New-York tribune., 1920-10-10
o1tcs as Much Indiana Industry SO Years AGO as No
A Young Travellers Observations
The Journal of John Parsons a Valuable Con+r;.
button to History

fo'on'ac' where he found his host wajs-
ing hy water he proceeded 70 wasb-
lngton, where the hotel was "m;ser.
aole caravansary," and thence to Balti-
more where Barnum's Hotel was "a
matter for rejoicing" And it il a+
'n's juneture, at the very gateway Of
ms narrative and of his jouriey. that u,s
are introduced to the tsrmo;, oe t,o
Presidential campaign of 1s4o, in which
ngured Harrison, old Tip" and Van
Buren.
Cost Of Travel
It Will be quite worth while after
gong over the route of this trip and
noting two or three outstanding fea-
lures Of the journal, to pick up and
tie the threads of the story that
are marked in the scenes in the cam
pa'gn of 1S4o. 1t is interesting to note
the schedule of coach fares from Balti-
more to the Ohio River. as fixed 81
that time:
baltimore to Frederick. 5000
A>NSA4Sh 70 n2EerStOWn 80 M
hagerstown to Cumberland $50. $500
cumberland to Uniontown. $500
Onlontown to Washington, Pa. s225
Washington to Wheeling 5000
through fare to the Ohio. .s1725
FROM Wheeling, Parsons journeyed
down the Ohio to Marietta, Cincinnati
this thronged city" as he calls il and
10 Madison, Ind, where he turned north
INTO the state, travelling by coach.
Two elements that were shaping our
national lfe, the religious and the no.
Itlcal, appear in chance Conversations
ana arguments overheard from day 10
DAY. In the entry for May 9. Parsons
'eIS OF MS party passing a long line of
negro slaves driven along in couples.
fastened to thick rope" Quite natu-
reilly he, Virginian, is willing to dis
mss the episode as a mot unfamiliar
SPECTACLE But a Quaker. seated near
nm, exciaims with groan "How long.
. Lord, how long," And Methodist
parson, glancing at the Quaker. adds.
Brother, l have observed that YOU wear
the garb Of the Society of Friends.
From your abhorrence of this lament
able sight | surmise that you are also
member of the Anti Slavery Society.
Il may be that we travel on the same
business, work toward the same goal
May l inquire your name?"
Now note Parsons's remark in his
journal, and find therein the yelled an
tagonism of the aristocrat Of the South:
THE Quaker lapsed into silence.
scanned him curiously, for it was my
first sight Of one of these agitators. of
whom I had heard little good. However,
both he and the circuit rider were de-
cent appearing men, and, the blacks
having been left behind, it seemed pru-
dent to let the subject drop, particularly
in the presence Of ladies'"
First Echoes of Conflict
Even as early as 1910 the Abolitionist
idea clashed with the slave idea when
men of two sections, with polar antipa-
thies, met as travelling companions. 1t
is in just such revelatory paragraphs as
this that we chance upon the ore veins
in this interesting book.
And now for the campaign of 1840
Parsons ran into the fire Of the ex-
element, even in May, in Baltimore,
where the young Wings were holding
their national convention. He goes to
the columns Of The Baltimore Patriot
for his description of the parade IN
honor of Harrison and Tyler:
"Never before was seen such an as
semblage Of the people in whose per-
sons are concentrated the sovereignty
Of the government In no country, in
no time, never before in the history
of man, was there a spectacle so full
Of natural glory. A hundred thousand
faces were before you, age. manhood,
youth and beauty, filled every place
where foothold could be got or any
portion Of the procession be seen"
That sounds very much like stories
we are reading at this very hour. Par
sons, a Democrat, "had not guessed
that SO much enthusiasm could have
been aroused over comparatively un-
known candidate, a backwoodsman, as
we Of the East are accustomed to speak
of him." and he scents a bit of danger
for the opposition in this strange en-
thusiasm. His references to the clog
cabins drawn by many horses" and to
the other pictorial and striking effects
invented and used during the campaign
of 1910 show very plainly that new
method of campaigning had come into
being, one that was to endure even to
the days of Cleveland and the second
Harrison.
| AS Parsons went west the fervor
over the Harrison and Tyler ticket in
creased.
Campaign Songs
"Our minds" he writes. "perforce
| turned continually to nolitics for