The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1876-07-26
Democf attic Thunder Made. and spoiIed

Democratic Thunder Made-.. and Spoiled.
The Biennial Register-a book of 1211 pag-
es-contains the names and salaries of all Of
ficers and agents, civil, military and naval of
the United States. The natural man at once
concludes that the book is both stupid and use
less. In our opinion he is right. There is
among the long list of worthless books printed
by Congress none more stupid than the Regis
ter, always excepting the agricultural reports,
of course, now solely used by thrifty farmers
wives as a debased paper medium to ex-
change for very moderate quantities of tin
ware--vivdly illustrating how nearly worth
less any sort of paper currency may become
when issued in large quantities.
But of late each of the seven hundred and
fifty copies of this Register has been invested
with unusual, not to say intense, interest.
That great exponent of Democracy, that
Democratic leader of leaders in the House.
Fernando Wood first discovered its use to
his party. By intuition, indeed we will say,
by sort of inspiration, he comprehended its
great value as double ended Democratic
political engine-something of the iron-clad
monitor sort. About two years since Mr.
Wood first made the Register famous in the
House when he presented lot of figures to
show how alarmingly the Republicans
have increased the army of ofice-holders
during the past few years. Mr.. Wood
is an adroit man---he i. Reformer
with bad record. He knows all the
tricks, and by stuffing the Register
as he had the ballot-boxes of New
York. he made an appalling display.
1t was a first class political thunder
generator. The Republicans at once be-
gan to study the Register and they soon dis
cerned Mr.. Woods trick and thoroughly ex.
posed it. In the course of time Mr.. Woods
figures came to the argus. The5 were Just
the thing for argus thunder, and since that
time they have been made to do service in
and out of season. Now they are accompa
MED with an astounding display of large,
black-faced type such as, ''Ninety thousand
offce-holders; an increase of thirty thousand
in six years''-"An alarming and rapacious
aristocracy impoyerishing the people," La.
boring men, arouse" Again they appear as
# by accident or the recklessness of the
young compositor, who, having an eye to
typographical effect, inserts the table into the
midst of an editorial wholly oblivious of the
connection.
But in addition to the fact that the Wood
statistics were employed, so to speak, as a
reservoir of thunders and threatenings for the
Republicans, as intimated, they have been
made to serve double purpose for the Dem
ocracy. Sixteen years of outer darkness has
made Democratic politicians extremely keen
scented. As the Presidential election rolls
about, the poor wretch imagines that he
smells spois, and imagining, he becomes ca.
ger and active. To him, in the past, the
Democratic cry s"To the victors belong the
spoils" has nerved him to fight the party bat
ties. Now what fresh inspiration, what fiery
zeal, are added to him to know that there are
more than 10000 pieces of spoils-nearly two
to every Democratic voter in Maine! Thus
the Biennial Register becomes an inspiration.
In the United States Senate few days
since, Senator Merrimon of North Carolina
undertook to improve upon the statistics Of
Mr.. Wood. He had not seen the Biennial
Registers for several years, but gentleman
had compiled from them some statistics re-
specting office holders with which he desired
to startle the country. In the words of the
Senator, his figures constitute "a statement
of the number of employees borne upon the
ciril list of the United States from 1859 to
1875 inclusive" We will give few of them
! as sample: