The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1864-12-31
The Senatorial Question.

@AS SoA@eNA@@A Y 9OoN
The only object we have In view in again
writing this caption, is 10 lay before our read
ers few extracts from contemporary Journals
to show that ihe views which have beenlhere-
tofore presented IN die columns Of the Press
are not macmillan 60 this locality; that similar
views are entertained In other portions of the
state. Ard first we make an extract from the
Eostoo,s Sentinel, as representing the extreme
as.,srn part OF our commonwealth. That pa
nar concludes long and candid article As fol-
lows:
No one can deny, II seems 10 us, that In the
Senate Mr.. Fessenden has ranked higher and
has welded more influence than did Mr.. Ham,
lin. Mr.. Fessenden was the acknowledged
leader Of the Union party In the Senate, and
In that capacity it Is generally believed that
he 50 employed his influence as TO promote
the interests OF the country. The Senate needs
leader,-a strong man whose integrity Is un-
questioned, IA man Ia whom the people ofthe
country, place the fullest confidence. The
want OF such man was manifest 10 the Senate
alter Mr.. Fessenden's retirement from IL, and
was generally observed and commented upon.
That position Mr.. Fessenden can without
doubt Immediately regain If reelected. Will
Mr. Hamlin, in case OF his election, gain such
position? We think not. he did not take
such rank while member Of the Senate,
before, although in that as in other places Of
Importance he has proved himself a valuable
public servant. We do not believe he can hold
such position now, and consequently we de-
sire to see Mr.. Fessenden reelected. lH e1
The Bath Times has spoken, and its views
have already appeared in our columns. 1t
takes the strongest ground In favor of Mr.. Fes-
senden's election, basing its preference mainly
on the high and commanding position to which
he attained as leader of the Senate position
never before acquired by a Maine Senator. q
We have also quoted from the .Machias
| Republican, which paper places Mr.. Fessenden
ia the front rank of American Statesmen.
In the Lewiston Journal, edited by Hon.
| Nelson Dingley, Speaker of the House for the
last two years and member elect of the next
House, is an able and candid article upon the
! Senatorial question, from which we make the
following extract: ..ai Bas
We are not aware that any one alleges that
| Mr.. Fessenden has been unfaithful to the
1 trusts reposed in him in the past or that he
/ would not if reelected serve his state and
/ country with an ability and faithfnlness sec
| ond to no man in the nation. Mr.. Fessenden
belongs to the first class of statesmen, that in
! which Webster, Clay, Benton and others
4 shone so conspicuously-men whom their
| states and the country demanded for the pub
| lie service His distinguished talents, his
| peerless powers Ia debate and his answering
i int egrity have made him statesman whom
4 the country reveres, and of whom Maine may
i we'll be proud. Said well known Washing
/ ton correspondent to US not many months
since, 81 have intimately known the leading
Senators of the past twenty years, and pro-
nounce William Pitt Fessenden one OF the
/ very ablest and most statesmanlike OF them all.
! Among our public men none is more, If so
/ much feared by lobbyists as he is. Men who
/ buy up votes never dare approach him. 9s
/ We do no Injustice to Mr.. Hamlins indus
try, ability and faithfulness as a public SER
! want, when we indicate our desire that Mr..
Fessenden should be reelected. Mr.. Hamlin
received evidence OF the continued confidence
Of his State when Maine by her legislature
and delegates, unanimously urged his re NOM
nation to the Vice Presidency at Baltimore.
And is it not due that Mr.. Fessenden should
receive similar expression ofconddence by a
reelection to the Senate? Should we not do
our State an incalculable injury before the
country by discarding our ablest statesman
whom we are proud to have everywhere ac-
knowledged as the leader of the Senate
Neither should it be forgotten that Mr.. Fes-
senden's reelection would be triumph over
no one; he would simply continue in the seat
which he occupied as colleague of Mr.. Ham
lin. But Mr.. Hamlin's election over Mr.. Fes-
sender, on the contrary, would be the ousting
of Mr.. Fessenden to give place to one who had
been his colleague, and who resigned to ac-
cept higher Office, and now returned not to
dsposess the person who succeeded him but
his original colleague. ags gAa lset
| We will close this article by an extract from
paper outside of the State, that our readers
may have the benefit of views from different
stand point from our own. The editor OF the
Lol1eu Courier is native ef this state, though
he has long been resident of the Mother
state. 1t Is natural that he should not only
look to the state of his nativity with interest
but that he should be intellgeptly posted in
relation to GU public men, and their relative
standing befors the nation. In recent ar
ticle in his paper, after giving various reasons
for desiring Mr.. Fessenden's election he says
of him: e .,I sv9..,
| Heis by far the ablest man of the two. He
| has not had so long an experience as Mr..
Hamlin, but he is more of a statesman--more
OF practical man, and by far the ablest man
| Senate within our remembrance. Mr. Bamlin
| has been half lifetime in Congress--not be-
! cause he has no equals-no superiors-but
because he has been lucky in his political
| combinations. He has had certainly all the
| honors the Office can confer; he has had re-
| muneration enough from the Government to
| satisfy ordinary desires in that direction. But
| these are really no arguments against him at
this time. The fact, however, being apparent
that Mr.. Fessenden would not object TO re-
| election since his name is before the people of
Maine, seems to bring the issue directly be-
tween the two gentlemen. In that case, then,
| for the credit of the State and for the good of
| the country, it seems to us the return of Mr..
| Fessenden is by all means most to be desired,
and should be consummated. Mr Ham
| lin has been true to the principles of the Re-
| publican party, and we have no doubt he will
| continue SO; our cause would receive no
| check or reverse in ease OF his election; but
| the ablest man is his opponent, and we hope
| his worth will be recognized by the legisla-
ture of Maine when that body acts on the sem
atorial question.
After the above had been put in type we re-
ceived the Boston Daily Advertiser, and from
its Augusta correspondence we clip the fol-
lowing: riara d,H
Messrs. Fessenden and Hamlin have been
long in public life, and have made record
of which they and their constituents may
well be proud. Either of them would repre-
| sent the State with great ability, and, from
! this point of view, it would seem that the peo-
pie Of Maine need have little anxiety as to
which shall be selected for the honorable po-
sition. Probably large majority of the Leg
islature would be glad to have l. in their power
| to vote for both But, as this cannot be- 1t