Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1872-08-08
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.NR. BL1I.NE'S LETTER.

Mr. Blaine's letter to Mr.. Sumner seems
to have created great commotion among
the democracy. While they lecture Mr..
Blaine for his presumption in addressing
the great Massachusetts Senator, and affect
to treat his letter as beneath his and their
notice, they spend great deal of effort
to blunt the force Of it. Its true that Mr..
blaine is not as old as Mr.. Sumner, nor is
he member of the Senate, but how old
must n man be before he is qualified in
the opinion of democrat, to address
their new ally, and when was it establish
ed that seat in the Senate OF the United
States placed the occupant above the crit
icism of his fellow citizens, either OF the
House of Representatives or the greater
body which makes and unmakcs Senator's
Are the principles of the Grecleyites Of
this sort ? If so, let young men take no
tce that they are not to be permitted to
speak in the presence of their elders in
the Greeley party and older ones beware
how they presume to question the sayings
and writings of venerable Senators. The
Tribune sneered at Mr.. Blane's letter at
first rs trivial and impertinent, hut after
Mr.. Sumner felt compelled in self defence
to answer it, the Tribune deigned to do 50.
They would doubtless have been glad to
have passed it over contemptuous]y to the
end, but it appears that the cry of distress
;,,i, IL,
elsewhere forced them to answer it,
though it was the production Of II young
man and not a Senator either. Washing
dispatches to the leading papers upon the
subject tell the facts A dispatch to the
Tribune says;
Senator Summers reply to Speaker Blaine,
which is given to the public to-day, was writ
ten at the earnest solicitation of many prom
inent men in both parties in Maine, who have
been urging the Senator to this end by letter
and telegraph for several days.
SO we learn by the central organ itself
that there was Il great ilutter and pressure
at Washington which Mr.. Sumner could
not withstand. The following despatch
was printed in the Times.
read Mr. Blaine's letter in reply to his advice
to colored men. He treated the letter with
the utmost contempt. He was not going to
demean himself by taking notice of the as
saults of a small man. But he has been COM
PEELED to do what he thinks is entirely uncall-
ed for-make an answer. He has been con.
WINGED, not that Mr.. Blaine is not a small man
but that the people are a stupid crowd, and
will read Mr.. Blanes letter, and think him
as capable of giving good advice as Mr.. Sum-
ner kilograms have come to him from Maine
and elsewhere, from "liberal democratic
sources telling him, "You must answer Mr..
Blaine Sletter; t is hurting us badly, :" and so
he has written a reply. "a democrat once
almost took your life, and we applauded," say
his new followers. Now Blaine calls the at
tenton Of the country TO it, and we cannot
answer. Can you do anything for us?" He
tries. He gave it to democratic paper here,
which did not print the letter of Mr.. Blaine,
to which it replies, and it sends out advance
slips to the telegraph offices and the liberal |
sympathy men; and that, too, paper which |
hates Charles Sumner to-day as much as it did
few months ago when abusing him. They |
have taken him, as Governor Whyte says,
''for temporary use.' That he has written
reply at all, is due to the effect of Mr.. Blaine's
splendid letter SO papably injuring the Dem
ocratic cause that an attempt to meet it must
be made.
Now let these dispatches speak for
themselves. They show that there is a
tribunal in this country which will listen
to its young men, and that it will compel
Senators to answer them when the matter
requires it, Let Greeleyites sheer as much
as they will at what they have not the
ability to meet with any other weapon