The Portland daily press., 1879-09-01
Our Canvass.
AS Seen Through New York Eyes.


I had intended when describing the Repub-
| lican and Greenback canvasses III Malne; 70
write letter on the Democratic canvass; Dut
| after traversing large part oil the oiate nave
not encountered single Democratic speaker
or seen any handbill or newspaper notce an
nouncing q Democratic meeting. L hear that
| Governor Garcelon and Il. II. PlllsDury nave
| been around to the county conventions 10 urse
| a fusion with the Greenbackers on county
nominations and that while Garcelon addresses
these meetings Pillsbury helps the local politi-
| clans arrange the terms of the trade. Besides
| Garcelon has made few evening speeches.
There has not been thus far, however, any
| thing that could be called a canvass on the
part of the Democrats. No Democrat OF repu-
tation from outside the State is willing 10 conl-
| promise himself by taking the stump here 10
| advocate the shameless bargain by whlch the
| Democrats of Maine have sacrificed tine primer
pies of half century for a few petty county
offices and o chance to control the Legislature.
| 1t is said that Mr.. Pillsbury invited several
prominent Democratic Congressman to come,
but they all declined, giving him at the same
| time some advice on the folly Of fusions IL
his scheme should fail they told him the party
| in Maine would be demoralized, and the party
| throughout the country considerably damaged
| if it should succeed it would stimulate similar
| coalitions in other States, which would De
| highly detrimental to the success OF the party
as q National organization. Mr.. PlllsDury
| pockets their advice and sticks to his scheme,
| which he knows affords the only possible
|
| The absence Of any effort to push the Demo
| cratic State ticket and the fusion with the
| Greenbackers in nearly all the countles, nave
| disgusted many stubborn old Democrats.
Everywhere go | hear OF Democrats VINO say
| they will not countenance the bargain to make
Smith Governor, and Will stay at nome on
| election day. A Democrat usually does all ms
| grumbling before election and then votes the
| straight ticket; but there VIII be no stralght
| Democratic ticket in Maine outside of the one
| County of Knox. Everywhere else Green
| hackers are sandwiched in between Democrats
| for the local offices. To regular easel ar
| dened Bourbon Democrat these speckled tick
| etss will not have an attractive look. How
many will reject them altogether cannot Dc
foreseen But there will be an. unusually
large stay-at-home Democratic vote, and
great deal of scratching seems inevitable &C
| cording to report, Mr. Plllsbury is alarmed at
the signs of disaffection, and means, If he can,
| to muster a force of Democratic orators and
| put them at work next week. 1t will be too
late. The campaign has got its set, and the
| drift will not be changed by any amount Oh
| Greenbackers will not be made any the less
| odious to honest, hard-money Democrats by
| any amount of excuses and explanations. MIR.
| Pillsbury should remember the advice oil Don
| Quixote to Sancho Panza, and refrain from
| stirring up the matter any further.
| This is the district Eugene Hale represented
| for ten years. He lives in Ellsworth in large
| white house of old-fashioned architecture. sur
sward, and fanked by the big pile of cordwood
| seasoning for the winters fires, which are the
! adjuncts of every comfortable home IN Maine:
Mr.. Hale's defeat last year was matter OF
national interest. His loss was serious one 10
the Republican party in Congress. he is one
of the very few men who can carry the COM
plicated business of the House in their heads,
who master its rules, and who are quick 10 see
where point can be made IN favor OF their
party or against their opponents by timely
word or motion. A good parliamentarlan, a
ready and pointed speaker, and very ardent
Republican, Mr.. Hale became, III his long ex-
perience, invaluable to his party, and MS COL
leagues were amazed that a district SO long
faithful to him should reject him last year for
a Greenback agitator, of no knowledge OF pup
| lie affairs. and of no ability to recommend hm
| to a constituency. have been interested IN
learning the causes of his defeat. Lack oil per-
| sonal popularity had little, if anything, to do
| with it. Most public men fail to Keep inc
warmth and glow of their early popularity as
they grow more and more engrossed IN the
| cares of their positions, and MI. Hale was
probably no exception to the rule but he was
still much the strongest man in the district, and
it was no lack of liking for him by the
people that caused his unexpected overthrow:
Neither did the ambition and impatlence Oh
aspiring men in his party have much erect.
