor of the nomination of
Gutenberg and had pledged him
their support. The governor
goes to New Orleans, calls the
bosses in conference, cracks his
patronage whip over their backs
and tells them that they must vio-
late their pledges to Gutenberg
and the people of New Orleans
and nominate the man whom the
governor has selected. The bosses
cringe and cover before the goy-
.ernor like lot of bond slaves and
promise him that they will do
what he desires. There we're on
Nv three out of the seventeen
bosses who refused to obey the be-
hests of the governor. These
three said that they had pledged
their support to the present in
.cumbent and they intended to car
ry out their word. The rest of
them agreed to do the bidding Of
the governor, and then cursed him
behind his back. Some people
may wonder why the governor of
"a State is enabled to dictate the
politics of it's chief city. It is by
reason of the patronage. There
are many New Orleans appoint
ments, and the papers charge that
Blanchard instead of sending
these appointments to the senate
last July for confirmation held
them up to use in the New Or
leans city fight. With this patron
age he made the bosses knuckle to
him. The spectacle of the COVER
nor of a State doing such thing
as this is disgraceful and the
grounds on which he put it shows
that the governor is a small pota-
to. He said that the newspapers
in demanding the nomination OF
Gutenberg, had made a situation
which he had met. The neWspa-
pers Indignantly repel any such
charge and say that the united
press Of New Orleans which de-
manded Luzenberg's nomination
was but Voicing the sentiments of
nine tenths of the people. The
Governor of Louisiana has more
patronage than two or three
Southern governors put together.
Blanchard was elected on a plat
form which called for cutting
down the patronage of the gov
ernor to something within reason,
but these promises we're forgotten
when the legislature met and only
a small fraction of his patronage
was taken away, and at the time
it was charged that the governor
and his friends were doing all in
their power to defeat the bills
which had for their object The
carrying out of the party pledges.
Louisiana has long been cursed
By the worst sort Of machine pol
ities, but the exhibition that Blan,
ehard has just given would be
worthy of some of the boss ridden
States ID the North, and no won
Eder the fearless press of New Or
leans is roasting the governor. Il
may be that Luzenberg will run
as an Independent, and it is pre-
dicted that If be does he will be
elected. He should be asa lebuke
to the governor. jackson Even
ing News.