The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1896-08-06

I published in the little county town or
Ellzabethton, then many miles distant
from railroads, his paper attained
larger circulation than any other south
of the Ohio River. except George D.
/ Prentice's Louisville Journal. 1t was
largely sought after everywhere, and
at the beginning Of the war, the Knox
vile Wing had circulation OF more
than $4,000. The secrets Of his success
were many and various. He was vigor-
Gus, master Of invective. hewed to the
line regardless of where the chips fell.
was independent in all things and neu-
| trail in nothing" He never recoiled
from controversy, and when once the
gage of battle was laid down 1t was
"lay on, Macduff, and damned be he
who first cries. hold, enough" He rarely
engaged in controversy in which his
antagonist did not get the worst of II
His days were days of personal Journal
ism, and he never shrank from taking
the aggressive where he saw a point
that he deemed advantageous to attack
He was on this account given the SOU
briquet The Fighting Parson," though
as a matter of fact kinder-h hearted or
| more charitable. benevolent man never
| lived.
| But his invective, his vigor of attack
his incisive method. his cutting, burn
ing AngloISaxon, his inimitable STYLE
/ were not the only features Of his wor,,
that created constant hungerine and
thirstlng for his editorials. He was en-
dowed with keen sense of humor. and
it cropped out at the most unexpecte5
times and places He was capable of
looking at the bright side of the darkest
pictures and found CLEANS Of sunshine
where others could see nothing but SOM
bre shadows and darkest clouds. As an
illustration, 1t is related that while as
| a travelling minister attending a Meth
| odist annual conference at Abingdon
Va, he was taken very ill and It was
thought he would die. Among others of
| his ministerial brethren who visited him
was Bishop Capers, who read the scrip
lures and offered prayer. On taking
leave Of Mr.. Brownlow, the bishop. hold
ing his hand and looking him in the
face inquired what his prospects were
beyond the grave, when he replied:
well, bishop, If I had my life to live
over again I could improve It in many
respects, and would try to do so. How
ever. If the books have been properly
Kept in the other world, there is small
balance In my favor"
| AS a rare combination Of impossible
| negations with the richest and quaintest
vein OF humor, his celebrated Jordan
| CLARK letter is without parallel in
American literature. Clark had heard
that Brownlow had Joined the Demo-
cratic party and FASTENED to congratu-
late him. mo, Jordan Clark" he re-
Piled In part, you may hope, you may
congratulate. you may reason, you may
sneer, but that cannot be. When / Join
Democracy the Pope of Rome will join
the Methodist Church. When Jordan
| Clark, of Arkansas, is President of the
republic Of Great Britain by the uniyer-
sal suffrage of a contented people; when
queen Victoria consents to be divorced
from Prince Albert by County Court
In Kansas; when Congress obliges by
law James Buchanan to marry Euro
pean princess; when men turn
to ants and ants to elephant-I will
change my political faith and come out
on the side of Democracy" There are
a few sentences from the letter which he
concludes by felicitating Jordan Clark
that this full and frank letter. would
enable him to fix upon the period when
he (Brownlow) would come out a full
fiedged Democrat. Examples of his
humor peculiarly his own might be null
tiplied to double the space allotted to
this article, and, though tempted to give
them, knowing that they would be read,
| must desist. AS an editorial writer
his style was his own. There was moth
ing like 1t before his time, and 1t stands
without parallel in subsequent jour-
nalism. He flourished at period when
his style was fitted to the times. A
fearless opponent of secession, he
forged thunderbolts and hurled them
with a vehemence that created conster-
nation In the ranks of the foe. But
aside from the times and the opportu-
nifty afforded, he was an editor, the like
Of whom we shall never see again. 1t
Is no wonder that in the field of Journal
Ism, In an humble town of less than 5000
inhabitants, he won fame that was ma
| tional In its scope and as imperlshable
as the stars. 1t may seem strange that
man gifted with such powers did not
seek wider fields in which to give them
scope-fields in which his pecuniary re-
ward might have been boundless. That
he did not may be accounted for in two
ways: First, he was profoundly at
tached to the people of the section in
which he lived. this mountain country,
and, second, he never seemed to care to
accumulate wealth. His estate was a
modest one; he might have been very
wealthy. have before me a copy of
a letter. kindly furnished by his only
living son, John B. Brownlow, of WASH
ington, written by John W. Crockett. a