The prodigious growth of the soft-money idea
was sufficient cause for his defeat, and that
was occasioned by local circumstances. Ilmes
were much harder in this district than else-
quite small and not productive of much be-
| sides rocks, and the farmers exc out living
| by numbering or fishing. Both these interests
were greatly depressed last year and thousands
of men who had been accustomed to earning
by one or the other, enough money to support
their families, when added to the proceeds OIL
their little crops of hay and potatoes, were Sc
riously embarrassed. In their poverty, the
soft-money theorists found them ready prey.
In many towns the Greenback notion became
an epidemic and seized upon three-fourths OF
the population. Even stalwart Republicans
who had never voted any other than straight
Republican ticket since 1854 were swept away.
The current has been checked and changed
since then. Indeed it would have checked it.
self without much effort ON the part of the
Republicans, for such freshets of folly spend
their force in little time. The district has
been thoroughly canvassed ON the money ques-
tion this year, every village and hamlet having
heard two three strong speeches, and a
small Republican majority may be expected in
place of the Greenback majority of last year of
over 900. Next year. when the Greenback
fever shall have fully run its course, the old
Republican majority will be nearly regained.
Mr. Burr writing to the Times from Bangor
under the date of August 18th, says:
So far as appearances can indicate, and so
far as close observation and inquiry from one
end of the State to the other is valuable in
forecasting results, there is no doubt that the
Republicans will have the best of the contest.
has waned under the truthful representation of
the financial question which has characterized
the conduct of the campaign AT first there
was no doubt that the combination of Demo-
Gratis and Greenbackers had a clear majority in
the State. Since their success of last year
they have worked in the country districts in
dustriously, and appa rently added largely to
their following.
But when the combination with the Demo-
Gratis was made and the bargain was consum-
mated to insure the election of Democratic
Senator in place of Senator Hamlin, there was
doubt in the minds of the Republicans who
had gone into the movement, and the alliance
soon began to weaken. Then when the Sena-
torial nominations were completed, and it was
found that majority of those nominations on
the combination ticket had been so manipu-
lated by Pillsbury, the Democratic manager,
as to show n majority with Democratic pro-
clivities-men who could be relied upon to
obey Democratic party behests as relig-
iously as if elected straight Demo
cratic ticket-there was broad discussion
which caused the return of many who had de-
serted the Republican organization Tho Re-
publicans who had lent themselves to the
Greenback movement found that they were
simply tail to a Democratic kite, and they
repudiated the alliance, particularly when
they found that the Legislative districts were
being worked to insure the nomination of a
majority of Democrats and Greenbackers, the
obvious purpose being, if they succeeded in the
election, to have O Democratic Legislature.
These facts, with the remarkable canvass the
Republicans are making, have had bad effect
upon the Greenback craze.
Mr.. Burr called upon The Greenback candi-
date, and thus describes his surroundings:
Smith, the Greenback candidate for Cover
nor. is the direct opposite of Davis. He is a
stout, robust man, about 50 years of age, with
heavy gray beard. He probably weighs about
200 pounds. He lives at Oldtown, 70 miles
above Bangor, dilapidated place which seems
from its appearance to be rightly named. Most
of the houses seem to be falling to pieces, and
an air of desolation pervades the place. Even
the country church looks as though it had not
been painted for half century, and the town
is as quiet during the week as country farm
on Sunday. 1t is just such place as one
would take for a Greenback stronghold In
the midst of all these evidences of desolation,
Mr.. Smith appears, and his business is that of
money-changer. He lends money at good
rate of interest to the men who cut logs, and
every day he bellies his financial utterances by
the sharpness with which he drives a bar
gain, with the poor fellows who are obliged to
ask him for loan
Mr. Smiths manners do not impress one as
those of a frank and honest man. His financial
talk left the i'm that he was at