Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1883-09-15
ANDREW JOHNSON.
What an Old Time Politician says of the
Great C0Hm0Gsr.

GreGr C0H7f0EsF.
M Lebanon Herald.
johnson Well, yes, L knew
him as intimately as one of my age
could know one of his. When he
was candidate for governor against
Gentry, i'm 1915, | made sixty-five
time and labor, to aid his election.
was young man, then.
johnson was the most unscrupu-
lOus knave that ever caught the
popular heart. Douglas was a
superb demagoge. Johnson never
reached that dignity. He WAS sim
ply a shrewd knave, devoid of every
instinct of gentleman. If he had
for a moment conceived an honest,
unselfish purpose, it would have
been as fatal to him as strychnine
to a .syalIer dog All decency was
foreign to his nature. His form and
countenance were marked with
villainy, a. plainly as the branded
brow of Cain. Born poor, he knew
the envy of the poor class towards
the rich. He was conversant with
every key of their envious and
jealous natures, and practiced on
that harp with the same assiduity
that Gortschakof did on the piano
before one of his concerts. He
hated every man who had received
the advantages OF even an "Oid
field schooling" Then, if you adj
ded 10 this the fact that the snan's
father had by hard labor saved "a
few dollars and left them for his son,
Johnson's malice became intensi-
fled, and he was willing to pursue
him with the same vindictive deter
mination that David. exhibited
towards that gallant Jewish general
whom he ordered to the forefront
OF the .battle-that he might die,
aud not live" e..s.. fe,tfE
But Johnson was the most effect
i've vote maker in Tennessee: He
Was not eloquent In any sense OF
the term. His sentences were awk-.
wardly constructed, with no rhythm,
grammar, imagery or rhetoric.
With IN ungainiy iurnl, Il bad voice
and "a hang-dog counrenance, he
was still vote-uaker. He gather
Ell up all the low passions and pref
udices OF The people, weaving them
into Il sort of web of rough logic,
SO sdovetailed them together la n
honely style AS ostrike the baser
chords In the meaner nature of man,
that gave back mean Emusic to the
touch, y and made the populace
think they were great men badly
treated, and tllerabble would no vi
Justify for ANDY They could go
off and tell what he said and they
imagined that if johnson was cleo
ted, the property Of those who had
labored for it would he taken and
equally divided with the worthless
vagabonds who had never perform
ed an honest days work in their
lives.
They say he was great. He was
ten years in the lower house of con-
gress |; four years governor of Ten
nessee in the United States senate ;
president, etc, and if he ever gave
birth to a single idea, thought or
policy, l have not read it, or heard
of il by tradition. The same speech
he made AS candidate for mayor OF
GreenYille was rehaShed in every
canvass, "half-soled" in congress,
and "revamped" i'm his messages as
president. He was iucarnated
meannesS. 4 mixture of LaphyS-
titus and DemRnetuS, with Peck
sniffian cross. He betrayed every
man and party that trusted him ;
he betrayed the democratic party
that made him, and the republican
party that used him the North
that trusted him and the South that
hOnOred him, and had he been one
of the disciples, he would have be-
trayed-the Savior that died for him.
Stifi, he Was power, as was Luci-
fer. He had an indOmitable will
and tireleSs energy. He cultivated
and cajoled every young man of his
party that could be of service to
him, and out of their energy and
vim made ladder upon which he
climbed to position. On the lead
ers of his parties (for he was in alD
he made war, as soon as he had
tiattered their weak points and am
bition into developing themselves
10 his quick perception. His in
stincts low, cunning and vindic-
cry form and fashion. Witness his
demagOgy in pardOning all rebels
under the rank of colonel and worth
less than ten thousand dollars. Re
member, he had said that "treason
must be made OdiOus," and that he
"knew of but two rights rebel
had, the right to be hung aud the
right to be damned" Then he
turned and begged these rebels to
elect him to congress, after being
president and hanging an old Irish
woman to hide his own iniquity.
He tranpled on the laws of God
and man, when he could do so with
safety to the progress of his ambi-
ton. He was moody, cynical, de-
fiant, with a self-infiicted misery at
heart, engendered by his own ma
lignant nature; implacable in re-
venge, and incapable of strong
affection, whitening, rotten mass
of i'll regulated intellectual endOw-
ments, warped by early circum-
stances, nourished on the prompt
ings of base heart, and developed
into manhood by the corruption of
every noble or gentle impulse.
fha