The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1908-03-28
NEW ORLEANS LETTER
Judge King Knocks the Props from Unde
Primary Law-Party Loyalty
Farce-Noral Issues of
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State Campaign.
New Orleans, La March %, 1908.
Special Correspondence of The Chief.
Ia a decision handed down Tuesday
evening, Judge Fred D. King, of the
civil district court, declared the pri-
mary election laws of Louisiana to be
unconstitutional, AMI therefore null
and void. The decision was the out
come of suit brought by Thomas
Labauve, of Iberville parish, candi-
date for state senator on the Republi-
can ticket, against Secretary of State
Michel to test the validity of the law.
While it is necessarily a severe blow
to those eminent and honorable men,
as Mark Antony would say, who CON-
prise the bone and sinew of the office
holding corporation of the state, there
is not likely to be any effect on the
choice of the Democrats party by the
august state central committee in the
recent primary. Lambremont will
still endeavor to cinch his questionable
heritage in the general election, along
with others more or less culpable, but
the obligation on the part of those
who participated in the primary to eat
crow whether they like it or not seems
to have been completely dissolved.
Another monument of fraud has been
removed from the path of the Republi-
cans and the rights Of citizeus III ex-
press their honest views by ballot will
be less hampered than before.
81 am Democrat, but am casting
my vote next month for Pharr. I do
not propose to be robbed of my citi-
zenship by handful of politicians
crouching behind the plea of party
loyalty. If the ward bosses of New
Orleans are allowed to carry away
this election unrebnked, we may as
we'll discontinue the farce of pretend
ing to elect our officials, hand over
the keys of the treasury to those on
the inside and then go out and chew
hay with the rest of the donkeys. The
Republicans can't be worse than our
gang"
These sentiments are expressed all
over the state daily and the speaker
was but one Of the thousands of up
right citizens who are in rebellion
against the high-handed outrages per-
petrated against them by the New Or
leans ward bosses. Expectantly the
faithful have waited for some rift in
the clouds, some little ray of decency
to filter through the muck OF shame
aud dishonor with which the recent
primary election is besmea red but all
that has come out SO far is the stencil
ooZing through the thin covering OF
defense which has been flung over
the purifying remains. Jim Bailey
was counted down and out and the
party stood for it. Lambremont'
friends stole the nomination and
he accepted it, unclean as he
knew it to be. This is the stand
ard the Democrat leaders have set.
Can the party hope TO be better than
its leaders? The only way to redeem
the Democratic party of Louisiana is
To take it cut and scrub it thoroughly
with Sapoiio-then bury it. Some
people may remember it kindly.
Another little joke of the politicians
is the announcement that District At.
torney Porter Parker will undertake
the prosecution of those engaged in
the primary frauds in this city. No
one for a moment supposes that
anything will come of this cheer
full bit of news, unless it is that
some unusually optimistic Demo
crat whose mind is so cIouded by
party prejudice that ne just hates to
be decent 10 the name of the Republi- |
can party may be persuaded to drop
all thoughts Of kicking over the traces |
and again place his trust in tha grand |
old farce, Democraey-a misnomer so |
apparent that even the best friends of |
the system have to blush for it. The |
question is, how far will the deluded |
of Louisiana be deceived by |
this weak sally. For how pitifully in |
sincere it must sound to all. MIR. Park |
er's hands are tied just as effectively as |
are Baiiey's, besides which there is |
no incentive for him to begin the pros |
ecutions. His "friends," those who |
made him and will undo him the in
slant he pokes his nose over the dead |
line, are vitality interested in seeing |
that mo dirty linen is washed before
the public gaze" and he will obey |
them. There is no reform except |
through the ballot and I believe the
voters are going to seize this opportu-
nifty to regain their lost rights. They
have all to gain and nothing to lose
by change to a white Republican
alton, and no one has yet ae-
cused Pharr of being dishonest or in.
sincere in his pleas for good govern
ment.
The public is also waking up to the
fact that the moral issues which Pharr
origin ated and Incorporated in his
platform are worthy of careful con-
sideration. The Item, the most out.
spoken evening publication in the city,
n IL \