Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-11-02

]. !" j d" ]: ! !"
n l-.EiTl RHN led Win the mirage
A tA N1IW. nens Of Alliance Sf3irs
~ ,galif md set Ebour 10 Cres1-
VA ,tas&S re secret order which
MSr4 $ should control the Al
EEtT,r -c:s; isrce ard the Knights
NsZ5S -,--z.ss, II Lsbor, ard By secre!
msripulstions a. al Of
HceE, state, county, preciccs Snc city,
with members Ct The secret order or
those satisfactory to l.. Jackson called
to his aid man named G. ". Pike, .
school teacher OF JACK county, who ut
once weut 10 work to formulate the cons
sti.ution ard ritual of The order which
Yas nSmed the
NATIONAL ORDER OF VIDETTHs'
With TIE manuscript copy or this con-
Ertution and ritual II their possession,
Jackson and Pike csme TO the city of
Fort Worth and consulted with man in
this city wto wss looked upon by them
as possessing TIE "superior intellig 9pce"
necessary &c make him deElraoie V!aette.
TIE ritual and constitution we're revised
somewbst ard then On an afternoon IN
July, 1885, the first company WAS organ
izsd.
THE MEETINGPLAcE
was in the ICON in the Twombly build
ing on the public isqusre
resched oy a stairwSy from Main street
and at one tine occupied as q justices
office, printing cfi2e, etc. AZ the time g
number Of clG pspers GGd rub
bish Uttered tie loom. Five
men we're charter members, they
were DR.. Il. S. Broilee, Seneca Mcneil,
Sam Emerson, D. Z. Mountain and j. G.
Martin. Pike who wss st onte given the
title OF general and made national organ
fzar 1Gs the instituting officer. The five
at o1ce vent 70 work TO get "recrnits'
Gnd at the "biyouKc" July organizing the
"courcil " In edition TO General Pike
and the FIVE charter members, there were
am2rg the membership J. Z. Martin
M. D. Priest. G. " Alexander, Z. B
Dsggett, ". Z. Tanning, W L Robinson.
Ben f. Dwiggirs, Sam Evans and Eihu
Newton. Toe order grew rspidly, and
litter q few meetings Smoug the members
were John T. Z m, Stump Ashby, J. II
jackson, james q. Smith, r. z. Boale,
id. Hudson, joel Bobo, r. Z. Moore,
o. Runfald, J. Il Hszzsrd, aud 2 large
number OF other cltiz nc Of TsrrEr;
county and Fort Worth. The 4 81 cCm
panY, the one Organized in Fort Worth,
was Company ga" CT the "S!x.h" yegl-
mert, numbered SO because Fort Worth
wss in the Sixth congressional district
The brigade, which csm2 l3ter, TOOK iIE
number from the SecatGr!sl district, tbs
Twentieth.
ALL THE LESsERs
of the embryo "Iadependent" poiitics
pa.tv we've the prime tactoIs in recruit
ing ViGeuee, Npd from the beginning tx
V!dettes entered heartily into the csnvEs!
sgairs: Democracy. Enlistment Ct re-
cru!ts selected only from the Ctiisers srd
leaders c! the Fsrrners' Alliance ant
Knights OF Labor WAS the first move or
the boLrc, as treee leaders were deemed
the men Of "sape.ior intelligence" tht
ordinary rank and tlle were not soUgh
out for membership. Clubs were Termed
out Of every Knight OF Labor assembly
and Farmers Alliance in the county anc
stste, srd delegates were elected TO tins
tirst. state meeting Of the peo'
PIES party held in July, 1856
From tae outset the Vidette5 seized al
rights OF the people and ridiculeG n,
ides thss they were worthy CT representa-
ton except through the secret methods o.
the Videttes, Il 6eing q declared priuci
pie CT the order that they must Wolk II
secret to accomplish anything. Just pre-
vious to the meeting Of the stste ccI ven
lion CT the peoples party in 1886 the vi
dettes had organized the stSte thorough
ly.EBiyOuacs were estsbliehed s. GIlyes'
10Y, austin, Houston, San Antonio, TEN
pie, Wsco, Dallas, G Si1esville, Fort Worth
and s number OF other points, the Eem
bershsp being especially large in NORTH
Texas. Three dSys before ire meeting
OF the slate convention Of the peoples
party S. Fort Worth the vi
de.tes from I'll the points
in the state where Councils" existed
were specially summoned to meet IN For;
Worth TO take steps 10 control tie Ectlol
of the new Peoples party. Over 3 hun
dred Vidsttes assembled and for two days
were Ia session at Dsggetrs hall with
closed doors, engaged Ia formulating the
plan 10 manipulate the convention OF the
people when they arrived. This council
o. Vtdettes decided that no state ticket
should be put II the field, but thss sll
counties in North Texas should be organ
:zsd by the Videttes through the Peoples
party and county tickets put cut. 1t is
needless TO s,y that what the
Videt.es had determined on was
passed through the convention.
Up TO this time there had been no orgsni,
zstion in the state or nation, but while
The VlGettes from ell the councils In
Texas were here, the stste council and
the rational council we're organized, and
the National Order Of Videttes became in
fec. what its name implied. Organjz srs
went 20 WORK in other states, and IN
short time General Pike hsd captured The
wheel in Arkansas, had established the
order in Kansas, Missouri and the forth
western states.
The fine work OF the Videttes WAS sp-
parent in the first Peoples convention.
The me jority OF tbs delegates beng
Vicettes, none bu. Videttes were
made ofi;ers, and their nomination
and election went like clock work.
The machine worked smoothly and the
members of the "Inner CouIcil' sat in
the hall supremacy well satisfied at the
way their dupes executed their COM
lmsnds, issued to men wing had sworn
soleuniy TO obey blindiy ell orders issued.
So the People's(?) party was mere
farce.
THE FIRST REGIMENT.
About this time the First Regiment OF
Texas Videties wss orgssiZed. S. P.
Burns OF Brentwood WAS made General,
NJ. D. Priest of Fort Worth was made
Grand Secretary. Judge j. E. Martin