Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1880-08-18
Letter from an Old Jacksonian Democrat
of Greenwood Township.
NEAR SEVEN STAR TAVERN, !
Aug. II, 1880. (

-Ny LcAs -nf l-NSsNf - W utu i lEOiDHl
my pen last Saturday night, promised YOU
that my next letter should be about Ham
cock, the soldier, that my old friends, the
Knights of the Golden CIrcle, expect to use
to help them fnto power, and when thew
have him in the Presidential chair, and a
Congress TO suit, 10 pass such legislation
and get such decisions from the Supreme
Court as will set the Lost Cause, the cause
expected TO write to you about Hancock,
but when got TO the Stars, they were just
finishing up Tanner; that is, they had the
correct story that he got through with the
fast and went into the victuals like old Andy
jackson went into the red coats below New
Orleans. wanted to get Hancock before
the crowd. but they were shy. Idon't quite
understand it, but my Old friends are not
so free in their talk about him. y hen a
Young fellow and young lass hurry off the
nice words about Malinda Maria, or FItz-
doodle Barny, it is well understood that
Maria and Mr.. Fiizdoodle have tender ache,
Uul WHICH flLAOptAAC hllA -ndlia cAAr
that's an end of it. Well, that's what my
Old Hickory friends did they sang mum on
Hancock. | think they're awful sick of
him. But if they said nothing about Han
cock, they went il on whisky, that is, they
talked about whisky. Old Andy, you know.
-nce in while took a smoker, but se had
no patience with the fellow that would get
drunk. He said that the man who gets
drunk is a fool. We never had such talk
on whisky, excepting when a teetotler comes
around, or sends his tracts down here. Such
things always gets up boom on drinks in
this neighborhood. They all talked as if
they are against whisky. For while did
not understand what was under it, but after
a while one of the friends got out news
paper and read that fellow il the West
that was put into the Penitentiary, has pub
lished long piece of how whisky ring
was formed when Grant was President, and
how Babcock and other fellows that were
near President Grant were into the ring, and
how they cheated the government out OF
tax, or whisky revenue, and how they used
the money that was raised On whisky for
political purposes, and how il was to be
used to re-elect Grant. 1t was an awful
long story, and would take nearly all night
TO tell it, aud the truth is that when | got
away for home | felt as if | might sing,
ave won't go home till morning"
Q When they got Grant mixed with the
whisky, that is, the whisky question, they
were so touched that really thought they
were about to drop a lifelong habit, and
turn to be temperance reformers; but as We
drifted into the question | found that 1t was
because the story runs that Grant was cou-
pied with the whisky frauds that they were
excited. NV friends down here are much
like ANDY was when he talked about CAL
houn. Andy would always get excited over
the mention of Calhoun's name, and that's
the way with the Knights of the Golden
Circle, When they hear the mention of
Grants name they get mad, excited, be-
cause he licked the rebels. That's the ''long
and the short of it, and 1 do indeed be-
leve that if they really believed that Grant
had TO 90 with the whisky business that they
would turn around and preach temperance
and smash up their whisky mills. Now,
my boy, don't want you 70 get mixed up
SO that YOU won't know head from tai IN
this flood of story that the friends OF the
Johnnies are letting loose on the country.
You see they are putting ali kinds oil lies
afioat so as to catch all kinds OF people anu
make votes for Hancock. That's the mix !
IN the cocoanut. What, tell me, do my oiu
friends care about the whisky business iur-
thsr than to make it, sell II, ana drihk IT, I
To be sure, do believe that whisky ring |
Eas formed during the war, when every |
other bad thing was gotten up. Bad tnihgS
thrive during a state of war; ahd mere
again, when you 60 10 the 1irsf cause you
must see that the first cause of the whisky 1
ring was the tax on whisky, and fhe cause
CT the tax was the war, and the cause oi
the war was slavery and the democracy
The anti-Jackson. part OF the Deuiocracs
were the chaps that started the reoeiiioh'
So that in fact all the debauchery that tne
whiskey ring brought about must be chargeu
to my old wayward friends. 1t makes my
heart ache to say SO, but can't hcip "'
what is truth, is truth. Old Andy always
said that. / tell you that on the Judgment
day the Democracy will find that all the de-
bauchery that grew out of the war is charged
against them, and that they have nothing 10
balance it with.
forget the name Of the penitentiary bra
that has published the statement that eran'
vas in the whisky ring. BE gets near 70 '