The Portland daily press., 1876-01-04
Blind Zeal.

Many observers have remarked the un-
usual spirit Of hostility and bitterness which
the gentlemen, who appear to be managing
Gov. Perham's canvass for Secretary of
State, have exhibited toward his competitor,
Mr.. Chadbourne. The newspaper items
which are generally understood to have been
written by these gentlemen have alluded 10
Mr.. Chadbourne with an air of contempt.
They have referred to him as one who has
served in subordinate positions-as having
been Assistant Messenger and Assistant
Clerk of the House as if it were most un-
heard of improperly for man to be a can
didate for Secretary of State, who has
worked his way by his own exertions and
merit from humble 10 more responsible posi-
tions. They evidently ignore the fact that
the best generals have first served as COM
mon soldiers. They assume that it is per-
petual bar to mans elevation to an office of
honor that he has not at once been elected
to 1t or has not served in more exalted posi-
tions.
But these gentlemen have not stopped with
belittling Mr.. Chadbourne. They even declare
him unfit for the office. True, eight sue
cessive Houses of Representatives have ex.
pressed their confidence in his ability, and
even these gentlemen, who now make the
charge of un6tness against him, declare that
they would gladly aid his election to the clerk
ship, undoubtedly considering him entirely
competent for position requiring greater
clerical ability than the office of Secretary of
State! Indeed, these gentlemen have such
power over the Legislature that in newspa-
per article they assure the public that he can
continue in the office he has so well filled for
another year! To show Mr.. ChaGbourne's
unfitness for the Office, gentlemen now in Of
fetal position and in part clerks in the Office
of Secretary of State have taken the printed
journals of the House and marked all the
errors they could find and a great many
things which are not errors. A number Of
these marked volumes they have sent
through the mails to members. These errors
are largely in the indexing of the work. A
large part of them prove to be the result of
hasty proof reading. Of these journals it
should be said that they are of no possible ac-
count. The wonder is that the Legislature
prints them at all. No one ever looks intc
them except on the day of organizing the
Legislature to see how the business was
transacted. No one ever uses the index
The journals are handy to cut "orders'' out
of to save writing. We have before us one o.
these journals marked (as we are told) in the
hand writing of leading clerk of tht
Secretary's Office. We have also seen two
journals made by Col. F. M. Drew when hi
was Clerk of the House, which have alst
been marked. In one of these there are a!
| many Of the same kind of trivial errors as in
that of Mr.. Chadbourne, and in the othe
fifty more are reported than the employees o
the Secretary's Office have been able to fint
in the journal made by Mr.. G. Col. Drew
had the reputation of being model Secreta
ry Of State and was doubtless one of the mos
accurate men who have held the office 70
years.
These efforts of interested officials to breaE
down Mr.. Chadbourne's reputation will have
little weight. For eight years he has beel
the recording officer of the House, and in al
that time he has so discharged his duties a
to secure the confidence and good will 0
members of both parties. During eight ses
sions his journal has been read and approves
every morning without correction. Th
members of.those Houses of which Mr.. Chad
bourne was clerk are to-day his most activ
supporters. Is it fact that all the intell
gent men of those Houses have been de
ceived and shall first learn that Mr.. Chad
bourne is inefficient by the discovery of gen
tlemen now in the Secretary's office? VIII,
do these same parties still declare their desir
to see Mr.. Chadbourne elected clerk if he i
incompetent? 1t does strike us that this sol
of dog won't Fl ght.