The Fremont weekly journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County, Ohio) 1867-1877, 1868-12-25
SflisteIIaneoas SeLettians.
AN HOUR WITH NASBY.

about dozen smutty printers clicking
away at their desks
ssThat thick stout man with his coat
and vest of, and his shirt collar laid
open, standing by the desk near the
doorl"
"Ah thank you, l wanted to see
him."
Let US have a good look at this
brilliant wit and wonderful sstirist az
he stands there sticking bis type
like common printer. Well he is a
thick square built fellow, indeed firm
on his pins, as those stout legs Just a
little bowed, show, broad Of back,
square of shoulders, and on the whole
very compact, we'll put up man.
But do you notice that, unlike the
other printers, he has no ''copy" before
him, and yet he is clicking away as
busily as any of them. We must see
how this is.
! 81 think, sir, l have the honor of
addressing Mr.. Nasby, the Postmaster
of the Confedrit Y Road"
With a quick smile, in which a pair
of mild laughing gray eyes participate,
he answers that be will be glad TO see
us in a few moments as soon as he
finishes the editorial upon which be is
now engaged.
The glance that We have already had
at bis pleasant face is sufficient TO con-
vince us that the portrait of him by
Mast, as he sits in his famous post
Office, opposite Baseom's grocery, With
/ his feet on the table, almost touching
| a bottle of whiskey, and the longsd for
s'commisshun" firm in his hand, does
him great injustice. He really don't
look half SO surly and cross, But hi,
trials with A. Johnson about that ''post
offs" probably soured him some. At
ter a few moments waiting in the ed
itorial sanctum Nasby comes in. He
has that quiet easy, unpretending mau-
ner that wins you over at once. You
see in him the honest candid, intelli.
gent, thoroughly posted and most in
tensely earnest political writer of the
day. He has none Of thst light, pun
ming, yet droL wit of the Artemus
Ward kind, for he is not at all that kind
of a man, He is a deep thoughtful
man with purpose-with great work
laid out for him to do, and an >iuaex-
ible resolve 70 do it; occasionally in
conversation rich nugget Of wit will
fall out from the well-kpoW1 Eaaby
vein, but rarelyrin fact be says he
cares but little for the reputation the
Nssby papers have brought him if he
were to be known by them only.
After chatting awhile on political
topics and and his trip to Boston and
Washington, we asked if that story
that they told about him and Post
master-General Randall was really true.
He laughed heartily as be began to
recall how Randall laughed and said it
was. ''Oh," said he, Randall is a
capital good fellow and likes a joke
wonderfully" But to the story.
When he was ip Washington he met
Randall at dinner, As soon as they
we're seated, Randall turned to him
and said: 81 find by the books Of
the department. that there Is quite q
balance due from your office at the X
Roads, and while you are in town you
had better make it convenient to call
up and settle it" "Ab," says Naaby,
81 don't find any Democratic precedent
for settling balance when it stands
that way"
But Randall undoubtedly feels fully
even with him now, since he has re-
ceived several letters from stupid coun-
try postmastsrs, asking the removal Of
Nasby from Office on the ground that
he is really hurting the Democratic
partyI He's good square pe@ocrat
they all admit, but be talks it too
boldly for the good of the party.
ItWas too good an opportunity to
learn something of the origin Of those
famous Easby letters, and his account
of the first one was substantially as
follows; During the campaign for the
reelection Of Mr.. Lincoln, Mr.. Locke
Nasby) was editing a Republican pa
per in a small town in Ohio. The
Democrats were making desperate
efforts to carry the State for Mcclellan,
aud we're taking both horns of the
"nigger' dilemma. In one breath
they would argue that as the lines of
of our army advanced, the niggers in
swarms would pour into the State, and
being great stout fellows, used to hard
labor, they would work for almost
nothing, thereby taking the bread
from the mouths of honest hard work
ing men of the State. Ia the next
breath they would argue that these
same niggers were SET Of lazy hrutes
who had never done anything and
never would and must be supported in
the poor house, and these same hard
working Democrats would b9 taxed to
support theml How very consistent
Still Democratic audiences are not
very critical and both lines of argu-
msnt took well. So much exercised |
did the niger haterS finally become, |
that the Democratic State Central
Committee caused a petition to the
Legislature to be prepared IN which
they asked the passage Of a law pro-
the presence of these contra
bands in the State, and also praying
for the banishment Of all negroes from
.he State,
This petition, for some time they
we're positively ashamed to circulate;
out at last a packet was sent to one
Levi G. Flenner for distribution. At
he mention Of this name Nasby paus-
ID aud INDUCED in one of those quick,
,huckling laughs Of his, and remarked
a lucky thing for me that
4Ienner was ever born into the world.
f there had been no Fleuner there
night have been 10 Nasty" "Who
vas this Flennerl" / asked. Gle 1
vas ''poor white" from Virginia, who
lad come into the State years before
With his father and mother (neither of
rhom can read or write, and his only I
occupation had been hanging aTOSsd |
he bar rooms, drinking whisky and
alkiEg politics. Neither father or son q
.adIeYer been known to do a single :
ay's work in their lives, and of course, !
hey were the great Democratic oraclss
{ the place. Eor their valuable po- f
tical services they were admitted into t
be ''ring" of the overseers ofthe town |