The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1898-03-11
Ul'r 8ezala an1 Syews
HE LOCKS BACKWARD.
ARP TELLS OF THE OLD KNOW
NOTHING PARTY TO WHICH HE
BELONGED.
He Was Very Young Thcn-~Thc Barlow
Sage RccOunts tho DAYS or His First
Political Experience.


I was runinating about tho schemes
and tricks of tho politicians who
banker after Office and my mcmory
went back to the old know nothing
party during the IO'8 and how the
politicians pulled tho wool over my
eyes and invciglod me in. [ was
young then and easily fooled. But
was drcadfully in earnest, for
really feared that foreigners wore
about to tako tho country and
that Roman Catholics wouId soon
got in power through the Irish vote
and the Spanish inquSition would be
revived and the devil bc turned lcosc
for ono thousand years. And SO
l joined. and they mado me IN
officer and gave me n long sword aud
guarded tho door and my insignia
was a white regalia with tho motto:
"Put mono but Americans on guard
tonight" l toll you l felt proud
and felt responsible for the prcscr
vation of political and religious lib,
crty. I would hpvo fought panthcrs
and W;idcats and gorlius. In fact,
l wanted to fight something, for tho
k"ow ,nothing press and know-noth.
in,r o,,l l-,,,>,,, ,ni |,
rrs had got rs aroused to dospora.
ton and ! could hardly keep my
hands off an Irishmnn when met
him in tho street. Every preacher
in town joined and Brother Caldwell
and Bgthcr Stillw"lI were mado
chaplains, and they prayed long and
earnestly !or our country and its
followed institutions. Oh! it was
solemn aud serious. But ono night
It was proposed TO choose delegates
to 80 to cOnyrntiUU 10 nominate /;
candidate for Congress and it irukcd
ont that a man was to hr nominated
who had no moral standing in the
community. but ho was rich aud had
used his money freely and we began
to smell Il mice. About that timo
AloS Stephens took tho field against
our order and | mower hoard such Il
speech in my liIr lIo cvorlnstingly
lambastcd our leaders for trying to
fool the people and he made us dom
ocrats feel as mean rs dog for over
having fallen into the trap. Before
that L really thought | was doing
Gods service i'll helping good pa
triots to snvo tho country. Ono
dark night | told :ny wiro lie
about having urgent business at my
Office and woullcnt bn back until
late, very late, and went out six
miles in the country to an old mill.
house on Silver creek.
Half Il dozen officers went along
with mo and wo instituted a branch
lodge up in the garrett Of tho old
mill and got covered all over with
cobwcbs and flour, and next morning
my wife got up first and looked at
my clothcs She rumina,cd for II
minute and thcn remarked: "Had to
go to mill last hight I SEQ. | didn't
know that the flour was ont" For
some time | had boon Il suspect with
her about this Office business at
night, for ovcry timc Il know nothing
meeting was called littlcthrcc corner
ed red papers were seen on tho side
walks about town, and it was narrated
around that tho know .nothings wcro
to meet that night. The next day
our wives compared notes and found
out that nearly all the men had busi-
ness down town that night. Can't
fool these women. They don't liko
secret societies no how A good
faithful wifo doscn't like anything
that gets III between her and her
husband. Shc has no secrets from
him and be ought not to have any
from her. Not long after wo w,ro
married ! joined u secret society, and
when she got to looking over my undcr
garments to 500 if the buttons wero
all right, she discovered that tho
buckles were gone, and | couldn't
explain it to her satisfaction. But
she found out from somc other wo-
man, and whenever got now pair
of drawers she asked mo if | 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 a political
scheme to get into Office. Just SO