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CHAPTER 2
Legal Career and Political Interests Launched:
Reforming the New Orleans Physical Environment
 DMITTED TO THE LOUISIANA BAR by the
Supreme Court of Louisiana in November, 1888, the same year he completed a series of courses in the Law at Tulane
University, FJD immediately got involved in politics. He joined other New Orleans reformers in the Young Men's
Democratic Association (YMDA) and actively sought a public role for the first time when he ran on a reform ticket
for the state legislature. The reformers' ideals were well-timed, and the entire slate was elected to the first
reform legislature in Louisiana since Reconstruction. Like many of his contemporary reformers, FJD had no interest
in launching a career in politics. He entered public life to accomplish specific goals deemed necessary to help
the state function more efficiently and to meet the needs of fellow Louisianans' more adequately. The YMDAs actions
mirrored the goals of other Progressives--ideas like election reform, anti-lottery legislation, flood control and
proper police protection--that began to be evident throughout the United States at this time. Once elected to the
state legislature, FJD proved to be especially energetic; he lobbied for some bills and personally authored others
that supported measures he hoped to see passed. These included anti-lottery legislation, flood control and police
protection--all measures to make the Louisiana environment a healthier place for its citizens.
FJD opposed the Louisiana Lottery because the lottery brought wealth to
the private group of men who held the charter from the state, while it disproportionately took money out of the
pockets of some of the state's most poorly educated and economically impoverished citizens. The Lottery also spawned
corruption by attracting undesirable citizens to the state. First chartered during Reconstruction, in the early
1890s, that charter was up for renewal. The lottery quickly became a target for reformers motivated to curtail
this powerful economic monster from devouring Louisianans' hard-earned money. According to the lottery's charter,
the city of New Orleans received 5% of
the proceeds; the state was allotted twice that amount. The remainder of the profits funneled directly into the
large coffers of the charter owners. As Ruth recalls, among the lottery's main supporters were some very powerful
and well-established New Orleans families like the Morrises, Hennens and the Howards. Those particularly concerned
with the moral climate of the city, the reformers and those religious leaders like Rabbi Max Heller and prominent
Presbyterian minister Benjamin Palmer, led the opposition. As the anti-Lottery fight became an affaire célebre, people
were aroused on either side of the issue. The anti-Lottery supporters quickly organized and held many mass meetings
to raise the consciousness of their fellow citizens. An effective speaker, Dreyfous was instrumental in persuading
others to join the anti-Lottery coalition. Ruth proudly emphasizes that, as a freshman state legislator, her father
wrote the anti-lottery bill for the House, while Edwin White, his counterpart in the state Senate, led the fight
there.
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