The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1876-09-19
NEW YORK Sent. 16. 1876,


The week began auspiciously with news from
Maine more favorable to the Republican cause
than the most sanguine had anticipated The
maximum estimate was 1000 majority-the
minimum 6000 There were between three
and four thousand of the party assembled in
Cooper Institute to listen to that marvel of
rugged teloquence, Robert G. IngersolI, when
the news came: I'VE haze carried eyery Con-
gresson@ district, euery county in the state first
time since 1869 and the returns indicate 1900
maJorityP' The shouts, cheers, waving of
handkerchiefs, throwing up of hats, and all
other possible forms of expressing satisfaction
which followed the announcement were loud,
long and fervid. Col Inoarsnll rAad the do
as an inspiriting text for his discourse. He
threw into the speech some admirable asides
which had the genuine spice and flavor of his
Incompatible oratory. When he said: 81
have done more in the state of Maine than any
other man ever did. 1 have made the Demo-
Gratis there pious! pious! pious!!! So pious
that now they spend all the time they can get
between drinks quoting Scripturep' the ex-
quiste drollery which he threw into his man
ner heightened the effect of the sarcasm pro
digiously. 1t was an excellent piece of acting.
The mock solemni;y that he impaired to the
graveyard scene, which he introduced to pay
his respects to the Massachusetts governorship,
was irresistibly funny. The passage is worth
quoting:
The history of the Democratic party is an
epitaph The Democrats to-day are searching
round in the old political cemeteries of bygone
ages for standard bearers. They raked up in
Massachusetts that old cemetery reminiscence,
Charles Francis Adams, who had his hench-
men at Cincinnati hoping that he might get a
nomination from the Republican party there
who was equally willing to take the Demo-
cratic nomination at st. Louis; and gladly
would have taken the Republican nomination
for Governor of Massachusetts, if he could have
got it. But finally the Democratic party, wish
ing to have some evidence of responsibility,
knowing that no liUe man would lend them his
name for moment, CROPPED in this old cemetery
OF respectabilty and fshed up Charles Francis
Adams. The law against violating the sacred
ness OF the grave ought to be enforced"
COL IngersolPs handling Of the financial
question was mastery. His argument in favor
of an honest fulfilment of the obligation to re-
sumo on the day fixed by statute was perfect in
its premises and irrefrsgbe in its conclusions.
He was absolutely merciess in his excoriatipg
ridicule of Mr.. Tilden's unfortunate position on
the resumption policy. 1t is easy to imagine
the peals of laughter which followed every SEN
| tence of the following extract:
"rhere is gentleman who has written an
| essay on finance. Some call it letter of &C.
ceptance. We are told in this essay on finance
| that nothing hinders the payment of a debt SO
| much as to have the time fixed at which il
must be paid. For my part, have never TAX.
en- note in which there was not something
said about the time of payment 1 always
thought it was an important part Of q note.
thought it should contain at least an indirect
allusiOn to the time when it was to be lqui
dated. But find have been laboring under 6
delusion. find that nothing will make bill
| be paid SO quick as when the date of payment
is entirely omitted"
And when he had riddled this part of the
Saratoga letter-which Mr.. Tilden most uu.
his hopes IS well as the sacrifice of his man
hood-when he had thoroughly shown up it,
jugglery and absurdity, he exclaimed:
"Now, gentlemen, if any man came to you
| and wanted the date OF payment taken from a
note, under the pretence that it would be paid
| tbe sooner for it you would say he was dishon-
est; and any man who wants the date stricken
from this pledge of the government is dishon
| est. Mr. Tiloen wanted the date left out 81
that Hendricks coulG crawl in. No! the Re
publican party intends to pay the debt in coil
Il
ey means probably the payment of the Con
federate debt; a metallic currency the dis
charge of honest obligations We have touched
hard pan prices in this country and we want Il
do hard pan business with hard money"
This great speech abounded in palpable hit
and felicitous illustrations, and was received
with enthusiastic applause. Perhaps the bes
evidence that was furnished of its effective
ness was the abuse heaped upon it and its au
thor by the Tilden and Hendricks ''organs"
has developed symptoms of piety in them
much the same in nature and degree as ap
peared among their fellow sufferers in Name
They did not undertake to quote scripture
That would perhaps have been too far out o
their line. But they quoted IngeIsoll on scrip
ture-a feat which l have no doubt he look
upon with amused complacency. His beset
ting weakness is sceptici sm, and it would b
difficult to imagine anything more epjoyabl
from his standpoint, than to see the churc
writhing under the spaky embraces of moder
Democracy. 1t is too funny for anything I
see defenders OF the faith" springlng up il
quarters where we have been wont to hear apo
ogies for the massacre of black people an
sneers at humanity as piece of weak sent
mentalism. However, the gallant Illinoisal
wounded the Democrats sorely. He did it. too
at time when they were in great distress
when the tidal wave began to surge over then
instead of over their opponents, and happene'
here in fact at the instant when its bitter water
were gurglng in their gasping throats. The
have cogent reasons for disliking him, an
Judging by his opinions of them, should SUI
pose he would greatly prefer their censure I
] their praise.