The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1866-08-21
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How Mr.. locke turnea - Pstrelsrn.

How Mr.. locke turnea - Pstrslepn.
Everybody has read the Nasty letters, but
veryfew people know anything Of their orr
gin or their author. Those who have the
book-lately understanding, according
to the title page, "Divers Views, Opinions
and Prophecies Of yoors trooly, Petroleum
v. Nssby," have undoubtedly made them
selves familiar with the portrait of the 'Lait
Pastor" as drawn by Jones, and printed
therein. This is undoubtedly q true likeness
of Petroleum ", If not Of the gentleman
who personates him in the Nasty letters, and
it is quite probable that many people would
recognize the former as cariceture of the
latter. The picture was undoubtedly intend,
ed to have some points Of resemblance tothe
real author of Nasty and with this his
many admiring readers should be satisfied.
The FIRST Of the Nasty letters appeared in
April, 1868, but is printed third in the book.
Its title is Negro Emigration" This letter
deprecates the alarming .'inkrees' Of negro
population at Wmgert's Corners, calls upon
the disintereeted patriots Of that place to
"hold mass meetin TO take this subjick into
considerashun," and proposes 'the adcpshen
NV series NV preamble and resolooehens. y
The second clause of the proposed ''pream
BILE has in it the germ of the entire series of
the Nasty letters, and is printed as follows:
Whereas, In the event of this imigrashun,
our fello~-townsman Abslum Kit and uthers
whose families depend upon their labor for
support, would be throde out Of Unemployment,
'.Ahslum Kitt'' is not myth. but at the
time this letter was first published, lived at
Findlay, Ohio, his real name being Flenner.
Flenner was lazy, druken, good for nothing
Sort Of fellow, seldom ever doing any work,
and making himsef little less than town
charge In fact, his father was already in the
poor house, and if Feuner, DR., had been
there, too, he would have cost the town less
trouble and money. About this time peti.
ton emana,ing from high Democratic author
ity was circulated in Ohio, asking the lcgisla-
ture to pass law prohibiting negro immi
grtion, and to provide for the removal Of, ne
groes then living in that State. The princi-
pie reason offered by these "disinterested pa
triots for the passage of such alaw was that
the great influx of negroes from the South,
that would follow the expected emancipation.
would SO reduce the wages of the labor in
Ohio that white laborers could not live there.
A copy of this petition was sent to very
respectable Democrat of Findlay, who, being
ashamed to circumlate it himself, employed
tlenner to do the job. While in Flenners
hands the petition was seen by Mr.. ID. r.
Locke, publisher at that time of the Findlay
Jefsrsoaian. who was at once struck by its abb
snrdity, especially when presented by man
like Henner. He, therefore, borrowed the
petition, intending to print it in the next Issue
Of his paper and make some serious COM
ments regarding it. If his design had been
carried out the Nasty letters would never
have been written or published: but so ex
tremely ridiculous did the whole affair appear
that Mr.. Locke, who is a practical printer,
finally gave up the idea of writing any thing
serious abont it, and commenced putting in
type, with his own hands, the letter referred
to above. This he did without having writ
ten word of it, and without any defined
plan, except to make his solecism humorous, |
and his humor pointed and pungent. After
the letter was in type Mr. Locke hesitated |
about publishing it, and probably would not
have done so if he could have prepared other
matter to FIJI up its place before the time for
the Issue of his paper. SO the letter was
published in the Jefersonian, and in a short
time thereafter appeared in many leading
Republican journals throughout the country,
giving the writings of Nasty the stamp of
success from the very FIRST. Thus encour>
aged. Mr.. Locke continued to write over this
signature, and the subsequent career Of Pes
troleum v, is known to every one. Flenner,
the indirect author of the first Nasty letter,
enlisted in the United States SER
vice, and died in the army.-Detron Post.