The herald., 1894-07-18
A POLITICAL RETROSPECT.

'"iNoo e"o PnpoIs oi special interest
under the heading OF Religious Intoler
snce in the Republic. The first wa
written by Mr.. F. R. Coudert, well
known New York lawyer and politician
and entitled the American Protsctiy
Association. and the second is the pro
duction Of Prof. ]. B. McMaster, and en-
titled The Riotous Career OF the Know
Nothings. Both OF these articles are ex
ceedingly interesting. and particular,
at this time. The greater gravity of tn,
railway situation. with phases of vio-
lence relating to it, has obscured for the
moment the very ugly aspect OF certain
demonstrations in the line of bigotry
that have not promised we'll for the
peace of the country.
Mr.. Coudert devotes himself to en- clio.
quent and interesting presentation OF
the arguments against the attempt to
ostracize the members of any race or
religion in a country which, like the
United States. has been eolemnly dedi-
Gated to the idea of civil and religious
liberty. His presentation of the matter
is uaanswerable. He deals with the
ridiculous pretense that there is any
menace to liberty in this country from
men who share the faith of those who
created the American republic. But for
the French and 1rieh-and at that time it
wac Catholic France, as 1t is now if it is
anything in religious sense-the Amer
lean republic would never have had an
existence. The colonies by themselves
would not have afforded two bites for
the crunch OF the British lions Jaws.
Mr.. Coudert might have made his strong
argu ment very much more forcible if he
had quoted from Lecky "a Eighteenth Cen.
tury the great part the Irish played in
creating the United States. Ill would
have Jared these broad lands of ours if
it had not been for the Rochambeaus
and the Mad" Anthony Waynes. AS
philosophical argument Mr.. Coudert's
production ia excellent.
Prof. McMaster dsvotes himself to the
history OF the Know Nothing party of 40
odd years ago, and it is matter of re-
greet that ho did not apply himself to HE
subject with wider appreciation of the
significance and OF the facts of that re-
markable manifestation OF bgotry.
ihus, in the references to the develop
ments of Know Nothing thuggery in
New I ork, one Looks in vain in the pro.
feasor's narrative for such names aH
thoee OF Bill Poole. John Morrissey,
Baker and host of others whose pat
ronymics are even familiar in early
California history. The pestiferous New
York Know Nothing, who aimed to pro-
scribe and murder his fellow citizen,
only let 60 when he fell into the rigor
mortis. There wac, for little while, an
attempt to martyrizs such fellows as
Poole, but it did not last long. His So
called last words, II die q true Ameri.
cam" were traced up and found to re-
solve themselve into, "Mose, my NUT
toms cooked"
The atrocity OF the Know Nothing
antics just about forty years ego to q
day, was something incredible. Prof.
McMaster only adverts to them casually,
and in very imperfect way. He alto
gether omits Philadelphia, for instance,
and its highly dramatic incidents. The
mob, after burning to the ground the
Roman Catholic church on Arch street,
and following it up by the burning OF a
Roman Catholic convent, started in to
,amuse itaelf with any poor devils of
Roman Catholics it might chance to
meet. One of these latter, who did not
believe in being murdered without re-
sistance, stationed himself under an
arch leading into his own yard, and,
with an axe which he -four
iehed, he held the crowd at bay
for quite a while. But the cowardly
and inhuman mob thronged on him
from all sides, some Of the thugs drop
ping down on him from above, thus
overpowering the poor fellow. who was
then barbarously murdered. That done,
a rope was tied around his neck aud he
was dragged for hours around the streets
Of the City of Brotherly Love; nor did
the miscresnts cease their barbarous
antics until they had jabbed his multi
ated body on meat hook in the market
house.
Naturally such ferocity excited the
Irish Catholic population OF Philadelphia
to pitch OF frenzy. They gathered in
West Philadelphia in tens of thousands
and announced their purpose to raze the
city to the ground, and they would IN.
doubtsdly have carried out their threat
if it had not been for the sensible coun-
sels OF Governor Porter, Bishop Kenrick
and othera.
Prof. McMaster also, strangely enough,
misseu the grand contest which ended
Know Nothingism and made every one
thereafter unwilling 20 have his name
associated With that organization. The
gallant and ever-to- be-remembe
Henry A. Wise OF Virginia accepted the
Democratic nomination for governor in
1855 and made his fight against this I'M
American and poisonous fungoid growth.
The whole country looked on in alb
sorbed interest. The gallant Virginian
threw his banners on the outward walls
and won magnificent victory.
From that moment Know nottingham
was doomed. No ore, from the date of
Wise's victory, wss ever so poor as to do
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