The Athens post. [volume] (Athens, Tenn.) 1848-1917, 1854-07-21
WHO ARE THE KNOW NoTHINGs.

WIZ AXE If1E hNOW NOlf1lNOS.
The New Orleans Crescent has the follow
ing article upon this subject:
The Washington Sentinel and the Nation
al Era, the latter a rabid Abolition journal
have commenced a sharp quarrel in regard tC
the identity. of the Know. Nothing fraternity
the former asserting that Freesoile:s and
Aboltionists constitute its main strength and
are its chief directors, and the latter casting
back the insinuation and endeavoring to make
it appear that nobody loves the alien or the
naturalized citizen so well as the Democratic
Aboitionsts, and nobody abhers him so ut.
terly rs the Southern Wing. Both these dig.
nified and remarkably heightened journals at.
tach an unlimited amount of odium to any
party or set of men who should be convicted
OF ACKNOWLEDGMENT. But they do this like
martyrs, with n sort of self sacrificing tone
as if they had concluded to do their duty and
abide the consequences, or, as man will do
sometimes, had taken course opposite to
public opinion and common sense, to show
how original and fearless they were.
Since the recent sweeping victories of the
Know-Nothings in Philadelphia and Wash
ington, the abuse which they have received
from a certain class Of newspapers has been
rather more temperate. There is an intuitive
respect in the human mind for power under
all circumstances, and persons who deal in
politics soon become sagacious enough to
recognize the cat the moment she is out Of
the bag. Upon the eve of these two elections,
when the party journals first took the alarm,
it was terrible to note the onslaught they
made upon the mysterious and dreaded or.
ganzation which fraternzes with no party
and threatens destruction to all. 1t was de-
nounced as a secret and dangerous banding
together of discontinued and malevolent spir-
its for purposes which could be little less
than reasonable; grand eloquence took its
lOftiest flight to express the enlightened and
liberal policy which this great people should
adopt in the matters of privilege and license,
as well as of protection towards the "down-
trodden and oppressed" who seek refuge upon
our shores from the tyranny of their own
countries; and finally an earnest exhortation
was addressed to the people to frown down
party which refused to show its hand, and
was working its way into power and place by
n system of tactics hitherto unknown to poll
ticians, and entirely new to all the established
principles Of wire-working This appeal SEEM
ed to US at the time much like recommending
man to make mouths at himselfin mirror,
or cut his own acquaintance for having been
so indscreet as to offend others by claiming
what belonged to him, or like asking people
to administer sort of solus selfrebuke for
presuming to investigate and decide upon its
own affairs. 1t appears, however, that this
appeal had little effect; that the public failed
to look upon itself as band of discontented
and traitorous spirits, although plainly re-
quested to do so, and that these Independent
and plain-spoken journals fell into the com
mon error of mistaking the voices of insig
nifcant parties and factions for the voice of
the great people.