Bennington semi-weekly banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 1894-1902, 1895-04-26
PARSON BROWNLOW.
HE HAD A LIVELY CAREER AS AN Ed
TOR IN JONESBORO.

remember the lively days when two Meth
Odist preachers edited opposition papers
for its benefit These men were William
G. Brownlow, aftcrward governor of the
state, and Landon c. Haynes.
Brownlow is better known to fame as
Parson Brownlow than by any other title
He had engaged in regular work as min
istor from 1926 to 1886 and was local
preacher all the rest of his life. His career
as editor and politician was such that he
seems to havo feared that his clerical char
acter would be lost sight of, and SO in his
autobiography he set down the following
facts
Il have never been arraignod in the
church for any immortality. have never
played a card. l never was a profane
swearer l never tasted a dram of liquor
never had a cigar or a chew of tobacco
in my mouth. never was in attendance
at thGatCr. never COurted but one wom-
an, and her l married. -
1t will be seen that he gives himself
pretty clear moral character. Moreover, it
is doubtful if any one could be found to
question any Of his statements unless it
be the one in regard to profane swearing,
and if such epithets as God forsaken
scoundrels' and hell deserving villains"
are not classod as profanity Brownlow
could clear himself of even this accusation
His contemporary, Haynes, was only
trifle less fortunate in ministerial stand
ing. 1t is true that Haynes quarterly
conference had taken his license away on
account of some slight irregularity against
him, but after it had investigated matters
more fully it offered to restore the license
and would have done SO had not Haynes
himself refused to take it. The Jones'
boro people were aware of the good minis
terial standing Of the editors. This was
fortunate, for they certainly could never
have inferred it from their editorial col
umns
Brownlow, who edited The Wing, was
as fearless as n wildcat, about as pugna-
cious, and master of the art of inveCtive
and vituperation. Haynes, who edited The
Democrat, is considered by many the most
eloquent man the state of Tennessee ever
produced. If his editorial columns were
hardly as strong as Brownlow's, the spell
of his personal magnetism was greater, so
that the two were pretty well matched.
For two perfectly moral editors they man.
aged to keep things around the old town
lively.
Haynes printed something that reflected
on Brownlow's wife, and Brownlow
thought that was carrying things too far.
The next morning he came down the street
with big pistol in one hand and heavy
walking cane in the other As he turned
the corner he suddenly came face to face
with Haynes.
care you armed2" asked The Wing ed
itor
NO." replied The Democrat man.
Brownlow then changed his pistol to his
left hand and his cane to his right. He
was Just on the point of giving his oppo-
nent a tremendous Gaming, but he was not
quick enough. While Brownlow was
changing his weapons Haynes pulled a
pistol from his own pocket and shot
Brownlow in the thigh. Brownlow fred
but missed his aim. Haynes had told tib
in denying that he was armed, but he had
saved himself from a thrashing
Haynes was generally mild in his edi-
torial utterances, and hence was rarely in
volved in any difficulty except with
Brownlow. The latter was as impartial in
his unpleasantness as is a chestnut bur,
and had more personal difficulties than an
ordinary man would know what to do
with. The normal condition of his intel
lectual weather was that of a tornado.
One of his most serious affairs occurred
while an annual conference of his church
was in session at JonesbOro. One night
during the session he invited eight or ten
of the visiting preachers to take supper
with him. After supper, just as they were
all getting ready to start for church, he as
tonished his ministerial brethren by put
ting a large pistol under his cloak and tax
ing a sword cane in his hand.
why, Brother Brownlowp exclaimed
one. Can it be possible that a minister OF
the gospel needs such weapons as those:"
no" answered Brownlow. THE min
lister doesn't need them, but the editor
does"
AS further safeguard Brownlow in
structed one of his printers, J. b. X. Lyon,
now editor of the Greenville Republican,
to walk few steps behind him. Thus
protected the party sailed forth into the
darkness. On the way to church every
thing went we'll, and at the conclusion OF
tho service Mr.. Lyon, who was young
man at that time, went home with q
young lady. Brownlow walked arm in
arm with the Rev Mr.. Catlett, well
known Methodist minister. Suddenly
some one slipped up in the dark behind
him and struck. him on the head with q
crowbar. The skull was fractured, and
the partial paralysis from which he suffer
cd in the latter years of his life was at
tributed to this cause.
In 1874 Brownlow transferred The
Wing from Jonesboro to Knoxville. He
had been successful in working up large
circulation, in getting shot once in get
ting shot at an indefinite number of time!
and in raising more excitement, all in &
perfectly moral way, than any other ter
men who ever lived in Jonesboro, but hi
had not succeeded in making money. His
press and household goods were shipped
down the river on a flatboat, and hi:
horses were spirited out of town by his
printers at night in order to avoid a pos
sible encounter with the sheriff. His sub
sequent career may be cited as illustration
of the fact that man may have the abili
ty to become governor of great state an(
then to represent that state in the United
States senate, to get himself known il
One-h half of great nation as the incarna
ton of all that is good and the other hal
as the incarnation of all that is evil tina
he may have the ability to do all this AK
a great deal more, and yet not have tn
kind of ability needed to make money b.
editing a newspaper in little countr!
town.-Jonesboro Glenn. Cor. New Yorl