The Morning News

The Bolt of the Sugar Planters.

The action of the Louisiana sugar planters, in deciding to cast their political fortunes with the Republican party, has created a profound sensation in that state. The planters are being pretty severely criticised, and it would not be surprising if many of them should take a second sober thought and return to the Democratic party.

Mr. Foster, the governor of the state, is strongly against the bolt. In an interview the other day he said that no one sympathized more deeply than he with the sugar planters. He called attention to the fact that all of his property, together with that of his family, is invested in sugar plantations in St. Mary's parish, but he declared he would cling to the Democratic party, because the peace, happiness and prosperity of his state is dependent upon the continued supremacy of that party.

Speaking of the plans of the sugar planters he said: "The planters hope to carry the First, Second and Third congressional districts. They cannot carry any of them or stand the slightest chance of doing so without the negro vote. I fear the reintroduction of the negro as a prominent factor in the politics of this state will breed struggle, strife and turmoil."

There can be no doubt that the planters are making a mistake. The republican leaders may have made promises to them, but what security have they that the promises will be carried out? If the republicans promised a bounty on sugar they will not keep that promise, because the country would not submit to the bounty system. If sugar producers should demand a bounty the cotton and wheat producers would demand it for the same reason that it was demanded by the sugar producers.

The only hope of the sugar planters in getting more protection is in the revenue principle of the Democratic party. The sugar planters are better provided for in the Wilson bill than they would be if the Republican party should get control of the government. Their course is calculated to introduce strife and turmoil into the state, and in that event the sugar planting interest would suffer greatly. They should not have acted until they were capable of viewing the situation fairly.