Daily Los Angeles herald., 1878-08-23
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XUIIUU upon II t0Au 0kuc8.
- uuho efa aress Exeitemens.
Xho announcement Of the death |
y x.oWls Baker In Paris, on the
~ instant. recalls one of the
l1,oot exciting times we have ever
NJ n the United States. For the
1i1sf perlod Of its life, the Know
II1thlng agitation In this country
Wos almost without precedent In
~ violence and vindictiveness.
xho rancor against the foreigner
~ Catholic broke out In riot, ar
~ and murder, shifting the scene
" 1ts manifestation from Boston
- xoulsvllle, from Philadelphia to
New Orleans and Baltimore. The
uatIyo American champions en-
oountered In such men as John
1rorfIDsy, and Baker, who shot
Ehe eslsbrated Bill Poole, men as
nesy and bloody as themselves.
Iho death Of Baker 10 the last echo
= the tremendous excitement
which ragged In New York twenty
throe years ago. Lewis Baker was
3 Welshman who came to the
United States when . lad, and, az
toe . Jack .at-all-trades life, got
ltem Fernando Wood An appoint
nent ~ police oficer. His spec.
ial duty was the care Of emigrants.
when the native American fever
bogan to burn In 1858, Baker took
: prominsnt part with those who
oDpoesd the Know-Nothing lead
On. he met = kindred spirit In
Jshn Norrisssy, then set down IN
tho police records rs pugllist.
Morrisssy's reputation as q fighter
In behalf Of Irlshmen attracted
Baker, and Bakers vehemence in
denouncIng the prominent native
American won for him MOrrissey's
fEisndsblp. Poole, Ninth Ward
man. : hard hitter, aud plucky
1ehtsr. pounded his way with bis
1atD to the leadership of the small
fFy Know -Nothings 10 New York.
Roole kept . bar-room at Broad
Way and Howard street. which was
the resort Of all "the boysn who
looked after the American party's
interests In the wards. Poole be-
oame An idol after his fight with
Morrissey. The two men were
licked upon rs the champion
bruisers Ia each party, and every
one knew that sooner or later they
would have q battle. They met on
the pier at A mos street early one
morning In July, 1854. Poole had
dared Morrlssey to meet him there
and nght for $l00, and Morrlssey
accepted the challenge foolishly,
hls fEiends told him, because Amos
street was In the Ninth Ward
Po0le's home, and the stronghold
of the American party. Surround
- By his friends, Poole gave Nor
sissey . severe drubbing-so severe
that the Trojan beloved as he lay
on the pier and Poole on top of
him, and gave In as beaten. The
encounter CALLED Morrissey and his
friends ~ much as 1t increased the
reputation of Poole and his toadies.
Il was . great victory for the
Americans. and Poole was at once
marked by such men as Baker,
"2augeen," Jim Turner, and other
fighters who opposed the Ameri-
cans ~ . man to be settled with.
Poole was often warned that these
men would do him Injury, but he
only laughed, and there was no
taunt that innsmed the foreign
born politicians more than "Send
Norrissey to see Bill Poole"
II has always seemed to us siu-
-GnIar that such foreigners as Denis
Kearney can permit themselves to
forget the series OF splendid SER
vices rendered to their class by the
Democratic party. But for the
dauntless attitude OF that organiza.
ton, the foreigner would soon
have had very little to say In
American politics, whether he
hailed from the evergreen Isle, the
Rhine or sunny France. The tide
of Native American violence was
nfst stemmed by the Democratic
Governor OF Pennsylvania, Porter.
The decisive campaign in which
the Known othings were over
thrown forever, however, came off
In Virginia. The Democratic
tosces were led by Gov. Henry A.
Wlses who made one Of the most
brilliant and victorious cam mpaigns
ever recorded In the history Of
oonstitutionsl government. The
nsw party never recovered from
ths blow given it by Wise, and 1t
disappsarsi from the political
arena - suddenly as 1t had come.