The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1870-04-01
VAN RIPER,s MOBl
The old Bell Wether Drives the Pet
Lambs out into the Balm.

no O4N NAAS EA
-
About half past seven o'clock last
night, Capt. Gillette touched off a sky
rocket as a signal to the sans c~ulottes
of the First and Second Wards to as
semble at his temperance grocery, on
the corner of Fourth and Oak Streets.
Rudd was there. Menifee lowered
loftily above, and trod heavily
through the little crowd. Alex. VIII
sons face beamed forth good hu-
moredly. Mr.. Burke invited the
crowd to pass back into the grocery.
and make room for more. A little
boy called out for them not to pocket
Gillette's stock in trade, and above all
the din was heard the voice of the
dignifed Whittlesey, who stood out
side the door aud raved about THAT
lousy Irishman from Chicago" who
would persist in publishing his yeast
bottle outbursts Of eloquenee.
Mr.. Patrick Burke called the meet
ing to order, and asked MIR. Isaac
Keen to preside. The meeting
cheered the invitation, and Mr.. Keen
mounted the rail around the cellar
door, and said there was no discount
on brains. AS brain was something
but very little known in the crowd,
DO one disputed him. He endorsed
Van Ripper, and asked them all to do
likewise-for what amount, he did
not say. Van married among US, and
made thousands of dollars of ex-
change. [Mr. Burke suggested mil
Iions.1 Mr.. Keen accepted the sug-
gestion, and said millions. The rest
of Mr.. Keen's speech has been re-
ported so often from others. that it is
useless to quote it.
Whittlesey was called. but said
there were more Democrats out doors,
and he wouldn't speak in the house.
loud yclls.l A box was brought to
to the door, Whittlegey mounted it
and said that as Ryan, of the JOURNAL.
had gone and couldn't report his
speech, he would talk a little. He
congratulated the Democratic party
on the passage of the Fifteenth
Amendment, go that they now might
all ofthem embrace the negro, and en-
terrain them after the example he set
them, by inviting Fred. Douglass to
take up his residence in the Hotel de
Whittlesey. He eulogised the negro
as an artist, as a jurist and legislator,
and after thus eulogising him, asked
the crowd if they did not even like the
smell of one.
The crowd yelled in delight, and a
colored man asked the JOURNAL re-
porter Who that crazy man was. When
told he said, "Oh, I understand him
now. He was trying to make a
joke"
The Q. G. Silver Band played 1.-The
bell goes a ringing for Sarah" and
the transpareneies were driven up.
Two were labeled. "The JOURNAL
blackguardism. a: Chicago importa-
tion;" Second Ward-E. G. Van
Ripper q progressive man." while the
Third advised the pet lambs to vote
for Files, the miller.
Read was called for. and in re
spouse Hiram e. Read, Esq, mount
ed the box, and made a speech of
some length against the "~enormity"
of the Fifteenth Amendment. He
said Menifee betrayed him into
making a speech. and to get even, he
would get Menifee SO sight that he
would have to lay out some night,
down in Lamasco.
Van Ripper succeeded Read without
success; as an orator he is a failure.
He was going to keep his eyes open,
aud would be elected sure
Capt. Files said he had never made
a speech, but would be just as good a
Councilman as ever was, and didn't
want a vote except from white men.
Saunders said he used to shoot
ducks on Fourth Street. Maynard
didn't shoot ducks. aud didn'twant to.
Wilson said as the gentleman from
Chicago had gone home, and probably
had his speech already reported, he
would say that here he was at home
and would talk about himself. BE
spoke for Van, for Files and every one
else, but prudently RETAINED from
poking any more fun at the already
over irritated Whitt!esey. He smiled
genially, and retired.
Menilee, yielding to repeated calls.
asked rs this Van Riper's mob? !
want to hear the lamb bleat. The
colored troops fought nobly, but vote
the white mans ticket" The pei
lambs, out in the rain, bleated loudly.
Mr.. Mann, tho little man, was
lifted to the box and opened his ora
tory.
Charley Habbe got down from the
band wagon and went home, evident
ly disguised at seeing the nan he had
been mistaken for.
Mann apologised for the soundness
of his linen; he had promised to rend
it, but the appendix to that important
article of vesture was still whole; il
was not his fault.