The Portland daily press., 1876-06-01
About Blaine,

We have from time 10 time given what ap-
peared to US to be very substantial reasons for
not selecting Mr.. Blaine as the candidate of
the Republican party for President. They
may be all summed up in the statement that
it would not he the best thing for the country
or for the party, and at this time both are in
a condition calling for the very best and wis,
est treatment. While we can give reasons,
which seem to us quite conclusive, for not re-
garding the nomination of Mr.. Blaine as the
best thing for the country or for the party,
we see no occasion to alter our opinion, ex-
pressed at the outset of the canvass, that he
is an able and brilliant man and an honest
and honorable one. We deprecate the nu-
merous petty attacks which have been made
upon him, because there appears to be no.
substantial ground for them and because they
never had for their purpose the exposure of
actual corruption and the publication of DO
litical life, but were intended solely to iniure
his character in the estimation of the people
and prevent his nomination, without regard
to truth or justice. If Mr.. Blaine could be
shown to be dishonest or corrupt the people
ought to know it, and it would be in itself an
all-sufficient objection to his nomination, but
these attacks, which have been made with
poisoned arrows from the ambuscade of his
political enemies, have not been charges of
corrupt conduct Supported by evidence, but
innuendoes and inferences based upon alleged
transactions which were not in themselves
wrong and which have never been traced
clearly to any wong doing.-Boston Globe.
Some of the arguments invented by the
anti-Blaine papers are very ingenious, the
last especially. They say: 1--WE suspect Mr..
Blaine of dishonest dealings in railroad bonds.
To be sure, after several vigorous attempts
to prove the truth of these suspicious, we
have failed badly. Our witnesses wouldn't
come to time, and our facts didn't turn out
what we expected. But still we are resolved
&c keep on suspecting him, and it wouldn't
do for the Republican party to nominate
man who is under suspicion. BY our accu-
sations we have also several times forced him
to make explanations" To allow the fact of
mans having been unjustly accused to be
an argument against him, would be to put a
premium on libel. In these days of ''inde-
pendent" journalism it is an impossibility to
lind public man who has not been accused
terests the public is whether the accusations
are true, and when they are proved untrue,
as they have been in Mr.. Blaine's case, the
effect of the false charge with every honora-
BILE mind is not to leave a vague haze of sus-
picion, but to arouse an indignant sympathy
fort ba sniff ha h.. of,,li~
followed the charges against Mr.. Blaine and
knows them to have been fully exploded in
an investigation conducted by his enemies,
and the seven Blaine delegations of last
"Wednesday are the popular response to the
slandeIers. The complaint that Blaine is
continually explaining" comes with peeu-
liar grace from those papers whose constantly
new libels call for daily repeated explanations.
Stop throwing mud, aud he will no doubt
stop scraping it off, f.--SprinQfeld Union.
What is this terrible new charge against
Mr.. Blaine? Nearly six years ago he in
formed a friend in Boston Of chance to buy
an important interest in the Northern Pacific
railroad. He could not touch it himself, and
said so; but he could control its allotment.
The offer was accepted, and Mr.. Blaine gave
receipt for the money; $4,000. 1t turned
out that he could not control the allotment,
the bargain was broken off, and the money
was returned with interest. These are facts,
we presume. Will somebody tell US wherein
the wrong of the transaction lies? Is 1t sup
posed that Mr.. Blaine himself had interest in
the road which he offered to sell to Mr.. Fish
er? The fact that after selling he could not
deliver proves that he did not have the inter-
est. Or is it supposed that Mr.. Blaine sold
his official influence for the privilege of alot-
ing this right to one-eighth of one twenty
fourth part Of the road? How very strange
then that man of Mr.. Blaine's admitted
political shrewdness should offer 1t to gen.
tleman wholly unknown in political life!
Whether this new assault will be any more
Injurious to Mr.. Blaine than former ones
have been, we do not know. We are sure
that unless there is something more in the
transaction than is disclosed by the published
correspondence, and we do not believe there
is, it ought to have no effect at all. On the
surface the affair was merely friendly act by
Mr.. Blaine, involving obligations upon no
body, and as legitimate as it would be for
one man to inform friend with capital of
good mortgage. The attitude of Mr. Adams
is not easily understood. If there was any
wrong in the transaction he shared it, and
when he publishes his insinuations against
Mr. Blaine he attacks himself also. We trust
that II anybody knows any "bottom facts"
that are not told in Mr.. Blaine's statement,
he will make them public at oace.-Boston