The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1875-07-30

In an open letter addressed to Mr.. Blaine,
ard, revives the obsolete gossip and absurd
nonsense about the connection of the former
with the ''paper credit" frauds. For Mr..
Pillsbury, the tone is very moderate and the
grammar so very bad that we now suspect
that he is the author of that other '.open let
ter" to which no name was signed, but which
the Argus tells us was written by soldier,
who, during the war, "welded" Damacus
blade. The charges are the same that the
Standard has repeated in some form many
times the past six years. In fact, it has been
the regular business of the Standard to
charge Mr. Blaine with participation in the
Credit Mobilier or leading thieving junta in
raid upon the Agricultural College scrip.
Mr.. Blaine is amply able to defend himself
against this charge, but we will just call at.
tention to an extract from the report of the
the Paper Credit Commission of 1870, COM
posed of Messfs. G. F. Talbot, Abraham San-
born and Selden Connor. The Commission
found it impossible to get the information it
required from the departments at Washing
ton. They then say:
In this dilemma we applied to Hon. James
q. Blaine, Speaker of the National House of
Representatives, and member of Congress
from the Sd District of Maine. His apprehen-
sion OF the precise nature of our inquiries was
prompt and complete, and to his effective in
tervention by personal appeals at the depart
ments, where our acquisitions Tor documents
were waiting compliance, we consider ourselves
largely indebted for whatever information
from those sources we have been able to obtain.
The same report quotes the remarks of
Mr.. Blaine on presenting an amendment to
the enrolment act to prevent the "nefarious
practice" in the House Of Representatives
Feb. 81, 1865, when the ''paper credit" busi-
ness was in full blast in Maine, which are as
follows:
The amendment which I have offered is de-
signed to correct this evil to cut it up by the
roots and bring back recruiting to an honest,
meritorious and patriotic effort to ill the ranks
OF our gallant army with men and not with the
shadowy 6ctoDs which pass under the general
name of paper credits We have witnessed
with amazement the quotas of entire cities and
districts, and l do not know but states also,
technically filled without adding single man
to the effective military force of the nation.
man who was engaged in "nefarious
practice" is not exactly the one who would
legislate against it. A reply from Mr.. Blaine
to ''Gov. Pillsbury" would be "mighty anus
in readin" these dull times.
IT is a bad omen that the Democracy of
the South to-day are almost unanimously in
favor of imitation. But six papers, papers of
influence it is true, headed by the Courier
Journal, advocate resumption. All the other
Democratic journals in the South are infa-
ZIONIST organs. Should the Democracy carry
Ohio the South will go in to the national
convention urgent for imitation. The Rich
mond Whig says: ''We claim majority of
from twenty to forty thousand for Gov. Allen !;
and with his election on thel financial
platform he stands upon, the hard
money Democrats of the country will
prepare to strike their colors, or at least
come to reasonable terms we hope" Those
| journals which claim that the election of
Gov. Allen will have no significance so far
as the financial question is concerned speak
the thing which is foolish. That election
will turn the tide in the West in favor of rag
money, and the West and the South will en-
ter the convention determined to force a
policy of imitation. Every Democratic vote
given in Maine this fall will strengthen that
party in Ohio, and consequently strengthen
| the advocates of imitation.