Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1914-09-12
First Public Appearance Since
the Memorable Days Of
1895.
Junior Order Member RObs
Southern Post Office to
Save Country.


Right on the heels of the circus
and minstrel show parades comes
another treat for the people of the
Falls Cities, the Junior Order of
United American Mechanics to be in
line this afternoon under the guise
of so-called Fraternal day celebra-
tion. 1t is looked forward to with
pleasure that many will get a peek
at these noble saviors of our glori-
Gus republic, who have been hiding
their light under bushel for many
years, always working in the dark,
so to speak. The last announced
public appearance of this body was
to have been in the Perry Centennial
parade of last fall, which resulted in
fizzle, only about 100 of these
patriotic CD citizens lining up be-
hind a little red school house float
and the majority marching along
with a regular caught sheep steal
ing air." being the source of much
amusement all along the line. This
fiasco caused the Junior Order
leaders to then conceive the plan
of getting other fraternal orders to
accompany them through the streets
in what they termed was a fraternal
day celebration. Under this guise it
was attempted to have the General
Council declare half holiday,
which was fortunately defeated by
a unanimous vote of the Board of
Councilmen, and the original leaders
selected from the Red Men, Wood
men of the World and other socie-
ties, seeing the fine Italian hand of
the Junior Order behind the move
ment, hastily dropped out, causing
the promoters to shove forward
some of their own members as Off
cials, but as representatives of other
societies with which they affiliated.
This will be the first official dis
play of the local A. p. A. element
since the memorable days of 1895,
when the fanatical movement was
at the height of one of its spasmodic
revivals, big parade being held on
the Fourth of July with Sterling
Edmunds, the A. p. A. candidate for
Sheriff, and others of the kind, who
were using the ignoramuses for
political purposes, being at the
head, the parade ending in a big
picnic and celebration at Wilder
Park, where it was planned to have
set of speeches denouncing the
Roman Catholic church and all its
followers, but fortunately for all
concerned one of the heaviest rain
storms in the history of the city
came in the afternoon, and the A. p.
AS in their out of the way park
were flooded out like so many
drowned rats, men and women be-
ing in water up to their waists, the
shelter inadequate and street car
line half mile away. Even Jupiter
Pluvius had become disgusted with
the mongrel gathering and visited
the torrents of his wrath with a
downpour that is still talked of to
this day, and furthermore it is sig
nificant that every man an active
leader in the A. p. A. revival OF
1895 is down and outer OF today,
and for years afterward those who
marched that day were busy denying
or giving excuses for their appear
ance in line.
1t has been contended in these
columns that the Junior Order of
United American Mechanics is an
A. p. A. organization strictly, their
pretense of patriotism and restrNc-
ton of immigration being a blind.
The latest instance and proof of this
contention is seen at Charlotte, N.
c., where the case is summarized as
follows:
DIR. j. S. Clifford. District Deputy
of the Knights OF Columbus, re-
ported that his mail was being
tampered with in the local POST
office and that letters mailed to him
were stolen from the Office, one be-
ing read by ex-Priest Crowley at an
A. p. A. gathering and afterward
published in the Menace, the letter
being only discussion of the public
school question and commenting
religious teaching in the parochial
schools. After this had occurred
several times the Postmaster General
was notified and trap set by r. w.
Hodgin, Postoffice Inspector, which
resulted In the arrest of Charles #.
Alexander. a Postoffice clerk, who
stole a package addressed to DR..
Clifford and purporting to have come
from William ]. Mckinley, Supreme
Secretary, Knights OF Columbus, one
OF the letters in the package being
marked instructions" and the dupe
Alexander thought he had run on a
plot to destroy the Government.
Now comes the Junior Order in
that section, which at a mass meet
ing provided ways and means to
save Alexander, and excusing his
theft on the grounds that he was
trying to save the country, hoping
that this lame excuse will prevent
Uncle Sam from sending the culprit
TO the penitentiary. The three
Junior Order councils of that city
also claim that II he is acquitted the
Congressman from that district will
have him reinstated In the postal
service.
In the parade this afternoon there
Will probably be several fraternal
societies who were inveigled into
J the bogus fratornal celebration