Brownlow's Knoxville Whig, and rebel ventilator. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1863-1866, 1864-01-30
To the Public.


upon the arrival of the army. q Srhe Ohio,
and that certain articles against me, John
son and Maynard, were in the ha1dwriting
of w G. .S1ran, the rebel Congressman.
Below l give the opening paragraph of
long article contrasting myself and Gov.
Johnson, which two of the printers in the
office at the time, tell me was in the hand
writing of John II. Crosier- | herewith
submit an extract, and then | propose to
Uentildte this man Crozier 1t will be mat
ter of interest to Northern men, who have
heard so much of Southern chivalry, to see
what christian f0rbeardnce Crozier has dis
played when tortured, denounced and dis
graced
WILLIAM G. BROWNLOW.
Brownlow and johnson were very like each other
in many respects, though they used different means
to obtain similar ends Both had strong physical
frames. johnson was more compact ard solid, but
BrownlOw had nerves of wire which never wearied,
and was capable of constant application and entur
ance than johnson. johnson was sour and mallg
nant; Brownlow was malignant and bitter. john
son poured forth his invective impulsivey on the
stump; Brownlow like the venomOus insect, retired
to corner his web at leisure and DATED his
fangs into his victim surcharged with poison double
distilled. johnson loved money dearly; BrownlOw
was a most obsequious worshipper of Mammon; he
sometimes, Judas like, forsook his 80 to- follow
after those who carried the bag.
Now, this man Crozier is & practising
LAWYER was. before the rebellion. a man of
some property and money, and was for years
q member of the United States Congress,
carried in by the storm Of political excite
ment that prevailed. This district being
largely Wing, he was elected on that ticket,
and when turned out by the Wings for his
inefficiency, he turned Democrat and finally
a Secessonist, and drunken scamp-hav-
ing reached the position suited to his nature
and talents.
| shall first notice the charge of my love
of money, and my obsequious worship Of
mammOn Though poor man compared
with Crozier, it is known to all parties here,
that for fifteen years or upwards | have
given away to the church, to the poor, to
educational purposes and to the Whfg
cause, ten dollars to Crozier's one. Indeed
Crozier has been celebrated for his close,
niggardly disposition in money matters.
When in Congress he used to e ground to
the rooms Of other members and smoke and
drink at their expense, and never was the
man to offer cigar, or glass of liquor in
return. His wife, claiming to be one of the
upper tens" he actually hired ont for years
with her sewing machine to do up wheat
sacks, and jobs that the poor women were
entitled to-
In all towns of the Importance of Knox
vile it is customary for the citizens to fur
nish parties or entertainments to their neigh
bOrs, and especially to their select friends.
Crozier was too close for a thing Of this
kind, but vcnturcd one court week to give
a party to the gentlemen Of the bar, and
their wives and daughters. To the utter
establishment Of all, when shown into the
dining room, the feast was one Of bldckber-
ries, with but little sugar on them Black
berries were that season three cents per
quart, and sugar was ten cents per pound.
At a liberal estimate the entertainment cost
Crozier eight cents, or the making of eight
;rhedt sacks 1t was a matter Of sport for
months after, and every old woman coming
to town with pail of blackberries was told
to call at Crozier's, where they were in de-
mand!
With family of several children, and
half dozen slaves, the man is so mean and
stingy as to have practiced buying one piece
Of bacon at a time, at the provision stores of
the town. He has been for years borrow
ing flour and meal, without returning either
One of his neighbors kept an account of
flour borrowed by the pan full, and never re-
turned, until it amounted to a barrel and
half! And yet, this man complains that
Gov. Johnson and myself love money, and
worship mammOni
Speaking of my courage, or rather want
of it, he states that |, like the venomous
insect, retire to a corner, and wove his We
at leisure"
Now, this man CrOzier was one of the sew
eral cowardly lawyers who instigated suits
against me- in different courts, and in sew
eral counties, and volunteered to prosecute.
SO far from recovering any damages, gain
ed every suit, and defeated the conspirators
| then printed posters, took q brush and
paste cup around the town, and put them
up with my own hands, in which l announc-
ed that would speak in Knoxville, Kings
ton and Loudon, on three several occasions,
and that l would demonstrate beyond the
possibility of controversy, that Crozier was
/ a liar, a scoUNDREL and a COWARD. L
spoke to large crowds in all these towns,
and never less than one hour and halt. |
invited Crozier, in these posters, to be pres
ent. and promised to divide time with him.