Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1877-04-28
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER.
Special Correspondence of The Standard.
WASHINGTON, April 8, 1877.

In the early DAYS of Meddy bemps
township, in 2iaine, the faithful
were gathered together, as is the
custom in New England, to organ
ize a church. They were troubled
because they were few. 1t was pro-
posed, he being the only citizen who
would accept the Office, to make a
deacon ola man whose daily walk
and conversation singled him out as
the one having special call to serve
Satan. There was opposition among
the brethren, but every one else de-
clined to serve, and the champion
sinner was finally counted in, on the
general ground that if the church
at Meddybemps must have deacon,
it must take such as it could get. l
am not writing the history of that
church, and do not even know if it was
represented in that pious Boston
gathering of q week ago. which ADAM
doned religion for law politics.
Christ for the infdel Phillips but
it occurs to me that President Hayes
may proftably consider the Meddy-
bemps matter before attempting to
secure supporters among the Old
Wings" of the South. To one mere
ly looking on, it, seems plain that
those who are good for anything
don't want to serve, and those who
will serve are not worth having.
There is every indication that the
President will fail. in any effort to
secure respectable support in the
South. His mere asking for it is u
bid for mems characters, and cannot
be looked at in any other light.
Who believes he would thus sudden
ly have abandoned the negroes-the
poor blacks for whom alone his heart
bled in November-if the negroes
could give him. efficient support?
In sporting language he is backing
the cold Wing" against the colored
man.
The movement to nominate Gen.
Banks for the Speakership, against
the Democratic candidate, gains
strength. 1t is clearly seen that the
Administration cannot elect any man
closely identified with itself, and it
may prefer giving its influence to a
man like Gen. Banks to suffering an
undisguised defeat in its first battle.
The election of Banks would not be
a defeat for any party, except the
Democratic party. His Republican
ism is of that chameleon-like kind
which would permit all portions Of
the party to claim a victory in his
election, and he is too old and fixed
in his wondering habits ever to be-
come permanently attached to any
one sect. Besides he has lots of
friends, and the Democratic support
ers of Hayes-if there are any such
could be moro readily brought to
vote for him, than for perhaps any
other man. The letter of Garrison
and the later speeches of Phillips,
both in emphatic and unequivocal
condemnation of the Administration,
bore early fruit in the Northern
press. The Boston Journal, which,
In its daily edition, read principally
by the commercial and business
classes in the cities, has been loud
in its approval of the Presidents
policy. has carefully excluded such
signs of approval from the weekly
edition, sent almost exclusively and
very extensively to the farming pop
ulation of New England. The gen.
eral tone of Republican papers re-
ceived here is greatly changed in
the last ten days.
There are signs of trouble outside
of the newspapers, too. The promi-
nent Republicans who do not be-
lieve in the policy of the President
are those who have strength with
tho masses. I believe that Blaine
could speak in bitter condemnation
of the Administration, in every
county in Maine, and not miss in
the applause one in a thousand of
the men whose approval has made
him for years the undisputed leader
of the party in that State.
To the qualification of many, many
thousands the President announces