The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1876-06-19

OI us COuuuCC WnlIo III ONCE. lie ulu mucn 10
promote the efficiency of many departments of
the state government. In his messages he has
made specialties of the following principles
and has urged their incorporation into the leg
islative will of the state: Against excessive
legislation and against extravagant local ex-
pendtures and against all public debts Dur.
ing his administration the state debt has been
largely reduced, with a reduction of taxa
ton during his second term, compared with
previous years.
Last year the odds were terribly against the
Republicans in the West. The tidal wave of
Democracy had swept the land the year before
and the Confederate Congress had not met
and by its acts warned the country that the
Democracy is not wanted. The heresy of soft
money had not only been accepted by the De-
mocracy but bad infected the Republican
masses to some extent. The year before the
Republicans had suffered disastrous defeat
and the outlook was very dubious for success
Through the efforts of able leadership the Re-
pubcans adopted a hard money platform.
Early in the season sagacious Republicans had
fixed upon Gen. Hayes as the man for the
emergency. When consulted he declined to
TO be candidate. tavoriDg Judge Taft, now
albUInty b6ueTdl III CdUiueG,
When, however, the convention assembled,
without consulting his wishes, and in the face
OF his refusal to be a candidate, he was NOM
mated, SO general was the conviction that Gov.
Hayes was the only man who could lead them
to victory. Yielding to the voice of his party,
he accepted the nomination and for two months
and half was on the stump, often making
two or three speeches the same ay. He took
manly grounds in favor OF the speedy resump-
ton of specie payments, non-sectarian schools,
rafOrm in the national admins a finn The
hard money question was, however, the most
important His competitor was Gov.
"BilP' Allen, the strongest Democrat in the
state. The warmth and energy of the canvass
was sufficiently attested by the fact that it
brought out the targets vote by over sixty-three
thousand ever cast in Ohio. The Republicans
elected their entire ticket and the Legislature,
the majority for Gov Hayes being 5544. This
victory had an electrifying effect upon the Re
publlcans throughout the country, and espe-
cially in Pennsylvania, where contest was
still pending. Gov. Hayes was invited to take
part in the canvass in that state, and accept
ed. He addressed the people at numerous
points with great effect.
At the time of his third nomination, the
Cinclnnati Enquirer, the leading Democratic
paper in Ohio, remarked:
seen. Hayes is clever gentleman, and his pre-
vious administrations were marked by fairness even-
ness, and uprightness and his personal character
ble.'
AS A PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE.
The prominence of Gov. Hayes in the Ohio
campaign, and his success, caused his name to
be spoken of in connection with the Presiden-
tial candidacy. Gen. Sherman, it will be re-
membered, in his off-hand way said that the
Republicans couldn't do better than to take
Gov. Hayes, whom, he declared in his charact-
eristic manner, would m axe a capital Pres-
dent. Senator Sherman in a letter to an Ohio
Republican, advised the Republicans of that
state to present him to the Republican Nation
al Convention as eminently qualified for the
great office, adding that he was sound on the
currency question, an ardent Republican from
principle and "unblemished in name character
and conduct