Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1872-05-03
Old wings.

Union Of the Wings for the sake of the
Union"
Have the old Wings forgotten this time
honored motto, which was inscribed upon
th6ir party banners in days past? The
same appeal is made to them now, and let
the same response be given.-.StGteSUitte
american.
No. the true old line wings have not for
gotten that motto. They will prove true to
the memory of Henry Clay. They will en-
ter heartily into this campaign, and their
battle cry will be as Of Old-death and de-
Btruction to the loco fOcO party.
Wilmington Post.
We were never an Old Whig, but we
desire to thrust back with scorn, the insnu-
ations contained in these references. We
have seen Mr.. Drake, of the Statesville
American, leave the party of honesty, intel
iigenca and virtue, and we'd himself to that
Of dishonesty, ignorance aid corruption,
with regret. We have no words of Un-
Kindness and bitterness for him. We had
the highest respect for him personally, and
the utmost confidence for his political integ-
rity in the past, and we trust at least, to be
able to retain the former. We shall not
attemptto divine the reasons which in
fuenced his ''change g Of heart" we do
hoI,e they were honest. We do not envy
his vote of thanks from a convention which
was organized by the corrupt negro Harris,
or which could nominate the deserter
Howerton, or I.ittlefield's friend Brogden.
But we shall take issue with him, when he
attempts to drag his old Whig friends into
t1se cess-pool of filth and corruption into
which he has plunged.
But why should any one who processes
to have regard for the g Old WING party"
attempt to saddle it with the crimes of
North Carolina RadicalSm. Those who
were once members of this proud and hon
Ored organization, and now revere its
memory, have enough to humiliate them
in the recollection that Pool, Pearson,
Reade, Caldwell, Sloan, Phillips, Carrow
and Logan were once members of the
party in full fellowship. For Gods sake
do not let them be held responsible by
their own former friends for Holden,
Brogden, Settle, Hargrove, Cantwell and
Hawk Rogers. The old Demo rats are
willing to Edivide honors'' with them.
Both are glad to get rid of such plundering
camp-followers. The new party organiza-
ton is purer and better without them.
We have been amused for several years
at the disgraceful appeals made to the
"Old Wings" by the Radical leaders in
this State, aud have thought that Holden
and Hawk Rogers, Settle and BrOgden,
hn INcC nd M
held the offices, were Il pretty crowd to set
traps for party once led by BADGER and
MANGUAI, GRAHAM and MANLY, GILMER
and DAVIS, VANCE and LEACH, and who
yet retain their intelligence, yea, and their
virtue and character too, even though
their organization itself is numbered with
the things of the past.
But we prefer to let the inimitable
VANCE speak for the |.Old Wings" In
his Statesville speech, in giving the symp-
toms of Conservative beginning to change
his politics, he says:
The next symptom is an intense love of
old WhiGg0ry. Laughter and applause.
When this comes out strong you may ap-
point the faneral. Laughter Radway's s
Ready Relief can't save him. TGreat
laughter and continued applause.l 1 Go
protest and beg that if any man wants to
join the Radical party he won't prostitute
the name of old Wings. The old Wing
was at least decent party. The Demo-
Gratis in old times use to call it GristOcratic,
and to some extent it was. l can see now
many of these old fellows who used to
dress with scrupulous neatness, their boots
30 black and shiny that a puppy would
bark at his image in them all day.
[Laughter.1 His shirt collar white as pa
per and stiff as paste-board; in his pocket
he carried a copy Of the National Intelli-
genccr, and blew his nose with the sound
of trumpet in red bandanna handker-
chief. [Great laughter and applause.] Such
men We're the very salt of the earth for
personal and political uprightness. They
elevated no thieves and public plunderers
to high positions in the government; they
made no Littlefields the guardians of their
State bonds; they had no Sam Watts nor
Jay bird Jones on the bench. They asso-
ciated politically with ne CEfy Mayos,
Deweese, A. J. Jones, Windy Billy and
Jordan Chambers. IApplause.l
Their profane use of the name of Whig
reminds me of circumstance that hap