The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1871-01-13
The Advertiser Ring.

A comet with tail billion miles long and |
three million miles broad, whizzing round the |
sum at the rate of million miles an hour,
with q prodigious noise and the emission of
infinite quantities Of sulphuretted hydrogen,
and weighing only a feac ouncesiGfter all is
an example of the extreme attenuation of
matter for which we are indebted to astrono-
mers. Why we are reminded Of this fact in |
reading commu licaton published in the |
Advertiser andwritten by one Of the ). MS
1.-THE one distinguished for his logical cohe-
renee and close reasoning,-the one whose
italics are more emphatic, whose notes of ad-
miration are more startling, whose explosives
are more frequent and more boisterous, and
whose dashes and other photographic antics
are more frightlul than those of any other
writer since the loud mouthed John O'Cata-
ract discontinued his literary labors) we do
not know.
But from the general nebulosity of J. Ms
communication, twinkling like twelfth mag
nitude star in the milky way There is some
thing in ]. Ms spaciousness that suggests as
Economical fgures) there dimly emerges the
idea that the members of the Legislature who
voted for Gen. Chamberlain, though they con-
stitute but one fourth of The Republicans in
that body, are the only true representatives OF
the people. This particular notion is borrow.
cd by this particular -. n" from
the Advertiser, where it has been daily
inculcated. Tt is a most unfair and un-
reasonable notion, when we consider that the
people voted directly on the Senatorial ques-
ton at the September election, and gave their
su6fages in the proportion of three to one
against Gen. Chamberlain. That we are not
alone in so regarding it is shown by the fol-
lowing extract from an article in the Bangor
Wing, written as aIrebuke to the Advertiser,
for saying Immediately after the Senatorial
caucus that "a large majority Of. the Republi-
can voters of Maine" are in favor of Chamber
lain, and that cit was well, no doubt, to allow
tho question to be tested and to show the Re-
publican voters of Maine just what proper
ton their influence bears to the influence of
the party machinery" We quote from the
Whtg: - -ms9
d We submit that such insnuations as the
above ale not only unworthy of publication,
but appear in exceptionally bad taste in the
columns of paper that has not hesitated to
counsel the disruption of party lines in the in
terest Of its favorite candidate, that has con-
stantly and vigorously appealed to the arbi-
.trament OF o popular vote, and that has gone
farther than any other journal in Maine in its
EFFORTS to keep the Senator question upper
most in the minds of the people throughout
our late campaign. We are justified in sup
posing that the present Legislature comprises
Rentlemep of at least average honesty and in
telltRence. They have met in party caucus
end after favorable presentation of both can
s0ldates, have proceeded to make their selec-
ton There is nothing equivocal about the
vote, no possibility OF misunderstanding or
trickery. Mr. Morrill, received not bare ma
1ortty, not simply twO-thirds, but tbreequar
ters Of the whole number of votes thrown by
the Republican members OF the Legislature,
end large majority of the total Republican
ana Democratic VOTE To question this decis-
Ion and tmpugn the action Of honorable mem
Dets, claiming all the virtue and independ-
enoe for small minority, is unworthy Of the
In whose behalf these f,ngs are INDUCED and
We are quite sure he would be among the first
to denounce such aspersions.
!. 30 much for the extraordinary notion by
spssistently intoxicating which few restless
and uDprincipled men are endeavoring to in
validate Senator Morrill's nomination, and thus
disorganize the. Republican party. Why men
who every day declare that the Senatorial
: domination has been unfairly made, and is
therefore not binding upon the Republican
members since fraud vitiates everything, even
contracts, can complain of our saying that
they ars.trying to break up the Republican
party, and that they constitute dangerous
and unprincipled ring, 1t is difficult to see.-
Z The only answer that anybody has made to our
assertion that there is such ring, that it is
composed of a few unprincipled politicians,
that 1t is trying to defeat the clearly express
Cd will of the people, is cowardly assump-
ton that we so describe all the friends of
Gen. Chamberlain, when we expressly limited
bur structures to very small part of them.
Certainly 1t is only by most severe effort of
the imagination that Senator Hobson can
suppose himself included among the knights
ofthis dangerous and reckless ring when all
members of the Legislature were excluded by
name In the article of which he complains.
That the Advertiser and j. N. recognize
themselves as belonging to the new cabal we
do not wonder, for they were conspicuous
In forming as in maintaining it. The full ex-
posture of this ring and the almost universal
contempt which has met its attempt to repu-
date the decision made by three-fourths of
their political associates, has disabled it, we
hope, from doing much harm. Besides, the
secession Of the Pixies and Talbots because of
their early apprehension of the fact that the
ring would be failure on account of the
Governors declining to become party to it,
deprived it of its main strength. We do not
wonder that the gentlemen who now keep
up the organization are annoyed at our rev.
citation of their conspiracy.