The American. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1857, 1857-10-31
THE CONDITION OF WASHINGTON
(ITY

general use in our hastings and elections Neve
before was the triumph of party proclaimed b.
the Je1 dc joie of secreted firearms, drawn fortl
on every occasion, and recklessly discharged
| though loaded with death-dealing slugs. Thence
| forth, to the downfall of Know Nottingham
the terrible catastrophe that marked its fna
overthrow-a reckless and murderous spirit pre-
vailed, and every rowdy, Of every age and every
| degree, donned his pistols and bowie-knife, anc
became in practice an outlaw, and in heart q
| murderer.-IHe States.
The States is bold little paper; as fearless al
the ID. Ittells many wholesome truths, and
Judging by the above article, some very unwhole
some untruths too. The States does not affirm
that the party it sneeringly calls Know Nothing'
have themselves been the authors of all the
murdeIous rowdyism" of which it speaks but
such is its insnuation. Without stating the fact
positively, it throws by implication, the whole
blame upon the americans The writer is
Anxious to wound and yet afraid to strike"
He knOWs-no one better than he-that, taken
as whole, the above paragraph is an unmiti.
gated, malicious falsehood, and base calumny.
1t is an unprovoked attack upon hundreds and
we may almost say thousands Of our best, most
upright, moral, law-abiding, and exemplary citi-
| zens. He knows well, that when americans first
appeared at the ballot-box as party, and elected
| the late Mayor Towers and large majority of the
two branches Of the city Legislature, there never
was an election conducted more quietly, peacea-
bly,, and orderly anywhere. Not single disturb
ance occurred during the day--not one.
But the foreigners in the city, and those Dem.
ocrats and Wings who had united and were with
them cheek by jowl every night at Harmony
Hall, could not brook or quietly bear defeat, and
from that time they began to carry out that very
system of "murderous rowdyism" which had for
years before been practised in Baltimore, New
York, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Cincinnati, and
other cities, by the Locofoeos upon the Wigs,
and which has been perpetrated here in this city
and in Baltimore up to the present time, by the
foreign party, aided by cut-throats and assassins
driven out of Europe, and sheltered in the bosom
Of the "plumder party" which has need of their
services, and triumphs by their votes.
The americans have been again and again at
tackled by these foreign rowdies, and attempts
are made at every election to stuff the ballot
boxes with foreign votes, SO that Americans shall
not rule America; and when they have defended
themselves, and prevented the perpetration Of the
attempted frauds, the Locofoco press has instantly
set up its howl Of disappointment, and charged
the americans with committing the violence which
their own lawless gangs of DULLES brought about
The inccndiary cries "Fire!" the thief "Stop
thief" and the murderer Murder! murderl"
If americans would tamey submit to all the
insults and indignities attempted to be heaped
upon them-if they would, like the writer of the
article in the States, bow their necks to foreign
yoke, and be grateful and thankful for few
crumbs tossed eontemptuously to them, if they
would be content to let their country and them
selves be ruled by foreigners, all would go on as
merry as marriage feast; but it 30 happens that
they have some little national pride left-a spark
or two Of the fire which burned in the bosoms of
their ancestors in '76-of the Boston tea rarty,"
and wiA not meanly and cowardly become the
vassals of those who came here beggars and have
got fat, and saucy mpudent and audacious at their
The writer in The States proceeds:
Thousands of the people of Washington be-
held this condition of things with dismay, yet en-
dured it with discredtable impotence, until they
thought they could no longer endure it; and they
then elected to the Office of Mayor bol fearless,
and generous man, whom they knew to be capa-
Bile OF leading them in great and salutary reform;
and as soon thereafter as possible revolutionized
the City Councils in like manner, banishing the
Know Nothing majority, and elevating citizens in
whom they felt that they could safely confde."
Elected to the Office Of Mayor bold, fearless,
and generous man, whom they knew to be capa-
BILE of leading them in great and salutary re-
form!" And how was this wonderful paragon of
a man electedi By the permanent citizens, pro-
perty owners of Washington' No; but by the
hundreds Of imported foreigners employed here
upon the public works to the exclusion of steady,
capable, native-born Americans; foreigners who
own not cents worth Of property here, and
never will, and who are quite willing to vote &C.
cording to the wishes of the Government by which
they are employed. With some thousand or fifteen
hundred such voters, this wonderful man, this
Alexander, Caesar, Cromwell, Napoleon, for bold
ness and fearlessness, obtained the meagre ma.
jority Of II votes over his opponent Mr.. Hill,
worthy, modest, exemplary citizen, respected
and esteemed by all whe know him, and against
whom not word could be said. Thus was this
immaculate Mayor elected. year afterwards,
an election came on for Aldermen and members
Of the Council, when still greater number of for.
cigners had been employed and. naturalizej for
the purpose of defeating the americans. This
election gave the foreign "piunder party" ma.
jority in one Board, and produced tie in the
other; how that tie has been turned into ma
jority for the foreigners, It is not purpose now
to discuss. But it has been, and the foreign
party has, in consequence, full swing and sway.
And now, what Of this great, immaculate, bold,
fearless Mayor? How las he immortalized him.
self? What prodigious feat has he performed
What reform has he led the people inf
He has immortalized himself by procuring the
" Prctorian' Guards" the Marines, to be called
out marched to the polls Of the Fourth ward, and
there to shoot down peaceable, quiet, orderly,
unsuspecting citizens He has immortalized him
self by threatening crowd of people, gathered
about the City Hall by curiosity, to see foreigners
in American uniforms marching about our streets
with hostile intent, that If they did not instantly
d sperse he would order the troops to fire on
them ."'a 4
What has been the condition Of our city under
his administration? We only point to the "locap
articles published daily by The States giving &C.