Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1875-08-23

boz, and counts and declares the cotes. In
Van Buren, the voters were expelled from
the voting room while the votes were be-
ing counted and Mr.. Hammond, an alien,
aids 10 counting and declaring the votes.
| In clear violation of law, all the demo-
cratic votes bore distinguishing mark,
being printed on BLUE PAPER, for the
purpose. it is believed, of carrying out the
fraudulent contracts for the PURCHASE
OF VOTES
col. SMITHS "0PENLET7ER' r. GEN
ROBERTS.
1t is now something more than six weeks
since we published the remarkable "open
letter" Of Col. Smith to Gen. Roberts. we
have watched its effect in Maine with con-
siderable interest, and it is perfectly anus
ing to see into what a towering rage that
letter will always throw partisan demo-
crat. The papers of that party in Maine
represent the letter as one foul ssue OF
abuse toward Cen Roberts, in which he is
assailed as coward, TRAITOR" william.
and all other imaginable hard names. SO
far from this being true, the fact is pre-
cisely opposite. Col. Smith addresses Gen.
Roberts in tones of almost knightly cour-
tesy, and does not use a coarse or harsh
or ungentlemanly phrase or eplhet from
beginning to end. Instead of accusing
him of cowardce or ineflicency rs an
| officer, Col. Smith takes care to say in adj
| dressing Gen. Roberts at is with great
satisfaction that l recognize and record
your personal bravery and your general
popularity with your command
What then are the statements made by
Col. Smith which have aroused such tenn.
per and resentment among the democrats
of Maine? They are briefly as follows:
lst-That Gen. Roberts resigned his commits
sion and left the military service at the very dark
est period of the war, when every man was needed
and mplorcd to stay, and when he had been in
service only little more than year.
2d-That on coming home Gen. Roberts joined
the enemies of the Union and allied himself with
Marcelus Emery and Eben F. Pillsbury, conspic
nous then leaders of whatever antiwar, disloy-
al sentiment there was in Maine.
3d-That in 1868 Gen Roberts supported Bon
| Bradbury, "though in the convention which NOM
| mated him for Governor, resistance to the draft
was openly advocated and applauded, and Gen.
Samuel j. Anderson, as the immediate personal
representative Of Mr.. Bradbury, distinguished
himself by the boldness of his antiwar utterances
4th-That in 1864 Gen. Roberts gave "his best
| efforts to the election of Joseph Howard as Gov
ernor, when the Bangor Democrat bosstfully pro-
| claimed that Judge Howard has ever been OPP
posed to the present war and has uniformly been
| peace democrat in the broadcast sense of that
term.
In enforcing this point Col. Smith adj
dresses the following scorching paragraph
to Gen. Roberts:
"You cannot forget, General, that when you
| were swinging your hat for Judge Howard, he
| Extensively outspoken against the Constitu-
| tional amendment which permitted the soldiers Of
| Maine to vote in their camps-taking the ground
as you did by supporting him, that the soldier
who was daily periling his life at the 'front.' had
Just right to vote, but that the traitorous copper
head in the should enjoy that privilege to its
fullest extent"
5th-That in the Presidential struggle of 1864
Gen. Roberts joined with those disloyasts who
reved and abused Abraham Lincoln, that great
est and best friend of the soldier" Gen. Roberts
''openly affiliated with the desperate faction that
demanded an immediate cessation OF hostilities,
at the very moment when Sherman had taken At
lanta and was preparing for his great march to
the sea, and when Grant was drawing his deadly
| lines closer and closer around Richmond and
/
These are the principal charges brought
| against Gen. Roberts by Col. Smith, and
| not one of them has yet been denied or
even answered by any democratic paper
| in Maine Abuse of Col. Smith is all that
has been attempted. II it be said that
these charges against Gen. Roberts be-
long to the war period and should not be
recalled, the answer is given in Col.
Smiths letter when he reminds Gen. Rob-
erts "that he was ostentatiouslv selected
as the democratic candidate because of
his war record, and that hence his record
is properly open to searching exami-
nation"
We think every voter in the State of
Maine should have'a copy of Col. Smith
letter, and we trust the Campaign Com
mittee of the republicans will see to its
thorough distribution. 1t is in every re-
| spect an admirable document. Admira-
| BILE in its close adherence to fact. and es-
pecially admirable for its trenchant and
vigorous style.-Boston Journal
GENERAL NEWS.