Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-09-26
A DIP INTO POLITICAL
HISTORY OF LONG AGO
Daily Letter by Frederic }. Haskin

, i've United States senators and 1orty-
three members OF the House VINO
were out-and-out Know-nothings. in
addition there were seventy MEM
bers of the House who called them
selves Republicans, but who were
known to be members of the Know
nothing councils. Two years later
there were five Know-nothing sem
ators and fourteen Representatives
in the Ahirty-fifth congress, and IN
the thirty-siXth congress this MEM
bership had dwindled to W. SEN
ators and twenty-three representa-
tives, all from southern states.
New Party Peters Out
KnoW-nothingism petered out or
died even more rapidly than 1t had
como into existence as a real factor
in the national political arena. 1t
bad no representation in congress
after the thirty-sixth and little was
heard of it from hal date. The aho-
lition OF slavery and the preserva-
ton of the Union became the over
lshadowing issues and religious preJJ-
dices or church affiliations were
little heard of in politics thereafter
for W or three decades
The real name OF the secret So
ciety that was back of the Know
nothing party was Sons OF '76, or
Order of the Sta Spangled Banner"
The countersign at its lodge meet
ings was an order said to have been
issred by George Washington on
.IsCme memorable but unspecified
occasion-"Put none but Americans
on guard tonight"
Its political program was some
what similar to that of the farmer
labor coalition OF the present ear in
that it never nominated candidates
on a separate ticket of its own. In
stead, it adopted the policy OF en-
ldCrsing candidates chosen by the
parties already in the field. This ac-
} tion was taken in secret convent N
of delegates from the various lodges
OF the society, at which every men,
Der had to vote or render himself
liable to expulsion. lnasmuch as
there was never any public an
nuuncement as to the candidates
that were favored by tho Know
|ncthings, all the plans and calcula-
tons of the old-line parties were
knocked galley-west. 1t happened
that the candidates of the American
party, which came into the open
field in 1854, were almost invariably
supported by the Know-nothing
party. That is not so important
however, as the facts as to the ma
ture of tho political movement. the
momentum it gained and the sud
denness with which it crashed.
Horace Greeley was n of the
most vigorous opponents of Know
nothingism said of that sit contain
ed about as much of the elements D
~permanence as an anti-cholera or al
; anti-potato-rot society,"" Henry
Ward Beecher was another of thu
nrOminent ODDOnentJ of the move
ment.
The beginning OF the movement
however. was not without its iusti
fcation. In the earliest days of n,
+ Republic, immigrants who had lief
Europe because of too free ind Al
gence in freedom OF speech, thought
=, land action, showed a decided DISCO
sition to take possession of and rui
the government OF the country tina
, offered them sanctuary. This result
ed in 1895 in a change in the na;u
d. radiation term from two to fiv'
, years, and in 1898 it was increases
Z to fourteen years, only to be PLACED
, again on the five-year basis in 1867
In New York City there devol
. oped with the passing years a CON
. pact and clannish body of lmmi
:, grants, hungry for office and the re
, wards of politics, who arrayed them
, selves openly as foreigners agairs
the natives. In one campaign the.
made a great demonstration il
which a transparency was displays
. that actually carried the threat
Americans shan't rule u.s." IN tn
I face of a challenge of that kind, i
is not surprising hat the native son
decided it was up to them 20 re
I busy.