Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1876-09-04
The democrats have reduced canal rev.

The democrats have reduced canal rev.
enues and the payments of money there
from into the Treasury sixty-six per cent.
below the average annual payment by the
republicans into the State Treasury.
Which party has been the friend of
economy, the advocate of reform in Con-
stitution and in law in this State BY their
acts the good citizen will judge them.
In this spirit of reform and favoring
good administration, the republican press
in the State gave prompt and unqualified
support to Tilden when he began the cru
SADIE against canal corruption. They took
him at his word; they believed that he
was acting in good faith, as he professed
to be- they sustained the cause, as they
had done before frequently in dozen
years. But they were not long in finding
out the sham or in finding out their mis-
take. They found that it was not reform
that Tilden sought, but his own elevation
through the exhibition of deceptive in
age of reform.
That Mr. Tilden did not continue to COM
mand republican support by republican
papers is his fault, not theirs. He has
demonstrated to them that he is not SIN
cere and earnest in his pretensions for
reform. Because he has shown that he is
an artful, disingenuous and double dealing
politician the republicans of this State re-
fused to commend him. They stand by
reform and by reformers, not by impostors.
The republican press in New York have
seen Gov. Tilden intrigue with notorious
canal contractors. They have seen him
pledge himself to permit appropriations
pass to pay contracts which he stigmaized
as fraudulent, before he let the appropria-
ton bill become law. They have seen
him in private conference with the repre-
sentative of contractor whose work he
had described as fraud, and have proof
that he promised to such representative
not to protect the people against that a =
legged fraud. They have seen him pack a
commission with partsans of his, when he
contracted to make it non-partisan. The y
have seen him place the majority of that
commission in purely partisan positions in
the midst of a political campaign. They
have seen him. through his political at
tendants in official stations, arrest proceed
ings against contractors and accused otfi-
GERS until the election should be over.
They have seen him refuse months to use
power granted to him by republican votes
upon his solicitation, in the Legislature,
for securing better canal administration.
| They have seen him falsely pretending to
reduce taxation in the State, when the re-
cord shows that others did this work be-
fore he became Governor. They have
seen him consort with present Tammany,
which is reorganized out of the men who
were in old Tammany, without any more
protests by him against the new ring than
he made against the old ring, during the
reign of his then associates, Tweed and
Sweeny.
When republican papers saw such things
they concluded that Mr.. Tilden had not re-
formed, and is not genuine reformer,
but an artful and adroit politician. This
is the reason why they commend him no
more. They would sustain him as re-
former-their conduct proves this. But
pinchbeck does not pass for gold with
them. They began to fight frauds. They
are fighting it out on that line now.