Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1876-02-21


One of the principal democratic agen-
cies in the last State campaign comes to
grief in the result of the investigation
ut the State House in relation to
the sale of tho Agricultural College
Land Scrip. Early in July last, letter
appeared in the Maine Standard, written
by one DR. Jordan of Bangor. i'll which
il was alleged that an astounding swindle
had been perpetrated upon the people OF
the State of Maine in the sale of this
scrip. To show exactly what Dr. Jordan
stated in that letter we copy the following
This same gang the consorts of Blaine, swim
dlel over million of dollars out Of the people OF
Maine. in the dis position they made of the lands
appropriated by Congress to the several states
Congress gave Maine, with other States, ZoV'o"V
acres of the public lands, mainly for the benefit OF
the agiculturists Of the State, but for the bcheh
of ALL They were the choicest and most valuable
lands that could be selected. Wisconsin sold hers
for seren dollars per acre. New York disposed OF
hers for eight dollars acre thereby creating
fund of one million sjc hundred thousand dollars,
while other States made the same disposition oil
their lands and realized an immense fund there
from But what did Maine do with her lands /?
Did she dispose Of them as other States did, and
realize from five dollars to eight dollars an acre
By no means. The people of Maine had nothing
TO do with it. Blaines thieving .Iunto,-(bes par
don, his loyal potriots,) organized credit Aobt(-
Her, On the principle of one Cakes Ames, OF bles-
sed memory, and sold the land to Hemselees :
How much do you suppose ''the,nselyes" paid ioi
il: Eight dollars an acre? No. Six dollars an
acrc' No, Five dollars an acre No',' one
dollar an acre. Noii!! But they did pay the
liberal sum Of ffy-tac0-aad a-haJ-cents an
acre ~! Remember the sum-52 CENTS and
MILLS the acre! The people got Slo5 600,
while Blaine's ''loyal patriots" got TWELVE
HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS!!!!! This
prodgious swindlc, robbed the farmers of Maine
of vast fund.
This letter received The editorial COM
mendation of the Standard, and was pub
lished in all the democratic papers OF the
State, which called attention to it as an ex
posure of the corruption of the republican
party. The editor of the Standard partic
ularly called the attention of his agricul
tural readers to it, saying that it treated
.'of the gobbling up of the lands appro-
.'priated by Congress to the State of
Maine" and otherwise supporting the
slanderous assertions OF Jordan. A week
having elapsed after the issue of the first
letter, second letter appeared from DR..
Jordan in the Standard. This was pre-
faced by display head. worded as fol-
lows: Astounding Disclosures The
People Swindled!. How the Agricultural
College has been Robbed Farmers
Read This" ~! The letter itself con-
tanned a repetition ofthe charges in the
former letter about the Agricultural Scrip,
and concluding as follows:
What say the FARMERS OF MAINE What
say the MECHANICS, the CITIZENS, the SOLDIERS
and SAILORS, the wooDsMEN, the MERCHANTS,
and all the varied occupations of our plundored
State.
Are you satisfied with conduct like this Are
you satisfied with officials like these Are you
satisfied with POLITICAL PARTY, by which these
wrongs have been indicted upon you-the LEAD.
ERs Of which have concealed, and are still con-
cealiDg these amazing eno,mities from the pulic
gazei If so, you will vote for the candidate for
Governor whom these PUBLIC swINDLERs have
presented to you, and thus give countenance ard
support to these appalling rascaitles. The remedy
is in your own hands, and you can redress your
grievances by voting for the patriotic SOLDIER and
honest citizen, Charles W. Roberts
The editor of the Standard again called
attention to DIR. Jordan's letter, in an arti-
Gle which he headed "a Fear full Expo
sure" and in which he expressed his OBJ
legations to the Doctor in these words
"Our correspondent has our thanks and
"the thanks of every honest and candid
"man in the State, for unfolding and ex-
posing wicked scheme, by which the
"farmers, and indeed every pursuit and
Occupation of the State have been so
essentially smilten, and their State Col
"lege reduced to beggary." How affect
ing now to read this testimony Of seven
months ago, from Pillsbury to Jordan, in
the light of the recent Acknowledgements
by the Doctor, before the Investigating
Committee. that he knew nothing of the
facts in the case Let us hear wha, the
editor of the Standard has to say about the
matter now that the infamous falsehoods
of its correspondent stand exposed. Were
not his thanks rather prematurely ex-
pressed9 Passing to a still later number
of the Maine Standard, we find another
letter from DR.. Jordan, from which we
copy the following passages, in which the
honored dead as well as the living were
slandered:
Whatever person OF persons were admitted into
the ring, the whole management of these lands
was in the hands Of REPUBLICAN OFFICIALS, and
they alone are responsible to the people. They
cannot argue the seal from the bond nor can they
hide the evidences of their guilt,
Some Of the pariicil IA urs are no longer num-
bered among the living But it is no fault of mine
that the sod which covers their resting place. and
which hope lies lightly docs mt a nd pnot nan