The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1868-08-19
The Press and Mr.. Pike.

We are not aSIOnlSueu 10 uuu III DemOCrat1C
papers such declarations as the following:
Israel Washburn, in the Portland Press,
made furious assault on Pike, declaring that
he was political hereto, and that if anybody
with those ideas was to be elected in the Fifth
District, it had better be a Democrat And so
Pixies fate was sealed-Belfast Journal
On the 18th Of July the Portland Press in
S T:s.il = commanded the politicians of the
Fifth District to crush out and break down
the talented member from Calais.
The Portland Press, with its corps of half
dozen editors, assumes to lead the Republican
press OF the State, and after ruthlessly and
shamelessly cutting down an old friend, comes
out and glories in its work of malice.-Smdrts
"Jdcksonidn."
Inc remarkable exaggerations in the above
paragraphs are to be accounted for in this
way: the force of truth and right, wherever
they are promulgated, is so irresistible that
our Democratic contemporaries may be excus-
ed for coniuring up visions of myriads of edi-
itors, all of them as distinguished as Israel
Washbnrn. But as matter of fact neither
Mr.. Washburn nor any one else has suggested
to the editor of the Press, either directly or in
directly, the expediency of attacking" Mr..
Pike, nor has any matter appeared in these
columns criticising Mr. Pixies conduct on the
bond question for which the editor is not sole
ly responsible. For such criticism we never
dreamed that we should be expected to apollo
gize to the Republican press of Maine-a press
that constantly reproduces the Repuottcde pat
form to which reference may be had for COM
plete vindication of our course. But few of
the papers ia the eastern part of the State for
whose opinions We usually have the create st
possible respect, have persisted, since the con-
vention in the fifth District, in bringing against
us two most unjust and unfounded accusa-
tions: first, that we were actuated by personal
hostility toward Mr.. Pike; second, that our ar
ticles were intended for republication and Cir
culation among the voters of the fifth district
with a view to defeat his denomination for
Congress. FG-.--s
In answer to the first charge we have to say
that up to the time of Mr.. Pixies advocacy Of
bond-taxation during the latter part of the
last session of Congress and his final adoption
of the theory that the bonds may rightfatlzy be
paid in greenbacks, no one of our cotempora-
ries has accorded to him more prompt or will
ing praise than the Press. For his efforts I'm
behalf of the shipping interest and his fidelity
to his country and to his party in upholding
the reconstruction policy of Congress, we have
given him full credit. 1t was only when be
departed, as it seemed to us, from one of the
fundamental principles of Republicanism that,
in temperate and studiously guarded man
ner, we called attention to the fact. The fact
that he represented the fifth and net the first
district furnishes no reasonable ground for
charge of meddling." Butler and the late
Thaddeus Stevens shared our condemnation.
Like them Mr.. Pike is man of national rep
utation, and his public acts are properly the
subject of comment in all parts of the coun-
try.
To the second charge we can only return a
general denial in the most emphatic manner.
The Easter n papers to which We have referred.
not only credit us with more influence than
our modesty would permit us to claim, but un-
consciously fall into gross Inconsistency.
They declare that Mr.. Pike might easily have
obtained the nomination and that he yolunta-
rily withdrew in favor of the candidate who
was successful In the absence of any accu-
rate information on this point we should be
inclined to believe that this was the case, but
how is it possible to reconcile that position
with their implied concurrence in the Demo-
cratic assertion that Mr.. Pike "was slaughter
ed by the Pressa"