The Portland daily press., 1876-02-16
tPress Correspondence
The Presidential Campaign.
What Maine Men are Doing.--Mr.
Blaine a Candidate.--The New
Hampshire Canvass.
WASHINGTON, Feb. ID. 1876

WASHINGTON, Feb. IA, 1876.
The campaign for the Centennial President
has begun already to have the appearance of a
most important Political contest. That the
contest will be hard fought there can be no
doubt, and yet it is very apparent that within
the last four weeks the Democrats have lost the
ground which they seemed to occupy before the
elections of 1874 placed them in position to
dictate terms to the people, provided only that
they manifested the wisdom which they
claimed But before they had an opportunity
to show what they would do with the power
with which they had been entrusted, they
manifested disposition to assert the old domi-
neering nature which prevailed before the war,
and the present session of Congress has devel-
oped SO fully that disposition which the loyal
people flattered themselves had been crushed
out by the war, that the revulsion has placed
the Democratic party hopelessly in the back
ground once more. 1t is true that the Repub-
lican party had before the best prospect of sue
cess from its habit of bringing out a full vote
on presidential years, but now it is settled be
yond the chance for doubt that, unless the
Republicans make blunders which are almost
beyond possibility, the next President and t5e
next Congress will be radically Republican.
/ For with this revulson has come a dispos-
tion to be more radical in maintaining the
nation as a nation. After the successive dem
onstrating of rabid rebe,dom in the persons of
Wood, Hill and Tucker, aud the fiunkeyism of
Cox, Morrison, Kerr and the other Northern
Democrats, or leaders, could it be otherwise?
Soothed by the professions OF loyalty before
elections of some of the Democratic leaders,
the Republicans had gradually drifted toward
concilation aud compromise. They were de-
ceived. Honest in their own professions for
peace this centennial year, they trusted
that the reciprocal voice from the south meant
that henceforth the irreconcable rebels should
take back seats. They supposed that even the
the sixty or more exconfederate officers in the
present House were ready TO lay aside their ami
mosities. The awakening has been alarming.
Mr.. Blaine walked up the tiger, and it is now as
clear as daylight that majority of the Demo
cratic House are as bitter and relentless in
their hatred of union men and nigroes as they
were when Bob Toombs, Yancey, Davis & Co.
snapped their whip in the faces of union men
in the United States Senate.
These ideas were.w well presented by Mr.. Frye
on Saturday night in speech before the Maine
Republican compaign club. Mr.. Frye was a
member of the Congressional committee which
went to New Orleans to investigate the out
RACES in Louisiana. He observed that the rul-
ing spirit of the ex-rebels was of the most
fendish character. He traced the progress of
affairs since, and showed that whenever the
Democratic party has obtained foothold, it
has reasserted ITS Bourbon nature. Always
ready and anxious to have the 'bloody shirt"
suspended when he is out of power, the Demo-
crat no sooner gets Office by the favor of the
people than he accepts it ss a license to revive
all the bad memories of the Shareholders re-
belion. Mr.. Frye quoted Mr.. Blaine as declar-
ing that by the generosity of the Republican
party, the ex-confederate officers now hold tho
reins in the House of Representatives, and in