Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-09-12
"JERRY SNEAK.
some OF ehe Characteristics Of the
Radical Candidate for Vice Presf.

some OF tine characteristics of the
Radical Candidate for Vice Presf.
dent.
From the New York Tribune, Sept 9.
We hope that our readers will excuse us
II we refer once more to Gen. Wilson's
Know Nothing record. That person made
a speech at Natick, Mass, on Friday even
ing, the purport of which was that the
speaker was Know Nothing, but that he
became so out of the most virtuous mo-
tives, and without In fact becoming Know
Nothing at all So, We suppose, he took
the solemn and tremendous oaths which
the order required Of It's novices without
meaning anything, and most decidedly
without meaning to be true to them.
This Natick speech, In view Of the facts,
will convince nobody, and ought to con-
vince nobody.
It Is time, perhaps. 10 sum up this mat
ter. The facts proved and not now denied
by the General are, that he became Know
Nothing; that he professed to entertain the
distinctive doctrines Of the Rnow-Noth-
ings; that he sat as delegate in the Know
Nothing National Convention; that he was
elected Senator by Know-Nothing votes.
So much for proven charges.
Mr.. Wilson responds BY saying that he
was Know-Nothing; that while he pro-
fessed TO entertain the distinctive doctrines
Of the Know-Nothings he inwardly repu-
dated them all; that be was in the National
Known Nothing Convention As delegate for
the purpose Of defeating the object of that
convention; and that he played a double
game, and while he was at heart friendly to
foreigners, he was acting with men who
were their svowed enemies.
But the case Of Mr.. Wilson needs TO be
considered as a whole, and we purpose now
to show it. We have not been censuring
Mr.. Wilson for being Know Nothing, but
for dishonorably sneaking out OF it. We
have no controversy about Know Nothing
ism. It is not our habit to discuss dead
issues. When Know Nothingism was a
live question, We fought it;--now that it is
dead, we care nothing about It, snd have
no controversy with the hundreds Of thou
sands Of good men who were once deluded
into support Of it. But this is the case of
man who now aspires to be Vice Presi-
dent of the United States.
he was asked whether be had EOt been a
member Of the Know-NothiEg party. He
replied, Indignantly branding as . mon
strous and wicked SANDER the intimation
that he bad ever said one word or done one
thing AGAINST the equal rights Of all citizens
of whatever color, race, or nationality.
Then it was proved by the unimpeschable
t stimony of Frank w. Bird, Albert Pike,
and a whole cloud ofwitnesses that he had
been duly elected, duly initiated and IN
commonly active Know Nothing. Then
some Germans here mailed him a letter
asking about it. They received a re-
ply from bis home, under his frank
and bearing his signature, fatty denying
that he had ever been Known Nothing.
Then F. w. Bird and other old friends of
bis openly denounced him as liar. Then he
authorized an Associated Press dispatch,
declaring the German letter forgery. The
Germans thereupon brought to US copy of
their letter to him, and his reply, in German,
under his frank, and in the same hand in
which previous German letters of his were
written, duly signed as they had been,
"Henry Wilson, per II. A." Herman Asken-
asy of Boston then acknowledged himself
the amanuensis OF the letter, admitted that
he was in the habit Of conducting Senator
Wilson's German correspondence, said he
had been instructed TO answer this letter,
and that, after preparing the answer, he
had consulted the Senator about It. And
then, Senator Wilson makes speech, ac-
knowledging that he was Know-Nothing.
That is the case; and the whole of 1t.
We have elected good many kinds of
people to our highest Executive offices, but
never paltry creature like this. We drop
Mr.. Wilson. We have, in times past, re-
garded and treated him IS an honorabls
man. No intelligent person need make
that mistake again.