The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1907-08-01
"I'ETAT CEST MOI"

The Plaquemines Protector yecently
published keen and witty editorial on
the subject st Mary Pass the Pie. u
Though written in faceious vein, that
article IS worthy of perusal by every
voter in every other parish i'll the State
OF Louisiana, although it might not be
particularly palatable to the leading fac
tlonal following of the parish most CON
cerned in the discussion
Looking at this question from Sc
| rious point Of view, it does seem unfair
to every section and every other parish
in our great commonwealth that one of
the parises should have for so long had
monopoly of the lions share of the
highest elective Offices in the gift Of its
people.
Take the case for the past fifteen
years; the governorship has been held
by St. Mary for more than half of all
that time. The speakership of the House
of Representatives and the Lieutenant
Governorship for nearly half of it, a
United tSates Senatorship ten or twelve
years of it; and now comes one of its
leading politicians with an application
for four years more of the Governor
ship, advancing the claim that St. Mary
parish should have the Governorship of
the State for three terms out of FIVE, or
twelve years out of twenty.
In reference to the late great Senator
Donelson Caffery, from the heart we
must say that he should have been con-
sidered as from no particular parish.
He belonged to all Of the parishes alike,
irrespective of his particular location.
The whole South was proud OF him as
man and will ever cherish his mem
DRY, and all of the great American ma
ton admired and honored him. He was
Louisianian too fair and too fine for
his honest and noble name to be even
lightly mentioned in connection with the
factional politics of our Democratic
party.
On noted OCCASION in history when
the chief minister of Louis XIV of
France protested to that monarch that
one of his imperious DEGREES was op
posed by the States General or repre-
sentative assembly of the nation, Louis
lie Grand angrily replied: ''L'etat c'est
moi = And then commenced that era
of tyranny which less than century
later made an enraged and aroused peo-
pie bear to the guillotine his royal de-
scendant and successor, Louis XVI.
''L'etat c'est moi seems to have be-
come the maxim of ST Mary parish and
its local political leaders For fifteen
years they have gained, oc-
cupied or controlled, with the notable
exception of the present gubernatorial
administration, the highest and most in
fiuential Offices in the State and in our
in Congress- They are
hoping and endeavoring to continue or
resume their occupation Of the highest
office in the State for four years more,
and to continue their domination of the
Democratic politics of Louisiana for the
Lord only knows how many years
longer.
Must we have, politically speaking.
he State of St. Mary with fifty odd in
Ierior and subordinate provinces of
Louisiana? Or must we have. as we
ought to and have a right to have, the
proud State of Louisiana composed of
IS fifty odd parishes with ST. Mary
lmong them, and its citizens placei on
air and equal terms with the citizens OF
IL the other parishes
There should surely be little more