Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1868-03-27
PERIPATETIC POLITTCAL LYING.


"To lie like traveller is proverb,
but such classifying asis published in let
ter to the Philadelphia Press about the
condition of affairs in Tennessee, by a
correspondent over the signature Of
" Traveller" is a species of doublesshotted
lying that Solomon, Seneca, Ksop, Frank
lin nor any other professional proverbs
alist ever conceived Of 1t is worthy of,
and could only emanate from one inspired
by and writing under the frank and
auspices Of that Incompatible liar "Oc-
casional - (John w. Forney) - in
whose paper the eifusion appears 1t
may have been written by some well,
trained pupil Of that conscienceless and
proAigate wretch, or may be his own
production. The lies Of Occasional
every liar is not competent to, nor is it
morally possible that there can be in
one human soul mendacity and meanness
enough to furnish constant supply of
such lies as he produces. Conscious Of
this, he adopted the nom de plume
Occasional for it is only now and then
that the genius of his depravity is equal
TO itself This fact induces us to believe
that the Press has had no " Traveller
in Tennessee at all There is but one
such liar in existence as the author of
that letter, and that is Forney himself
The letter is of recent date 1t informs
us that the writer undertook his journey
through this Golgotha of Yankees, Gas he
would have his readers to believe under
representations ofreal estate agents in this
city, that this region was favorable in the
purchase Of land either for speculation
or settlement, and with this view he con,
cluded to pack his carpet-bag and come
He came he went-but never an acre
did he buy And lac gives his reasons
Says he:
But it is Of the population | wish to
speak. The fact is, when you know the
whole truth of the matter, the state of So
ciety is appalling. If one goes there, and
il be known that his mission is the pur-
chase Of land, there is rot wanting those
who will fawn upon him at every turn,
while heartily despising and hating him,
for the hope of ultimately handling his
greenbaCks. Consequently the public are
III
kinds of belief in the unparalleled advan-
tages TO accrue from settling in Tennessee.
But let a Northern man go and give them
no hope of making anything from him and
he is subject TO imposition and annoyance,
no: pausing at robbery and even murder.
OF course this applies more to the small
er villages and the open country than the
cities, where, TO a certain extent, they are
Obliged TO demean themselves with some
degree Of propriety. But even there their
hatred Of the yankees" is not subdued,
but only stiaed. When we went to visit
some places for sale in the city, the women
would shrink from and avoid us with con-
tempt, while their sons would look fully
equal TO the emergency Of biting the ira
dictionary ten-penny nail in two. On the
table Of one house, noticed late copy Of
that miserable sheet, the La Crosse Demo
crat, and, upon CHANGING over it, found the
worst and filthiest paragraph in the whole
paper marked with approbatory marginal
notes in lady's (?) handwriting.
As you ride along in the cars you may
now and then notice band or little squad
of men gathered together and struggling
purposely through the fields, or lettering
in out-oi-the-way places. To meet such a
band with ten dollars in your pocket-book
land the fact be known or suspected) would
almost insure your being shot down and
robbed on the spot.
The real object of the society (Ku-Klux)
is plumber and the terrifying of negroes 10
prcrent their uoting, and to drive the Union
men of the State, if possible, from the po-
litical arena. A short time since one of
their members shot down in cold blood an
unofending citizen, a young man of twenty
years of age. The enraged popnlace cap
tured him, and with no other court than
the expeditions 1ynch law" hanged him
to an adjacent tree. That night the "klan'
met, and, kneeling around his grave, took
a solemn oath Of vengeance.
This extract is a specimen of the rare
variety of lying we alluded to, and yet it
contains a modicum Of truth. We have no
doubt if he saw any women in this city,
they "shrunk from and avoided him
with contempt" and if he had observed
closely, ne would have seen several men
do the same thing He may consider
himself lucky, Also that the tradition
airy boot was not applied to him, when
he was poking his impudert nose about
private residences to see what kind oil
newspapers were taken. He tells the
truth, too, when he says that this is not
a good place for such fellows as he. The
invitations of our real estate dealers and
| immigrant associations were not intended
for his sort There are several too many
Of that kind in this State already, and
they are producing the state of affairs
which if anything should, will deter the
character of population we seek from
coming here.
But he utters calumuy when he says
that the condition of society among tbs
true citizens of this State is such as t,
forbid any man of the North or of any
nationality whatever, from purchasing ;
home in Tennessee, and pursuing an hon
est and respectable calling without mo-
lestation and the proof of its falsity is il
the fact that, despite of such slanderers al
he, large numbers of that class are every
week coming into the State; and wher
they demean themselves as gentlemen
find the society as agreeable as the eli
mate is genial and the soil and resources
remunerative
------------