Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1909-08-21
.sAmerican,s. PARTY. but such, neYerths4

erican party but such, r,e y ssE1
i less, is the case
James Ford Rhodes in his II istory5.o Of
/ the United States from $50 so-1s1 ~ N
/ writing of the first !. American party
says, Vol. pages 50 30
5... A far more, Important element po-
}slitically was the know mo thing NOV
ment [official j title was Anne rican pa M
lfty. The Know not things made their,
| power felt at the municipal elections
In this spring and early sun 7 4 1929 ];
Their most notable success as as'll wed
I'm Philadelphia when the ca date t.a
they supported for mayor wal elected
by atlarge ma ority. These results open
ed the eyes of the pol ticians and nj the the
Outside public to the fact that q new
force must be taken6in into account.
s,rhe distrust of 4 Roman Ca holieisin
SIS d string that can be artfully playe ed
upon in an Anglo Saxon cointnuri W
trheir feeling had been recently ~
creased BY tile public Inission$of a gT,apall
,nuncio who came to this country to ad
Just difficulty in regard to church
property in the city Of 3 No. y mere el,
had arisen a. controversy or the matter
between the bishop and a congregatio lion,
and the congrcgation was backed by 4.
law OF Ne% York state. The nllrcio had i
been received with kindness BY the
President hut his visit had excited tl-a
NUTS In Cincinnati. Baltimore, q M
New York Moreover. 8i the Elf
forts OF Bishop Hughes and the
Catholic clergy to exclnd the Hi ID, I
from the public schools struck
"a chord which had not ceased .t
10 pibrate. The ignorant foreign vote
had begun to have an important H. Y
3fuence ON elections. It was "a Verred4 h
that drunken aliens frequently had
charge of The polls that the net
work of Jesuitism had been ounningly&
spread, YotesEwere open bought
and sold. and suckers and strikers
controlled the primary elections OF
both parties, These were the abuses.
FOR their remedy 1t was argued a new
party must be formed, There We're
enough of good and pure men among
the Democrats and Wings to make III
an organization which should be pat
3irotic and Christian In character. Then
war must he made against French IN "
German sceptfcisrf1, ana So
5ciaiisnl and the papacy. or the three
evils the papacy was considered the
most dangerous. Y. The immediate
and practical aim in view was that
foreigners and Catholics should be eX7
.cluded from all national, state. Scounly2
and municipal offices. That strenuous
efforts should be made to ehange the
naturalization laws SO that the in1mi-
grant should rot become a citizen Until Y
after d residence Of twenty one years
IN this country +.
H Now hear the judgment OF impartial. |
history passed upon the first Amer
lean, party The author quoted says;
I mo one can deny that ignorant for;
eign suffrage had grown to be an eNil
of immense proportions. Had the. rem r1;
edies sought by the KnoW-nothings
been lust and practicable and their
methods above suspicion, the movement mem
though ill-tined might have been 1usttl-
fled at the bar of history. But W sl1''fi
the historian writes that part OF |
their Indictment was true. and that the
attracted hosts Of intel
ligent and good men he has said every.
thing creditable that can be SAID OF |
the Know-nothing party, The crusade
against the Catholic church was as y, nIl-
necessary as it was urlWise me me
statistics showed plainly that the
Catholics were not sufficiently nuns
ero,,s TO Justify alarm He who stud
led the spirit OF the times could see
this as clearl.- as he who compared
the figures 81 le Catholic hierarchy
can only be dangerous when human
reason is repressed. and no one mas
even asserted that the last half OF the
century Is an age OF tat
'rhe same verdict will be passed upon
the second American party. The
.crusad for which 1t stands Is contrary l.9,
to the spirit Of the Constit VI tom n
1t lis unnecessary. and unwise It's; II Is,
moreover, condernnable on the ground
that its real motive Is the exaltation
or IN worthy men to high offices and
the partial use Of public funds fosS|
personal gain. No patriotic, broad
minded American citizen can aid y. a
party, ruled and controlled by NOW
nothings.
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