Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1895-09-24
PARSON BROWNLOW.
He HAD A LIVELY CAREER AS AN Ed
TOR IN JONESBORO.

remember the lively days when two Meth
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 a min
lister from 1926 to 1886 and was a local
preacher all the rest of his life. His career
as editor and politician was such that he
seems to have feared that his clerical char
acter would be lost sight of, and so in his
autobiography he set down the following
facts:
II have never been arraignod in the
church for any immortality. | have never
played a card. l never was a profane
swearer. l never tasted dram of liquor.
never had cigar or a chew of tobacco
in my mouth. I never was in attendance
at a thoater never courted but one wom-
an, and her l married"
1t will be seen that he gives himself a
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,
ana If such epithets as God forsakcn
scoundrels" and hell deserving villains"
are not classed as profanity Brownlow
could clear himself of even this accusation.
His contemporary, Haynes was only a
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
moro 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 a wildcat, about as pugna-
cious, and master Of the nrt of inyective
and vituperation. Haynes who edited The
Democrat, is considered by many the most
eloquent man the state of Tennessee over
produced. III 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 a big pistol in one hand and heavy
walking cane in tho other. AS he turned
the corner he suddenly came face to face
with Haynes.
Are you armed?" asked The Wing cd
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 tremendous Gaming, but he was not
quick enough While Brownlow was
changing his weapons Haynes pulled
pistol from his own pocket and shot
Brownlow in the thigh. Brownlow fired,
but missed his aim. Haynes had told fill
in denying that ho was armed, but he had
saved himself from a thrashing.
Haynes was generally mild i'll his edi-
torial utterancos, and hence was rarely in
volved in any difficulty except with
Brownlow The latter was as impartial in
his unpleasantness as is chestnut bur,
and had more personal difficulties than an
ordinary man would know what to dc
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 Joncsb0rO. Ono night
during the session he invited eight or ten
of tho 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 large pistol under his cloak and tax
ing a sword cane in his hand.
why, Brother BrownlOwn exclaimed
one. Can it be possible that minister OF
the gospel needs such weapons as these:
mo" answered Brownlow. The min
lister doesn't need them, but the editor
does. "
AS a further safeguard Brownlow In
structod one of his printers, j. IL. Il. Lyon,
now editor Of the Grccnville Republican,
to walk "a few steps behind him. Thus
protected the party sailed forth into the
darkness On the way to church every
thing went well, and at the conclusion OF
tho service Mr. Lyon, who was a young
man at that time, went homo with n
young lady. Brownlow walked arm in
arm with tho Rev. Mr.. Catlett Il well
known Methodist minister Suddenly
some one slipped up in the dark bchint
him and struck him on the head with "
crowbar The skull was fractured, and
the partial paralysis from which he suffer
ed 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 times
and in raising more excitement, all in a
perfectly moral way, than any other ten
men who ever lived in Jonesboro but be
had not succeeded in making money His
press and household goods were shipped
down the river on flatboat, and his
horses were spirited out of town by his
printers at night in order to avoid 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 and
then to represent that state in the United
States senate, to get himself known in
one half of great nation as the incarDa-
ton of all that is good and the other half
as the incarnation of all that is evil that
he may have the ability to do all this and
great deal more, and yet not have the
kind of ability needed to make money by |