The Portland daily press., 1876-09-02
Pillsbury's Lie About the Portland Gus
tom HOUSe-A RaSe Fabrication

We have exposed several of the deliberate
lies of that most wilful of political liars, Eben
F. Pillsbury who utters no truths. If he had a
particle of sense of shame, his Infamous ut.
terances in behalf of treason and against his
couatry's cause, would impel him to keep out
of the public view. As a politician he can
no more make fair statement or tell
plain truth than George Washington could
tell lie.
In his campaign broadside with which he
has flooded the State, he renews, revises and
publishes the old campaign story of the in
crease of officers and salaries in the Portland
Custom House which belongs to the
argus and which it usually brings
out in double columns about this time.
The fact that a gentleman in an interior town
has called our attention to Pillsbury's lie. is
the apology we offer for showing up the fall
acy of this particular fasehood after
having done so several times before.
After giving the number and salaries of
the officers and employees of the Custom
House in January 1862 and January 1875,
Pillsbury proceeds to make the following
statement:
In 1862 there 1928 arrivals of vessels at that
port, 66I of which from foreign ports In 1874
there 11s1 arrivals of vessels. 24 which were
from foreign ports. Thus it will be noticed while
the business has fallen off two-thirds the number of
oice-holders has been increased from 20 to 67 and
the salaries from $2s,14O to S9Sls2. This is speci
men Of Republican rule Is it any wonder that taxes
are high and the people poor.
Mr.. Pillsbury as champion liar may cut
the above out and paste it in his scrap book as
his best effort. He cannot condense more
falsehoods into single paragraph.
His statement respecting the arrival of
vessels in these two years do not appear in
the records of the Custom House, those for
1852 not being turned over to the present
Collector. At best they show nothing as
they do not indicate the amount of business
done at this port. The number of Custom
House entries indicate the business done
there in the different years. From the
official records of the Custom House the
number of entries during the years 1862 and
1872 were as follows:
In 1872 1872. 22..'..'...'....'..'...,S,2s5 entries.
ISI4......... ,445
IiohA euC ouoNC ~ dppCdlS tudt Iuo
of entries for the business of the Portland
Custom House increased from 1862 to 1874
$50 per cent, while the number of officials
were increased 235 per cent. and the sala-
RES 23S per cent. The above shoys that
there are fe,cer officers and less money is
paid them in proportion to the business in
1874 than IN 1862.
The statement of Mr.. Pillsbury that the
business of this port has fallen off two-thfrds
from 1852 to 1874 is a ISLANDER SO GROSS
that no one who has any respect for his in
tellgence or himself would make it. 1t is
this reckless lying about the business of
Maine which has done the State so great in
jury. Hundreds of young men have been
led to believe by the frequent publication
of such falsehoods that Maine business and
industry are on the decline and as result
have emigrated to the West. Now what do
the official figures of the Custom House show
respecting the business of this port? We ap-
neal m them.