The Potter journal. [volume] (Coudersport, Pa.) 1857-1872, 1866-09-18
NASBY
How Ms. LOCKE TURNED TO PETROLEUM.

How Ms. LOCKE TURNED TO PETROLEUM
Everybody has read the Nasty letters,
but very few people know anything of their
origin or their author. Those who have
the book-lately priuted-containng, ac-
cording to the title page, divers Views,
Opinions, and Prophecies of yoors trooIy,
Petroleum V. Nasty" have undoubtedly
made themselves familiar with the eportrait0f
the "Lait Pastor" as drawn by Jones, and
printed therein. This is undoubtedly
true likeness ct Petroleum v, if not Of the
gentleman who persorates hIm in the Mas
by letters, and it is quite probable that
many people would recognize the former
rs a real caricature of the latter. The pic
ture was undoubtedly intended to have
some points Of resemblance to the real au-
thor Of "Na>by," and with this, his many
admiring readers should be satisfied. Ehe
first Of the Nasty letters appeared in April,
1868, but is printed third in the book. It's
title Is Negro Emigration" This letter
deprecates the alarming "inkrecs' Of negro
population az Wihgert's Corners, calls upon
the disjnterested patriots Of that place TO
"aoll mass meetin to take this subict
n2 considerashun,' and proposes "the
adopshen NV a series Wv preamble and reso-
looshens." TIE second clause Of the pro-
posed preamble" has in it the germ of tip
entire series Of the Nasty letters, and Is
printed as follows:
Whereas. In the event Of this imirra-
shun, our fellow-townsman, AbSlum ke
and uthers, whose families depenI upon
their labor for support, would be throl out
# employment"
"Abslum Kit is not myth, bat At the
time that this letter was first published.
lived at Finl'ay, Ohio, his real name being
FIenuer. Fenner was q lazy, drunken,
I gcod-for-nothing sort of fellow, seldom
doing any work, and making himself itt.5
! less than a town charge. In fact, h.,
father was already ii the poor house, and II
/ Flenner. Jr., lad been there, too, he would
| have cost the town less trouble and money.
About this time a petition, emanatiuC ftJm
high Democratic authority, was circulated
/ in Ohio, asking the legislature to pass
I law prohibiting negro immigration, aud t.
iprOyiIe for the removal Of negroes then
residing in that State. The principal rea-
son offered bv these "d snteresied patriots
for the passage Of such a law was that The
inhux Of negroes from the South, that
would follow the expected emancipation,
would SO reduce the wages of labor in Ohio
that white laborers could not live there. A
copy of this petition was sent to q very
respectable Democrat Of F.ndlay,who, being
ashamed to circulate il himself, employed
FIenner to 60 the Job. Mr.. D. R. Locke,
publisher at that time Of the "FiR3lay
JeferS0niaa," was at once struck by its
aJsurdity, especially when presented by q
man Ike Fenner He, therefore, borrowed
the petition, intending to print it in the
next issue Of his paper and make some Sc
ri0us comments regarding it. If his de-
sign had been carried out the Nasty letters
would never have been written or published;
but 50 extremely ridiculous did the whole
affair appear, that Mr.. Locke, who is a
practical printer, finally gave up tie idea
Of writing anything serious about 1t, and
commenced putting in type with his t'9n
hands, the letter referred to above. This
he did without having written word il,
and withor: any defined plan, except to
make hisso1ecism humorous, and bis humor
pointed and pungent.-Afe- the letter
was II type Mr. Locke hesitated about
publishing it, and probably would not have
done so if he could have prepared other
matter to fill its place before the time for
the issue Of his paper. So the letter was
published in the Je6ersoniaa, and in
short time thereafter appeared in marr
leading Republican journals throughout
the country, giving the writings Of Nasby
The stamp Of success from the very first.
Thus encouraged, Mr.. Locke con,inued to
write over this signature and the subse-
.cuent career Of Petroleum v, is known to
every one. Flenner the i~direct author
Of the first Nasty letter, afterwaFl~ e.ij~rrI
in the Umiled States service, and died u
/ the armv.-DetroU Press.