Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1854-07-19
The Know-Nothings Again.

This mysterious organization, which has grown
90 rapidly that it may now be fairly ranked a.
mong the ''pO,cers that be-" continues to attract
large share of public attention. The question:
"Haye we any Know-NOthings amongst us
bids fair to throw Billy Patterson, MlIly hcF
son and the Bourbon altogether in the shade 90
far rs our locality is concerned we regret 10 say
that we have great many persons VINO kno"
next thing to nothing, but whether we nave Si'i-
,,ls individual who has taken the oath OF aiiegi-
ance and been actually initiated INTO all the inys
teries of the order, we are not prepared 10 say
As vet we have seen no bits of paper, covered o.
yer with incomprehensible characters, posted up
On tho corners of our Streets so we may liner ha'
there is no organized Council of "Know-No-
tbincs' in Staunton. How soon we may nave
one remains to be seen. They have certainly
planted their standard upon the soil OF virginia
and where they have nterlered at all, have MADE
themselves felt in the result of elections. Ihey
have made their appearanceiu Mar'lnsb"rg' FRED
ericksburg, Leesburg, Lewisburg' and O'nef pa
ces in the State, and are daily expected every
where. In Norfolk they carried the late Munich
nal election, as if by magic, and more recently IN
the same city, elected Mr.. Mayo Commonwealth s
Attorney over Mr.. Robinson,
OF this strange and unfathomable set OF beings
we know nothing, except what we have been able
10 gather from conflicting newspaper accounts
aud from their own proceedings so tar as they are
made public. Our Democratic friends, whose
"optics keen" are very apt to
"See what is not to be seen,
discovered long since that the "know Nothings
were nothing more nor less than Wings In dis
uuise. The whole affair was confidently pro-
nounced Wing trick, designed to entraP unwa
nv Democrats aud entice them from their parry
allegiance and the election Of Wing Mayor IN
Norfolk, was prominently paraded as lncontesti-
HE evidence of the fact. This Democratic ny
notbesis is plainly coutradicted, however, by the
election of Mr.. Mayo. straight-laced Democrat
Attorney for the Commonwealth, over MIR. NOD
;nsou. one of the most prominent and popular
Wings in the city Of Norfolk. Wings, IN dis
puise, or in plain, everyday dress, would hardly
have defeated their own man. We cannot dis
puise the fact, then, that Democrats know moth
;nc more about the "Know- Nothings" than other
people.
The operations of the "KnOw-Nothings" IN
other sections of the county, demonstrate cOnclu-
siyely, that they do not inquire of candidates fol
office, whether they are Wings or Democrats
In one locality they elect a;DemOcrat, in another
n Wing aad that, too, in the most quiet and I'M
accountable manner imaginable. Witness the
following from Pennsylvania paper:
GA municipal election in the borough Of Cham
bersburc, Pa, for member of the local council
in Mace of one who had resigned, has resulted
tbus.-William Heyser, regular Democratic
candidate, 25; Adam Vauderaw, regular Wing
candidate. %; Jacob n. Snider, Democrat, bu
NOT known as a candidate, ia The Cham
bershnrg Whir says that not man could be
found te acknowledge that he had voted for him
mr. who knew that he was running. The secret
of the result was that Mr. Snider was elected by
the new organization called 'Know-Nothlngs.' "
These things look queer; they are queer, and
wo know nothing more about them. lfany per
son is curious to know how the ''Know-NOthings''
do things SO ''slck," they will have to find out
the pass word and gain admittance to the coun-
Gil chamber. They will probably be prepared to
admit after an impartial examination that the Or
der is not entirely composed of ''Whigs in dis
o,uiso -