Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1872-07-17
THE FIRST GREELEY rIzzLE.
The Hands that Didn's clasp.
No EnthusIRsm-Slim Crowd and DiscOn.
sOIntc Spenkera.
Music, BonGrcs and Fireworks ana y
Fizzle.

ISOLATE speakers.
Music, BonGres and Fireworks ana "
Fizzle.
About twelve years ago there was q meeting
held at the Court House at Knoxville quite MS
significant rs the one held last night Then an
agent of Rochester, New York, Nursery was
in the hands of q noisy crowd that threatened
TO tar and feather him for being an dbolitioniSt.
The fact as conclusive proof that he was an in
cendiary abolitonist was that on his person was
found CreeleyS Nelc York Tribune. One ofthe
prominent acters in the meeting last niqht
of the men raving mad for Greeley
now, was then in favor of giving the
nursery man from New York n coat of tar and
feathers for being an Abolitionist and for read
ing the Greeley Tribune Time brings about
some changes
THE BLUFF GAME.
When the meeting was determined on tho
ring got up huge posters and stuck on for
speakers about every name they could think of
Most of these names were used without authori-
ty. We heard of at least four names that were
announced and the first they knew of it was
when they saw it in print. Considerable brag
was made about the streets of the Liberal Re-
publicans' that were to speak General
Champion and David Richards were claimed
as "Biberals.p We are informed Champion did
not authorize his name TO be used, but even if
he did, he has been prominently identified with
the Democratic party since 1867.
ing him for a Greeley speech was too rich. He
is an unconditional Grant man and gave Gree
ley up as soon as he saw him in bad company
Like the boy with the pet lamb "Betsey."
Davy can say Greeley loved you once better
than any other one sheep, but you're in bad
company and L IL have TO let you CO."
CHANGING over the list of names, we saw in
one string seven of the boys who wore the grey.
prayed that when they would return to their
homes it would be TO "tind poverty at their
fresideS and see prirdtioR IN the anxious eyes of
mothers and the rags Of chitdreh." They
fought for their rights have preserved their
self-respect long, but now they bow down to the
Abolition god and kiss the hand that smote
them. We have to rub our eyes occasionally to
be sure we are not dreaming, but we saw it last
night and now we are ready for anything,
THE MEETING.
After three days notice and hard work, after
music, posters, bonfres and fireworks, the crowd
gathered last night was distressingly small.
| The meeting was a fzzlo, huge fzzle. Not &c
exceed five hundred men and boys were present
and large sprinklng ofthem were Grant men
| there for curiosity. No enthusiasm, no heart in
| man band bowed hard. John Scherf heaved
| like good fellow, but the crowd wouldn
] come. Greeley's magic na,ne wouldn't draw
/ them.
| CHASTITY ARRAY.
| The meeting was held in front of the Cour
| house, JnOupn all cOulu nave comfortably StOOu
inside. On the platform sat a long array o.
advertised speakers. They sat up as straight dur.
| ing the Chairman's tedious speech as church dea.
cons. In fact they looked as serious as doctor.
| at the bedside Of n dying patient.
We have seen Judge Brown in the Court
| room under very trying circumstances. We
| have seen him in hard law suits when the evil
denco was running strong against him, when
jury looked ready for verdict against him,
| but we never saw him look so disconsolate as
| last night while looking down on the slim, un-
| sympathetic, cold crowd. These are busy times
for threshers, churns and seeds, and we know
| the Judges clients are numerous and pay good
fees, so that nothing in the world but that huge
| fizzle could make his imperturble countenance
look so distressingly painful and disconsolate.
Beside him sat Jeems; Cooke, as his clients
often call him. Now Jeems is q first class law
yer and we know if he had all his clients be-
fore him they would outnumber that crowd, for
they are more numerous than any other law
yers at this bar, but as q politician he isn't a
''slops over" To those who saw Cooke yester-
day, full of excitement and buoyant with hope
over the rousing meeting he knew they were to
have, his face last night would have drawn tears
from the hardest heart. He is easily disheart-
ened and we advise the committee to look after
him to-day or something serious might happen.
OTHER soRRowFUL FACES
Prominent in this brilliant but disconsolate
array was Charlton, of the Eastern Division
Fair. He is a buster when working up a fair,
but in getting up o meeting he isn't q success,
as this effort shows We hope our energetic
Secretary won't get discouraged from this tzzle
and throw up the sponge for the fair. If we
had a way to get to Charlton's ear, We would
say, " stick to the Secretary's office and let
Greeley Il Co. hoe their own row. 1t isn't
your forte and il isn't natral to see you work
ing on that line" ....
Judge Nelson looked serious. We don't think
the recollection Of tho drubbing Fleming gave
him for signing Bakers memorial troubled him
though we couldn't thinking it ought to seem
sort of funny to him to see about him those loud
mouthed Greeley men, who few months ago
were reading him TO purgAtory with Baxter for
wanting TO go to Cincinnati.
Col. O. NJ. McGhee, was there too, lie look
ed very much to us as though he was thinking
of bank and railroad stocks, and wished he was
off somewhere on the line of Southern Railway
Security Company roads. We guess they won't
get him at another Greeley meeting of that size
very soon He isn't accustomed to doing bus
ness on that line.
We have given now some OF the faces we saw,
in the sad looking array patiently waiting for
their turn to talk and go home. But one face
the pioneer of the Cincinnati movement wasn't
there Where's Baxter we heard asked Alas,
Baxter wasn't wanted there. The ring that
selected the speakers don't want Baxter trotted
out. He started the Cincinnati movement and
was accommodated for it, but it wouldn't do
10 turn him loose. He would talk very well for
Greeley, but the ring didn't want TO hear
knocked their china about in hurry, so he wa
| shelyed
THE ENTHUSIASM.
So far as we could see tho enthusiasm was
manufactured by q leading salesman in one o.
Il. n. No. aaur ha hnxy