Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1892-09-08
Resume Of the Principal Disor-
derry UpriSings of the Last
Hundred Years.
A Mob of 10000 Threatened to
Drag President Washington
Through the Cutters.
New York, Pennsylvania, Mary
land and Other States Suffer
from Lawless Assemblages.

This free country, where law has al
ways triumphed in the end, has seen
many bloody nObS from the beginning
Of its history. Some of them are al
most forgotten and are worth recalling
One of the problems which beSet the
early politicians was the aggressive and
lrutal custom of England in impress
ing our Seamen on the high seas. 1t
So happened that about 1893, when the
question of impressment was particu-
LARRY agitating the public mind, Eng
land and France became engaged in
open warfare. Washington decided
Upon a policy of neutrality. The gen
eral feeling in the United States, how
ever, was with France The tricoIor
represented liberty, and as such was
popular with us.
At this juncture ford, fat, fantic
Frenchman appeared in America as
the accredited representative of France
or OF the Girondists, who were upmost
at the time. Citizen Genet, as he was
called, had q dangerous duty to per-
form. Secretly he proposed to get
America to assist the French against
England.
Citizen Genet landed at Charleston
where he was received with every
mark of favor. Later he moved on to
Philadelphia, where he was welcomed
in fashion that led him to suppose he
Lad the whole of America at his feet.
The Fourth of July that year was more
OF French celebration than an Ameri-
can, Genet, the red cap of liberty on
his head, sat at the post Of honor He
sang the 'NIarsellaise" with tremend-
! GUS effect. The red cap Of liberty was
passed from man to man around the
table. Next day, says the New York
World, the town was on fire with en-
| thusiaSm for the French cause. An
ether dinner was held At this Genet
! passed around the board the head of
Il pig upon a huge platter. AS each
GueSt arose, the platter passing before
! INN, he stuck his knife in the pigs
head-symbOl of the late French king
: at the same time uttering maledic-
! tons on the head Of royalty
| Next Genet distributed a number of
letters of marque and reprisal to such
American ships captains as his glow
| ing offers of rewards could allure into
a system of piracy directed against
| Great Britain. The news came to Off
cial ears. Genet promptly denied his
act of treason. He explained that the
commissions were not given under aJ-
| t.v tln
under seal of private French enterprise
but all this only made the matter
worse. In due course the Little Demo
crat was fitted out as a privateer
| Genet came on to New York, where he
was met with an enthusiastic receD-
| ton. A trusted Official in the employ
| Of the government called on Citizen
Genet and asked an explanation of the
! lifting out of the Little Democrat IN
! wild rage the iratCd Frenchman threat.
! Cned Washington, declaring that he
| would appeal from the president to
| the people. Messrs. Hentield and
Singletree, alleged pirates were
| promptly arrested, and subsequently
they We're discharged. This was a
rev victory for Citizen Genet, who sat
in the old TOntine coffee house, New
| York city, laughing gleefully, while out
| side, from the flagstaff, Haunted in the
breeze the red cap of liberty and the
French flag. He called the proposed
| piracy serving France" He said that
| the United States in prosecuting, was
| guilty OF the crime of abandoning
friends"
A placard was carried in the streets
representing Washington on the gull
| lOtne.. Excitement rose to such a
pitch that for days fully TO- 300 people
stood under WaSlingtons windows,
| before his house in PHILADELPHIA.
threatening to drag the president
through the cutters.
| Washington was on the point of or
der1nS Genet out of the country when
word came that Genet's party had gone
to pieces in France. He was forced to
abandon his mission to become a priv
ate American citizen.
pennsylvania, the seat of many riots,
was the first state in the union to wit
! less a popular uprising
In March, 1199, the Germans in east
en- Pennsylvania resisted the Cheers
who came to take the measure of the
windows in their homes. A direct tax
had been levied on window glass.
hirty citizens were arrested. They
were conveyed to Jail to await trial.
Suddenly a body of hOrsemen. headed
by one Fries, appeared, surrounded
the prison and effected the release of
the prisoners. The militia was prompt
" called out. The mob reigned for
some days all through Northampton.
bucks and Montgomery counties. Fries
was captured and placed on trial for
treason. 1t was the first time such Il
Charge had been pressed against a citi-
zen of the United States. He was
convicted. pleaded hard for a second
bi9l, and finally was condemned to
death. At the last moment President
adams came forward with a pardon.
For this he made many political
enemies
In Baltimore, August, 1872 the first |
hlood was shed by a mob after the |
revolution. A newspaper of that city |
violently attacked President Jefferson's |
embargo, which stopped the foreign !
commerce of this country. One dark |
night a mob broke into the office of |
the paper, smashed the presses and |
sacked the building. In the course Of
the riot eleven men and women Were
ruthlessly shot down.
I