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Show ! Wiscellcinv I "Uncle Sam" and "John Bull." A facetious remark by an idle workman work-man is said to have originated the name by which our government is known throughout the world, "1'ncle Sam." During Dur-ing the war of 1S12 Samuel Yi!letts, a meat inspector of Troy. X. V.. and generally gen-erally called "Uncle vSam," acted as purchasing pur-chasing agent for the government. On each barrel of pork and beef accepted he marked the letters "V. S." for United States. Someone inquired what they stood for, and one of Willett's workmen replied re-plied "Uncle Sam." From this feeble beginning be-ginning the joke spread over the whole country and before the end of the war "L'ncle Sam" was in common use. The origin of "John Hull" has been a subject of dispute; but the evidence seems to show that the nickname firt became popular in 1713, following the publication publica-tion of Dr. Arbuthnofs satirical novel, "John Bull." Other investigators assert that Dean Swift was the first to use the name, but ascribe the same year, 1713, to the birth of "John Bull." The great dean had satirized a number of influential influen-tial men and women, and for his sins he was, in that year, exiled to the dcanery of St. Patrick's, in Dublin. Resentment at tho machinations of his enemies is said to have led Dean Swift to apply the satirical "John Bull" to the whole English En-glish people. There have been a number num-ber of men named John Bull who have a t tait led eminence in Kn gland, perhaps the trreatest being the distinguished musician mu-sician of that name. He was born in 1 6 :i and died in 1 61. Having once played before King James a song which he called "God Save the King." the present national anthem of Kngland hfls been erroneously er-roneously attributed to John Bull. |