The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1879-06-03
THE GREENBAcK CONVENTION.
A Large Gathering of Delegates,

The corridors of the Falmouth Hotel were
thronged last evening with deleg ates to the
Greenback convention to be held in this city
today. The promise is good of large conven-
ton. All the disconnected men in the state,
all the men with a grievance, all those who
think they have been misused in the distribu-
ton of official patronage or in the Withholding
of popular appreciation, have been invited to
come, and many Of them accept the invitation.
Besides the disconnected are many well-mean-
ing people who have got mudded over the
currency question.
The Greenback leaders last night were very
hopeful and even boastful. They expressed
full confidence of carrying the state and elect
ing their candidate for Governor by the popu-
lar vote They hope to repeat the memorable
and absurd campaign of 1910, and intend that
Scion Chase's steers shall take the place of the
log cabin and hard cider of that year.
Much talk was made in the groups of dele
gates concerning the gubernatorial nomination
Considerable opposition was manifested to
Smith on account of his equivocal position last
fall and some of the Knox and Androscoggin
delegates were loud in the expression of their
determination to nominate Scion Chase, and
carry the nomination with a rush. This plan,
however, is revolutionary; the leaders have
promptly condemned it, and will probably
succeed in suppressing the movement before
the convention meets. Scion himself is, it
is said, opposed to it. The Smith men have
promised him that if he will keep out of the
contest today he shall be sent to the United
States Senate, and he believes they can fulfill
their promises So he drops the bird in the
hand for those which he thinks he sees flutter-
ing in the bushes.
There is considerable talk over the platform
but the opinion is that the resolutions of last
year will be substantially readopted. Some
think it would be wise to accept resumption of
specie payments as an irresistible fact, and to
make the fight for the legal-tender greenback
and against the national-bank currency, but
majority insist that the convention shall sup
port the fiat money doctrine in all its wide
foolishness. The Waldo men, under the lead
of William M. Rust, advocate platform COM
uniting the party against the national banks,
but not against coin basis for currency.
These men seek to draw near the Democracy,
and have been in close conference with Demo-
cratic leaders during the past twenty-four
hours. But the majority of the delegates are
evidently not with them and are SO sure of
victory that they scout the idea of an alliance
with the Democrats They are willing to rec
ogniZe the compromises to the extent of giving
Rust the Craftsmanship Of the convention, and
have consented to that; but beyond that they
will not go.
The Democrats were ready enough for a
IL IN
committee, but when the members of the COM
mittee got together it was found that the
Greenbackers didn't care to dicker. Some of
the Democrats were anxious to drop Garcelon
and nominate a new man; but the other fell
lows didn't want to support a new man; they
preferred somebody they had been introduced
to. So the committee called meeting at Re-
ception Hall, and, after learning that the
Greenback party wouldn't enter into COM
bination, resolved they wouldn't combine with
anyone, and Immediately fixed upon Bangor,
July list, as the time for the Democratic con-
vention. Then they endorsed the declaration of
Governor Garcelon that Maine would give 1O,-
600 Democratic majority in September, and
adjourned with great enthusiasm.
Late in the evening the anti-Smith men, dis
appointed at the refusal of Scion Chase to run,
fixed upon General Plaisted as their candidate'
and attempted to rally their forces round him.
But the proposal was not wellreceived. Many
thought that this candidate would not stand.
All knew that General Plaisted would like to
be Governor, but few believed he would buy
the nomination at SO disgraceful price