Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1875-11-20
From the Boston Journal
TIE .SPEARERSHIP.

From the Boston Journal.
TIE SPEARERSHIT.
Since expressing our vicws-which seem
to be in harmony with the general tone of
republican opinion now being uttered
upon this subject, we observe that the..as-
sistant democratic organs continue to man
ifest very lively interest as to what the
republican representatives shall or shall
not do. The Springfield Republican, for
instance, alleges that one reason why the
republican members should 60 over to the
support OF Mr.. Kerr, rather than that the
hard money democrats of the House
should cast their votes for Mr.. Blaine, is
that "Mr. Blaine is not representative
and aggressive hard money man. His
financial views, we are told. are not UNI
likely TO be sound, s'but he has kept them
to himself this summer. His voice has not
been heard on the right side" Now we
are surprised-once more-at the igno-
rance of our Springfield brother. During
the brief interval between the Maine and
the Ohio elections Mr.. Blaine was invited
to take the stump in the latter State. He
was unable to go, but in his letter stating
the fact he made the following explicit
declaration of his views, which was pub
lished generally in the press at the time,
viz: 'In your struggle for honest money
and against the spirit of reputation can
not doubt that you will be victorious. No
State in the Union has a more enlightened
population than Ohio. and it seems alto
gether incredible that the mass of your in
telligent voters can be msled by the adj
vocates Of a perpetually irredeemable pa
per currency" No hard money demo-
crat, therefore, need have any hesitation
about voting for Mr.. Blaine on the ground
ih,t he is not sufficiently sound, or not suf-
iiciently onsrccord, as to the hard money
question-especially if such democrat is
satisfied with Mr.. Kerr who, in one of his
speeches when he was last running for
Congress, is said to have declared that he
was in favor of paying the tive-twenties
with greenbacks, that he was not in favor
of an early resumption ofspece payments,
being doubtful whether it could be
attempted in ten years, and that the accu-
sation that he wanted to contract the cur
rency was "a great. big, able-bodied lie!
If any democratic member of the next
House, then, declines to give his vote to
Mr.. Blaine, in order that he may throw i,
for Mr.. Kerr, it certainly cannot be be-
cause the former is any less explicit or re-
liable on the hard money issue than the
latter. Here the New York Tribune comes
in with new reason why, not only the
democrats should adhere TO their own men.
but the republicans "would be entirely
wise" in voting for some hard money dem
ocrat for Speaker. 1t is as follows:
1.-The democrats have a majority OF the
House; the organization belongs of right
to them let them have it, and with it the
responsibility of Legislation That is pre-
cisely what we have already said 1t is a
species OF interference for the republican
members to have anything whatever to do
with the democratic candidate or cand-
dates. Ii the democratic force in the
House cannot act as unit, what right
have the republicans to avail themselves
of a split in order to coalesce with the mi
nority faction, put in a Speaker who will
subvert the Just political state of affairs by
representing neither the democratic party
of the House nor OF thc country, and who
must labor under the alternative of contin-
uing, by his appointments. an utterly I'M
natural coalition, or else of deserving sub
stantially to the soft money ma orty of
the democratic side ? We don't say that
the situation would be rendered any more
enviable by the hard money democrats
casting their votes Tor Mr.. Blaine, even il
they could do it in sufficient numbers to
elect him. That, however, is something
for democrats to consider. We are ex-
pressing the feeling Of republicans, and
we say that if there is to be a union of diff
ferent party men upon either Mr.. Blaine
or Mr.. Kerr for the Speakershp, Mr.. Blaine
is the man, because he is UNNECESSARILY
superior in all the qualifications for the
Office, as well as sounder Oh the finances,
and because there is no sense in asking
the many 10 go over the few.
We are obliged to assume that the real,
sincere hard money democrats in the next
House OF Representatives will be very
few. Where are they? They are not
particularly evident in this canvass for the
Speakership, so far as it has yet pro-
crossed. Mr.. Kerr's strength is exceed
ingly shadowy. His friends evidently are
none of the thorough-going thick-and-thn,
till-the- last grasp kind. Even the New
York organ quoted above confesses that