Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1870-04-26
SPEAKER Blaine.


criticism on the life and character of the
gentleman whose name heads this article.
Much that is said by the Advertiser in re-
gard to Mr.. Blaine's ability is in the Ian
guage of extravaganza eulogy, but the evil
dent purpose of the article is to damage
him in the estimation of the people of
Maine Passing all the complimentary
paragraphs ofthe Advertiser which ascribe 7
a very high order of ability to Mr. Blaine,
we quote its chief charges against him for
the purpose of making such reply thereto
as the facts of history demand.
'.Mr Blaine is now about forty years old,
and his life has been singularly and uniform
" prosperous. lie who is not handsome at
twenty, strong at thirty, rich at forty, and
wise at fifty says Spanish proverb, will
never be handsome, strong, rich or wise
Mr.. Blaine has passed the first three tests
successfully. Whether he will be wise ten
wears hence remains to be seem but hitherto
that quality has not been ascribed to him.
People call him adroit, skillful, able, prudent,
cautious, or timid, but nobody yet, so far as
we have observed, calls him wise
ssMr. Blaine has now been for seven years
in Congress. He has been during that time
chairman of the Republican State Committee
at home. He has managed the mechanical
part of the State campaigns, and has distribu
ted his share of the offices discreetly and
properly enough, as things go, to his personal
friends and supporters. He has got to be
Speaker of the House, and is very capable
Speaker too. But what meanwhile mas he
G. tt,n Gtata hat tsAu
enee has he had upon the course of legisla-
ton? What are his triumphs, or what would
be his failures, to those of us who have no
stake in the political game, but simply want
good government and the privilege of attend
ing to our own affairs in peace and quietude?
Nothing whatever
The charges here are that rs public
man Mr.. Blaine lacks wisdom" and that
he has done nothing ''for his State or
country" and has exerted no influence
upon the course of legislation" The in
fuence which any one man can exert on
the progress ofevent, in a country so large
as ours, and in legislative body so i'm
posing as the Congress of the United
States, cannot of course be overpowering
or commanding, but we propose to ran
over Mr. Blaines career as it stands on the
Journals of the House and recorded in the
Congressional Globe, and then we shall
ask the Advertiser to point us to any other
representative of Maine that in the same
length of time has shown moro wisdom,
or has done more for State and country,
lac ta1 ,rys,so ma hat
course oflegislation. The Advertiser says
correctly enough that Mr.. Blaine after four
years service in the Legislature was elect
ed-.'to the Thirty Congress, and
came to his seat in that body, thoroughly
master of himself and all his powers. On
the day when he entered that chamber he
was probably the best parliamentarian
there, unless we except Speaker Colfax.
He was an adroit and ready debater An
ordinary politician would have plunged at
once into the current discussions and sent
carloads of speeches home to his constitu-
ents. Mr.. Blaine did nothing of the kind
For year he sat silent in his seat, care
fully studying this new ground"
We think those who are familiar with
the numerous failures which betide men in
Congress from premature explosions will
credit Mr.. Blaine with something very
closely resembling "wisdom" in keeping
his seat against all temptations to talk. He
seems to have known intuitiyely that if
speech was silver silence was golden"
and he held to the adage most tenaciously
His first speech in Congress, made towards
the close of the session, was on the ere
sources of our country and our ability to
prosecute the war to successful conclu-
sion" The speech was delivered when
the military situation" was not promising,
and just when we were entering on the
Presidential struggle of 1864 1t was at
once adopted as campaign document by
the Republican National Committee, and
over two hundred thousand copies of it
were circulated in the country. A pretty
good beginning for young man without
wisdom.
The 39th Congress opened in December
1865. The war had closed successfully
for the Union, what next? The Republi-
can party was entirely ahoat; public opin-,
ion had not crystalized, and what was its
duty. its necessity, or its policy had not
then been developed. The debates in
Congress exhibited great divergence of
opinion on all these points, and when it
adjourned for the holidays the outlook for
a wise and harmonious settlement of the
great questions involved was most unpro-
pitious. The thirteenth amendment abol-
ishing slavery had been adopted-this was
the first great step. what will he do
with it was the next question. Men had
not with the abolition of slavery got rid oil
those ideas and prejudices which had in
crusted themselves in the American mind.
and these cooperating with the Difference
to the then assumed supremacy of the
States over the question of suffrage, exer-
cised such influence upon the minds of