The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1898-02-27

was rumlnat1ng about the schemes anu
tricks of the politicians who banker after
office and my memory went back to the
old know-nothing party during the DO S,
and how the politicians pulled the wool
over my eyes and invcigled me IN. L
was young then and easily fooled But
| was dreadfully in earnest, for | really
feared that foreigners were about to
take the country and that Roman Catho-
lies would soon get III power through the
Irish vote and the Spanish inquisition
would be revived and the devil be turn.
ed loose for 1000 years. And so !
joined, and they made me an officer
and gave me long sword and L guard
ed the door and my insignia was a
white regalia with the motto: Put
none but Americans on guard tonight.
| tell you / felt proud and | felt respon-
sible for the preservation of political
and religious liberty. | would have
fought panthers and wildcats and goril-
las In fact, | wanted to fight something
for the know-nothing press and know
nothing oratons and know-nothing
preachers had got us aroused to desper-
alton and ] could hardly keep my hands
off an Irishman when / met him in the
street. Every preacher in town joined
and Brother Caldwell and Brother Still
well were made chaplains, and they
prayed long and earnestly for our coun.
Try and its hallowed institutions. Oh!
it was solemn and serious. But one
night it was proposed to choose dele
gates to go to convention to nominate
a candidate for Congress and it leaked
out that man was to be nominated
who had no moral standing in the COM
munity. but he was rich and had used
his money freely and we began to smell
a mice. About that time Alex Stephens
took the field against our order and /
never heard such speech in my life.
He everlastingly 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 | really thought | was doing
Gods service in helping good patriots
to save the country. One dark night |
told my wife a 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
milIhouse on Silver creek. Half dozen
officers went along with me and we
instituted a branch lodge up in the gar
ret of the old mill and got covered all
over with cobwebs and -four. and next
morning my wife got up first and looked
at my clothes. She ruminated for a
minute and then remarked: Had To-
go to mill last night / see. / didn't know
that the -four was out For some time
] had been q suspect with her about
this, office business at night, for every
time Il kngw-n0thing meeting was call
ed little, three-cornerer red papers were
xeen OH the sidewalks about town and it
was norated around that the know
nofhings 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. Can't
fool these women. They don't like Sc
cret societies no how. n 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 a secret socie
ity, and wthen she got to looking over
my under garments to see if the but
tons were all right, she discovered that
the buckles were gone, and / couldn't
explain it to her satisfaction. But she
found out from some other woman. and
whenever | got a new pair of drawers
she asked me if | didn't want the buck
les cut off.
Well. the know-nothing party died ear
~ in these parts, for the people found
out that it was a political scheme to get
into office. Just so the politicians got
into the Farmers Alliance and took
charge Of it. and they got up an Ocala
platform and Il big sub-treasury scheme
whereby great warehouses were to be
built by the government in every con-
gressiona 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 de-
clared in public speech at Macon, that
they were going to hold the cotton until
il went TO IL cents: and he made the
people believe it. and they rolled him into
congress- by IA tidal wave. The alliance
looked upon lawyers as suspects and not
fit to hold office nor fifteen to get fiitten.
and so ore lawyer sold his lawbooks and
burned the bridge behind him and joined
GideonS band and swallowed the Ocala
platform, sub-treasury and all, and the
confiding people rolled him into congress.
But he suffered a relapse in due time and
bought more law books. and now the
last condition of that man is worse than
the first Another lawyer swallowed
the platform bones and skin and ran for
congress on it and got awfully beaten
and has never been elected since to any
office by the people, and to my opinion
never will be. 1t is just as old Abe
Lincoln said: You may fool all the
people some of the time, and you may
fool SOME of the people all the time.
but YOU can't fool all the people all the
time.
Now, the common people, the farmers
and mechanics and toilers. are generally
unsuspecting and credulous, and when
II smart, shrewd politician talks sweet
and nice to them they are inclined to he.
lieve him, but what lawyer of any pre
tensions or responsibility ever believed
in the Ocala platform or the sub-treas
ury scheme or something betterY' OF
course, any statesman who was fiji to
hold office knew that it was utterly i'm
practicable and would bankrupt the
goyernmeRt*s0 build warehouses and adj
vance money on crops, but it was hob
by on which to ride into office and fool
L..