The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1898-03-09

back to the old know-nothing party
during the SOS, and how the politl'
clans pulled the wool over my eyes
and inveigled me in. l was young
then and easily fooled. But l was
areadfully in earnest: for I really
feared that foreigners were about to
take the country and that Roman
Catholics would soon get in power
through the Irish vote and the Span
ish inquisition be revived and the
devil be turned loose for 1000 years.
And so I joined and they made me an
officer and gave me long sword and |
guarded the door and my insignia was
white regalia with the motto: Put
none but Americans on guard to-
night" I tell you I felt proud and l
felt responsible for the preservation
of political and religious liberty, l
would have fought panthers and wild
cats and gorillas. In fact, wanted
to fight something, for the know
nothing press and know-nothing ora
tors and know-nothing preachers had
cot us aroused to desperation and L
could hardly keep my hands off an
Irishman when I met him IN the
street. Every preacher in town joined
and Brother Caldwell and Brother
Stillwell were made chaplains, and
they prayed long and earnestly for
our country and its hallowed institu
sions. Oh! it was solemn and serious.
But one night it was proposed to
choose delegates to go to a conven-
,ion to nominate candidate for Con-
sress and it leaked out that a man was
10 be nominated who had no moral
standing in the community, but he
was rich and had used his money free
II and we began to smell mice.
About that time Alex. Stephens took
the field against our order and [ never
heard such speech in my life. He
eyerlastingly lambasted our leaders
for trying to fool the people and he
made us Democrats feel as mean as
dog for ever having fallen into the
trap. Before that l really thought |
was doing Gods service in helping
good patriots to save the country.
One dark night I told my wife lie
about having urgent business at my
Office and wouldn't be back until late,
very late, and went out six miles in
the country to an old mill house on
Silver creek. Half a dozen officers
went along with me and We instituted
q branch lodge up in the garret of the
old mill and got covered all over with
cobwebs and -four, and next morning
my wife got up 6rst and looked at my
clothes. She ruminated for minute
and then remarked: "Had to so to
mill las. night 1 see. | didn't know
that the -four was out. For some
time had been suspect with her
about this Office business at night; for
every time a know-nothing meeting
was called little thrce-cornered red
papers were seen on the sidewalks
about town, and it was norated around
that the know-nothings were to meet
that night. The next day our wives
compared notes and found out that
nearly all the men had business down
town that night. Cant fool these wo-
men. They don'tlike secret societies
nohew. A good, faithful wife doesn't
like anything that gets in between her
and her husband. She has no secrets
from him and he ought not to have
any from her. Not long after we we're
married | joined secret society, and
when she got to looking over my un-
der garments to see if the buttons
were all right, she discovered that the
buckles were gone and | couldn't ex-
plain it to her satisfaction. But she
found out from some other woman,
and whenever | got new pair of
drawers she asked me if I didn t want
the buckles cut off.
Well, the know-nothing party died
early in these parts, for the people
found out that it was political
scheme to get into Office Just so the
got inte the Farmers Al
lance and took charge of it and they
got up the Ocala platform and a big
scheme whereby great
warehouses were to be built by the
government in every Congressional
district where the farmers could store
their cotton and corn and oats and
sorghum and potatoes and pumpkins,
and draw money on them and hold
them in the warehouses until the price
went up. One of the leaders declared
IN q nnhl;o ,nooob Of M.con that thnv