Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1886-11-20
THE COFFIN T

the LexingtOnlntelligence of last week.
The article has created a great sensa-
ton and much feeling, and the pre-
tended letter is denounced by leading
Knights of Labor here and at LeXiug-
ton as a vile forgery, written by some
enemy of the order for the sole pur-
pose of bringing the X. of L.. into dis
repute and public contempt. So far
as we are informed the X. of l.. as an
organization do not endorse Mollie
Mcguire methods nor any other ille-
gal and d%isreputable species OF coer-
cion or intimidation. Their object is
to secure by honest and legal agitation
and combination those rights aDd
privileges of which, as laboring men,
they believe themselves to he u%njnstly
and in some cases illegally deprived.
ANY attempt to make it appear that
the Order approves of or should be
held accountable tor any such intem-
perate and unlawful actions as are in
Dictated by this letter, is, as our COLI
temporary says, unjust. But why
does the Intelligencer so readily as
sumo that the letter is written by u
Knight of Labor? Does it know the
author! Or is it seeking, in this way,
lOA AOVCHSOS DCCdiSC tuc AS vi l..
and the Irishmen in this county so
largely supported the Republican
party in the recent election? Our con-
temporary does not like the KS of
l.. AT least we assume S 10 from the
tone of some of its recent editorials
in which it INDUCES in covert and
contemptuous filings at them; melted
thereto, We must assume, by the same
reason that induced it to attack the
Germans in 1o94-they do not vote
the Democratic ticket. Our conteip-
porary should reconcile itself to the
inevitable. The Germans will COLI
tinue to vote the Republican ticket
with practical unanimity. The Ks
of l.. and the Irish are getting their
eyes open TO the fact that a free trade
party is not the party for them:
many Of them are now in the Repub-
lican party, the poor mans party, be-
cause 1t is the party of Protection to
American labor. Others of them, I'M
der the leadership of Henry George,
are forming a party of their own.
Neither of these movements bodies any
good to the democracy. Is our con.
temporary so hardly beset that argu-
hiOltS IN llulCulC Hdtl1O ldIl-
ed, it is driven as a last resort. TO use
a miserable anonymous letter to aid
1t in stemming the full tide that is
steadily setting in against its party?
We hope not.
For unadulterated and
demagogism we will put the above
article against any thing we have seen
for many a day.
Suppose we hat asserted that the
writer of the anonymous communities
ton was a Knight of Laborl As our
contemporary could not know what
information we had upon the subject
would it not have been its duty as one
honorable journal to another to have
supposed we knew whereof we spoke?
But no; it saw an opportunity to make
a little political capital and it seized it
with the avidity hat usually character
ICES it in that line.
The IDtelligencer denies that it as
sumes the author was a Knight tf
Labor. 1t denies that it has n re-
venge TO wreak upon Irishmem, 1t
denies that it has made contemptuous
filings at the Knights of Labor, or even
expressed one unkind sentiment toward
them; and as for any ill-feeling it may
have had against the Germans in 1854
that had a temporary and well known
local cause and has long since passed
away.lfthe Post has nothing better with
which to appeal to them in 1888 it NAV
find still greater losses at Concordia
than it sustained in 1886. The Post
assumes that the tariff issue had a
great deal to do with workingmen's
votes In this county. We do not be-
lieve 1t had any more to do with it than
it had in securing Henry George the
big vote he received in New York.
Our contemporaries fancy figuring by
which it is to retain all the republican
~workingmen i'll its party, while it sets
all the democratic workingmen to run
ming after Mr.. George, would be
lauSlduIe, were IL not 1Uf The on
t%emptibility of assigning, without any
sort OF warrant but its prejudices and
its desire to make Il; little cheap poti,i-
cal capital against Il political opponent,
all unworthy motive for what was said
in this paper.
Suppose it transfers its attack to
Marshal Owen. He is a republican,.
and he says positively that he believes
the writer OF the anonymous letter was
a Knight of Labor. That won't suit
the POSTS purposes, we suppose.
"The st. Louis Republican is rapidly
catching up with the procession of
events. The last issue received here
had got down as far the reign of George
w" The Dallas Morning News, from
which this moroccan is culled, is an ex-
cellent newspaper, but when it catches
up with the st. Louis Republican it
will have made some wonderful strides
not yet observable OIL its horoscope,