Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1868-09-03
Qualifications Necessary
to become a Member Of
the Tennessee Legisla-
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"A Chattanooga correspondent
of the Cincinnati Commercial Rad
ical) writes thesfollowing life-l like
sketch, which will be appreciated !:
People in Ohio, who have not
progressed at the lively rate which
has characterised US during the
past three years, will naturally
ask the question Why don'tyou
have a Legislature with a mind Of
its own? Why don't you send men
to make laws who are intelligent,
who can read and write, who are
educated, and who are up to the
average of mankind? These are
direct questions, and in order to
answer them SO that the people of
Ohio can have correct under
standing of the situation, and not
blame the people of Tennessee for
what the seeming representatives
OF the people do, | will give an
outline of the road which a man,
generally travels to get into the
Capitol of the State as a "repre-
sentative" His first step is to be
very loyal-ultra loyal-and
abuse the rebels with all the bill
lingsgate at his command, and
class with the rebels all who
do not believe in the ultra mea-
sures of an ultra fool. II makes
no difference. what he has been in
''times that are past and forever
gone," how he supported the Con-
federacy at first, until it was not
remunerative to support. it any
longer, how he cursed the Aboli-
tionists, whipped the niggers and
thirsted for Yankee blood at so
safe a distance that there was no
danger of their spilling his-all
such matters belong to the forgot
ten past--and a superabundance
OF his present loyalty makes up for
any little deficiencies of the arti-
Gle that may have been noticed in
the past. Loyalty having been
established by this expeditions
method, move number two is a Sc
ries of small moves between negro
cabins aud whisky shops, with
slight diversion Of time and a con-
siderable diversion of whisky in
favor of the white men who man
age that delectable and Christian
institution known as the Loyal
League. Move number three is to
get as many negroes and boys in
side as possible, and once in, the
question is no longer how they
got in, but how to get out, through
a net work of oaths. The "candi-
date for the suffrage of his fellow
citizens then states how loyal he
has always been-how he always
was a friend to the negroes, what
horrid thing slavery was, how very
hard the rebels were trying oget
it back, how it would have to come
over his dead body if it did come
back, and much more to the same
effect. Having filled the heads of
the negroes with this highly season
ed oratory, as he had previously fill
ed their stomachs with strychnine
whisky, which is of that quality
eminently calculated to make the
poor negroes "forget the past"
even had they any disposition to
remember it, "John Browns body"
is then sung, many singing hearth
ly who would have made short
work of old Brown if they could
have got hold of the old fellow at
the time it was rumored that he
believed in negro equality.
After Johns body has got
through marching on, "Down with
the traitor" is sung with such gusto
that one would really suppose,
not being acquainted with the
facts, that some Of the latter day
loyalists in the league assembled
did something towards sputting
him down. Somebody then NOV
ed that SO and SO be declared the
nominee of the league. Every
body yells "aye," of course, and
the industrious gentleman who
has been pulling the wires and
raising the devil and the, price of
whisky---the former from natural
inclination and the latter from
consumption, for long time, has