The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1870-01-21
N4SBT.
II. FasbJ Receives q letter from His
OiG Friend Beacon POgFam-ThG
Frigh:iUl Decentralization at the Cor
TCFS.
9th WARD, CITY w Moo YORK,


/ Yesterday I received the fOllowin
letter from that old saint in trOweTs,
+ Deekin Eikanah POgram. 1t was de-
iayed long time eZ the Deekin di-
. rected il to "Rev. Petroleum Y. NaS-
. by The letter carriers hedn't any
idee that there wuz any man in the
6th ward who he'd any title to that
prefix. But l finally got it. / need
not say that after readin it I closed
my bar and hung onto the door. Oh
the demOraliZashun uvthis cussid age,
| But it wuZa comfort TO hear from him.
''EZ in water face ansereth to face, so
the heart Nv man to man. The text
shOod reed in Kentucky at least, "Ez
in Whiskey," &C., but take no liber
ties with sEripture. This is the Deck
ms epistle:
CoNFEDRIT Y ROADS, KY,
December ?, 1869.
MY DEAR FRIEND Il avale myself
( NV the presence Nv a young man from
lnjeany, who kin rite, to inform 700
eZ to the condishun Of things in yOOr
old home Things is bad here and is
rapidly CROWN wuss. Scnce yOO left
US it seems TO me ez tho kaOs he'd come
agin, and that cOnfOOshen wuz bein
wuss confoundid. The first families
hev lost their grip; niggers and ablish-
mist hev come in and hev takin con-
trOle, and COnfedrit " Roads is no
longer a place in wich n gentleman NV
refinement and culture kin decently
live.
That infamous wretch, Joe Bigler.
and that Onmitigated pest, Pollock, is
in rsfr hi Of =
goods for Pollock, and his store is the
resort NV all NV their class fur miles
around. The old settlers hev nOthin
whatever to do with en-. We WuZ
disposed to pateruiZe en-, but when
Pollock TefOOzed to let goods wich are
he'd bought 20 out NV the store till
they wuz paid for, and the next mint
give credit to nisgeTs, we Indignantly
declined to deel with him. That in
dignity we wOOdent submit to. We
indOOst two merchants from Louis
vile to start biznis here, but they
didn't stay long. They give credit,
and ther trade wuZ cOnsekently brisk,
but they he'd difficulty in renoOin ther
stocks. When one NV EN- presented
his bill to me, told him Indignantly
ef that wuz the way he PerpOsed to do
biznis he mite eZ well close. "Why,"
said /, ~ mite ez well deel with Pol
lock-" He rcmarkt, insOlently, that
he wisht / he'd dclt with Pollock, and
flung hisself out NV my presence.
Merchants are, ez class, disgustinly
mersenaTy.
Bascom threatens to close out and
leave US. He hez alreddy mortgages
on all our land to its full ValyOO, and
sence the Oillses are all in the hands
NV men who don't drink Ticker at all,
he seZ there amt no money within
his reCch and he can't carry us much
longer. He signs for the good old
times under JOhnsOn's administra-
shen, when all the money received by
Postmaster, Collector and Assessor
poured into his drawer. He is mOrOse
and gloomy, and waters his likker
fearfully. | alleZ hev to take five or
six drinks before / experience any
sensaShen.
But these things is not the worst or
most gloomy NV the signs NV the
times. There's rOOin ahed NV us. The
chivalry Nv the Corners hev lost all
spirit. Only lest week ther wuz a
temprans lecterer advertised to make
n speech in the hall over POllOck's
store. ''Shell this be permitted?u askt
BascOm Indignantly, bringin his fist
down onto the bar till the glasses rat
tied.
"NeverW shouted Issaker Gavitt
and the others in the bar-room, who
scentid drinks ahead,
BascOm sOt out the bottles; we all
took suthin, and rusht tOOmulchusly
to the hall. YOO remember with wat
eagernis we formerly mObbed ObnOx-
yus speakers? We wuZnt at all eager
that mite. We only run a rod or two;
our pace got down to Il slow walk afOre
VIZ reached the spot, and when we got
into the hall we meekly sOt down and
listened to the heretikle cuss, and
went away without heavin a stun at
him. When BascOm reproached us
for our lack NV spirit, told him that
wuZ no yOOse. Men cOOdent mob any,
body on sich lillker eZ he furnisht.-.
1t wont do to dilOOt when yOO hev sich
biZnis on hand.
But that wuz not the most alarmin
sign Nv the degeneracy NV our people.
Within a month two Methodist
preachers hev held forth in this vii
shot! What hope kin there be where
such things occur? And wat is wuss
two NV our old friends ATTENDED their
meetins, and immejitly they quit
comm to BascOm's and / nOtist their
children yesterday with shoes OH
BascOm sighed ez he seed it.
''It's a mistry to me-" he sez.
"What is mystry ?" seZ |.
''Why, so long ez them stayed with
me all day, they hedn't no money to
spend-nOw that they don't come no
more, they hev money, hut they waste
it ON shoes and l don't got it. Why
didn't nacher make men capable NV
wOrkin all day and drinllin all nite?"
Ther amt no change in me or mine,
ccptin that my house is sOmewat
smaller. At the bc@innin NV the win
ter, we WIS compelled to yOOse our
kitchen for fircwoOd, eZ me and Jeth-
TO, my oldest son, cOOdcn'tprOcOOrth the
labor 10 cut the winters fuel. The
niggers won't work for us. Next
winter | spOSe the Scttin room will go,
then the wing wich we yOOZe for a
spare bedroom will follow, and IF /
am not gone hentZ by that time, /
don't know wat we shell do for more.
The coil NV fate is titenin about me.
The niggers up towards GarrctStOwn
are akkOOmulatin property rapidly,
and they pay ther taxes promptly, but
wat good is that to Base com? The
of1ishls is all ablishnists and that mon
ey is diverted into other than legit-
init channels. These vandals hev ma
cadamiZed n mile up the road between
the Corners ard Garrcttstown and
built bridge over the Run. Kin yOO
blame BascOm for wantin to leave
here?.
Il hev heard of yoOr success and am
glad NV it. Wood that ] Good git into
suthin NV the sOrtI Wood my fate
wuZ different. But we can't all keep
grosery. ] shel stay here and when
all the people is gone ! shel go down.
Thank Heaven the time is not far Off
YOOr friend,
ELKANAH POGRAM.
p. S.-Ef yOO Good send me a two
gallon jug of likker wich heZ life into
it / shOOd alluZ remember il grateful
ly. After BascOm's watcred stuff il
wood be a gleem NV sunlite after Il
long and tcjus mite.
E.P.
/ laid down the old mans letter af-
fected to teers. Water in the whisky
Children with shoes, while old men
lack sustenanceI MacadamiZed roads
Bridgesi Methodist Preachersi Tenn
prans lecturers! Ablishnism these is
thy work! Thank heyin" | am an
kered where none NV these things kin
be. / shel send the old man his jug.
1t will put him out Nv his misery
quicker, and smooth his pathway to
the tOom. Besides, when he's gone
wat | owe him is settled.
PETROLEUM V. NASBY,
(wich wuZ POstmaster.)
Keep Your Word.
a boy borrowed n tool from a neigh
Dor promising to return il at night.
L,