The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1869-10-20
GtreQnteIliQ&nrer:;
1MpER1A11sM IN AMERICA.
a REMARKABLE DISCLOSURE.


~ " bdS" bnaS eApLV AcHbLJ oALbbd u ~
cret organization for this purpose
which has enrolled considerable body
OF members; that the audAolous prInl
called The IRIpcridtiSt, which appeared
regularly every week during April,
May, June, and July OF the present
year, was the accredited organ OF this
society; and that, though the paper hAt
run It's course, the society still con-
tlnues. $50 can assure the
reader that tho facts are all precisely
as here recorded. The manuscript
opens as follows:
During the fierce canvass which pre-.
oeded General Grants election to the
Presidency, his opponent frequently
charged, that he was aiming to make
himself permanent Dictator OF Amerlca
He was described by them as an ambl.
tlOus soldier, who by Instinct and habit
loved arbitrary power, and chose rather
10 Initiate Cesar than Washington
President johnson predicted that Gen.
eral Grant, II elected, would be the last
President OF free republic; and Gen
erRl Blair, a candidate tor The Vice.
Presidency, warned his cOuntrymen
with the apparent earnestness Of con.
vlclion, that Grant sought the Presl'
dency only as a stepplnR.stone 10 the
imperial throne. Although the Re.
publican journal scofIed at the idea
that any one, and least Of all General
Grant, had the slightest desire TO es-
tabllsh an Empire In the United States,
persistent repetition OF these charges
was not without its effect. People grew
familiar with the possibility OF an
Empire. They began TO debate whether
band OF determined conspiratorH
might not overthrow republican gov.
eminent: and some thinking men even
asked themselves, whether this murky
smoke OF rumor did not cover some
sparks of fire. The chastity Of the Res
public, once regarded as unlmpeaCha.
hle, became in this way subject OF
discussion, and the possibility OF It's
yielding to tho rough wOOing OF an i'm
than this, II was found that the
prospect OF an Empire was not
distaSteiul 10 every one. Proba-
bly, most persons at this time num-
bered among their acquaintance some
individuals willing TO welcome the
coming Empire.' That Is to say, while
scarcely any native. born American was
open In the expression OF imperialist
views, many frankly avOwed their in.
difference, on the ground that an Em.
pire could hardly he worse than the
Republic In Its then condition. This
Indifference was doubtless more Affect
ed than real, and resulted probably
from the fact that the people who man
Tested II, really believed that no harm
would happen TO the Republic. But
the manifestation itself Ia enough for
our present purpose.
The election came, and General Grant
WAS chosen President. With the en-.
suing lull In political excitement, the
rumors of an lmperialIst plot died
away, and when, on the Fourth of
March, President Grant was Inaugural.
ted, nobody looked to see him assume
the imperial purple. The rumor which
had apparently passed Out OF the popu.
lar memory, appeared 10 have been
originated solely by politicians and
journalists for party purposes.
Suddenly, on the third Of April fol-
lowing, there appeared in New York a
new weekly paper called The Imperial.
list, which advocated the immediate eB-
Establishment, not only Of u monarchy,
but OF C;esariHm, personifed In Il mill
tary dictator, responsible only to pub
Ito opinions: u paper which assumed
that the revolution II aimed at was al
ready begun, and when spoke no long.
er Of the United States, but of Ihe EHl-
pire Of the West.
at once the old rumors Of monarChICal
conspiracy revived, and assumed an
uudeniable Importance. No ono Of my
readers can have forgotten the excite.
ment which this imperial bOmb.sheIl
created. The press OF the United States
and England saw In II the open deli
ance OF party strong enough to make
public It's aims and plans. The InlpC-
rtdtiSt made It's regularly weekly 40.
pearance for twenty consecutive weeks,
when 1t suddenly ceased TO appear. The
secret OF Its origin, the cause OF lis ces.
satlon, and the name Of It's editors and
writer's. have never yet been revealed.
IL will be my purpose In this article 10
tell the true story OF The Impe1idList,
and the political movement OF which Ii
WAS the organ. There are certain mat.
ters connected with the subject, which
cannot yet be disclosed, but whatever
statements this article contains are
strictly true.
The conductors of The ImpcrialisL
were not, as Ia sometimes alleged, mere
adventures, Irresponsible, unprIncI-
Piled 'Bohemians,' aiming only al news.
paper sensation, and advocating ideas
in which they did not believe. The
founders, editors and writer's of The
InpcTiGti6t were In earnest, II ever men
were. They were Americans by birth,
and gentlemen OF position and culture,
who believe that Republicanism In
America has proved a failure, and that
the only salvation TOR the country lies
In an Immediate recourse to imperial
ism. Most Americans are accustomed
10 regard Republlcanism as species
Of religion, and 80 to question the hon.
esty OF any man who advocates u mon.
archy; but tho editors OF the Impcr'iat-
isl swers monarchIsts by convict on,
and believed their motives TO be patri.
otlc and pure. ,.g
The ImperidliSt, claimed to DO the or.
gan ofan extensive secret political par
", known as the T. @. /. o. This claim
was generally regarded as a mere
newspaper device. and the mystic InI.
tials furnished The staple OF II good deal
Of joking. Nevertheless the I, Z. 10. was
and is a bona file organization. The 80
elety ofthe 'Triumviri Civeaque Imperii
0ccidentalis,' Ia to-day a widespread
and numerous organization, and lis
civil and military colonies are as active
as ever. With the rest OF the imperial.
let party. the society silently bIdes Its
time; and Il is the belief OF the men at
Its head, that II has yet a great work to
do In establishing imperial Institutions
In the United States.
The care and skill with which the T.
@. l. o. Is organized, render II more 10.
cure against espionage, or tho unfaith.
fulness Of It's members, than any other
secret society In existence. II is gov
erned by Trlumvirate, who are per-
sonally known only 10 the two Con.
auls, the officers next below the Trium-
vlri In rank. Each Of these Consuls
iB known to certain number OF Pro-
consuls, who rank Immediately below
them, but to no other members of the
society, with, OF course, the exception
Of the Triumvirl. The procOnsuls an.
point the commissioners, and the latter
organize the civil and military colo.
niles, which consist Of the rank and
Ole. No member OF any colony knows
the members OF any other colony, and
his only connection with the rest OF the
society Is through the commissioner OF
his particular district. II q member OF
colony. a commissioner, or even