The Portland daily press., 1869-09-14
n1iIIlonaire Axrariani.m.

Among the notables In every village is the
man who "owns the best house in town.
This man Is always pointed out to strangers.
In Waterviile, Gen. Smith is that man, and
was lately the Democratic candidate for Gov
ernor. Gen. Smith has very good house
indeed-we might say "mansion" and not
exaggerate. We believe we are right in say
ing that he is very rich. All of which would
be none of our business if he were not can
didate for Office and did not come legitimate
ly within range on account of singular ldio-
syncracy of his party associates We do not
undertake to say that Gen. Smith is implicat-
ed except indirectly in the folly of which we
propose to speak. This folly is that Demo-
cratic millionaires, so many of them at least
as are aspirants for Office, have been led into
agrarianism, or, If they like better, commun-
Ism. 1t is not our purpose to discuss at all
the correctness of the theory that property
should be equally distributed, but only to ar
que that it is extremely inconsistent for gem
tlemen who in their own worldly circumstan-
ccs present the widest possible divergence
from practical agrarianism to resort from pure
demagogsm to its advocacy.
John Quincy Adams is now perhaps the
most prominent representative of New Eng
land Democracy. and even he does not scru-
pie to take up the stale cry that "the rich are
growing richer and the poor poorer" The
only purpose of pointing out this lamentable
circumstance must be to remedy it. The
specific remedy recommended by our Demo-
cratic masters of political economy is the re-
pud'ation of the contracts entered into by the
government with its creditors, that is, the Sc
questration of certain property and the ig-
noring of vested rights. The frankest Red
Republican never advocated scheme that
could be more obnoxious to such as hold sa-
cred the right to property. This Is perhaps
excusable in Smith the sansculotte, but in |
Smith the well-fed millionaire, who has it in
his own power partially to remedy the I'M
equal distribution of wealth of which he com
plains, it is puerile. John Quincy Adams is
the representative of a family that approx
mates as nearly to race of American mobiles
as any on the continent. The first John
Adams was man of considerable wealth for
ants have husbanded their means so pru-
IDENTIFY that they have become very rich.
Charles Francis Adams and several of his
sons have the reserve, the hauteur and the
family pride that are characteristic of the
English aristocracy. S
The same is true of nearly all the candi-
dates that Democrats have of late years NOM
mated for the highest officers. Seymour OF
New York, Packer of Pennsylvania, English
Of Connecticut and Pendleton of Ohio, as
well as Smith of Maine, are examples. Most
of these have become, like Mr. Adams, pro-
foundly impressed with the idea that the
rich are growing richer at the expense of the
poor. Belmont, chairman of the National
Democratic COMMITTEE, is the agent of the
Rothschilds in the United States, and is bold
ly declared by some Of his own party asso-
ciates to be a "bloated bondholder." And
last fall here were the portly Corporation
Counsel and Corporation Attorney of New
York city, whose annual stealings, to wit
Prerequisites" to say nothing of their salaries
would nearly pay the annual expenses of our
State government, coming down to Maine to
explain to the people how grievously the
people are oppressed. And Sprague, who
has recently disclosed strong conservative
tendencies, has also given the weight of all
his millions to his plants in behalf of down
trodden people. This mixing up of niggard-
ly millionaires with the rankest disorganizing
and anarchical theories is calculated to ling
their sincerity into serious question.