The Portland daily press., 1879-08-22

Democrats are either openly working for the
Republican candidates or quietly hoping for
their success; that national Democratic issues
and ideas are playing no part in the campaign;
that the Republicans are making an earnest,
laboriOus and expensive canvass and con1i-
IDENTIFY expect to control the Legislature wheth-
er they succeed in electing Mr.. Davis Govern
or by popular majority or not; that they are
chary of making predictions in regard to the
exact results of the election in September; and
that predictions by outsiders, who. have not
made a careful personal examination OF the
field, are of no value whatever
Last year, the result of the election was to
give the State Democratic Governor and
speaker of the House of Representatives. a
triumph of the coalition this year would mean
a Greenback Governor, and probably the cleo
tion of Greenbackers to all the prominent
places in the State. OF course this change in
the
PROSPECTS OF THE DEMOCRACY
has good deal to do with the change in the
feeling of prominent Democrats about the
Greenback movement this year. But under
lying this is a rapidly increasing perception OF
the fact that the use of the Greenback organi-
cation to overthrow the Republicans is practic-
ing with blunderbuss, and that the Green
back movement is the most dangerous obstacle
to a national Democratic success next year that
now exists. A prominent Portland Democrat
said to-day that if the Greenbackers were to
win in Maine this fail and Ben Butler were to
carry Massachusetts,, it would raise the very
devil with the Democracy all over the country,
and he hoped the Republicans would wln.
He expected to vote for Garcelon for Govern
or, but he hoped the Republican majority
would be big enough to wipe out the Green
back movement He had no faith in the value
of any success obtained by a coalition of Demo
Gratis and Greenbackers. He thought the
withdrawal of the Democratic ticket in Penob-
scot county might be the very means OF elect
ing the Republican ticket in that county he
believed q great many Democrats who voted
for Garcelon last year would
STAY AT HOME THIS YEAR,
and he had no doubt that, if the election were
to come off in November instead of September,
the Republicans would be certain of obtaining
a majority in the State.
While prominent Democrats are thus out
spoken against the Greenback movement, and
are earnestly hoping for its extinction at the
polls, the Republican newspapers throughout
the State are carefully placing before such of
their readers as are inclined to Greenback
ideas very different phase of the situation,
viz that the Greenback movement is being
used as catspaw by the Democrats to pull
Democratic cheStnutS out of the political lire,
and it is doubtful whether it is the Republican
leaders or the respectable Democrats who are
at heart most hostile to the soft-money gang in
the present contest. That the Republicans are
trying very hard to inculcate honest ideas in
regard to currency and the finances, is as unde-
niable as that the Democrats, as party, are
doing nothing of the kind and there is, there
FORE nothing for the hard-money Democrats to
do except to vote openly for Davis or to stay
at home and hope for Republican success
Some of the hard-money Democrats here feel
that the
PASSIVE ATTITUDE OF THE PARTY
is one which they cannot afford to have con-
tinued and there is talk of holding some large
meetings, which shall be addressed by speakers
Of note from abroad; but it seems that there is
great difficulty in getting any Democrat OF
prominence to come here and dwell on nation
al issues, or, indeed, to take any part in the
present contest Congressman Springer of
Illinois is about the only Democrat of any ac-
count from outside the State who has lent
helping hand thus far, and Springer will never
set the PenobScot on fire. Senator Thurman
and Gen. Mcclellan have been asked to come,
but the Senator, of course, cannot come back
from Ohio at this time, and 1t does not appear
that the Jersey Governor is anxious to rush
into the field. The utter failure of the Demo-
Gratis thus far to make any use of the great
tissues" which were manufactured with so
much expense and difficulty at the extra ses-
sion of Congress, is one of the most ludicrous
features of the campaign.
The management of the Republican cam
paign in this county is in the hands of Fred
erick Dow, Esq. a young lawyer, who is Civ
ing most of his time to the business, and is do
ing effective work In conversation to-day
Mr.. Dow gave considerable information in re-
gard to the political situation.
A POLITICAL REVOLUTION.
II think we are going to have a revolution
this fall,'' said Mr.. Dow ''and that we shall
elect Republican Governor by the people and
carry both branches of the Legislature. Those
are the indications as see them, and l am in
communication with leading Republicans all
over the State, and especially in this county.
We are making an earnest contest, and shall
hold meetings in every town of any conse-
quence before election day. The reports from
every quarter indicate that the Republicans
have gone to work to secure an old-fashioned
victory this fall. We are certainly getting
back many of our voters who went over to the
Greenbackers last year, but who now see the
error of their ways and will not vote the Green
back ticket again. Thus far 1 have heard Of
only two Republicans in Cumberland county
who voted the Republican ticket last year and
who will go over to the Greenbackers this
year. There may be others, but do not know
of them. But we are getting large reinforce
ments from the old Democracy. 1 know of one
town in this county where there are
EIGHTEEN HARD-MoNEY DEMOCRATS.
who have signified that they will vote for Dam
iel F. Davis for Governor this year. do not
care togive the name of this town and 1 am
not at liberty to give it, We already hear OF
two or three more Democrats who are going to
vote for Davis in nearly every town. But
more important than this is the fact that we
are going to get out the reserve Republican
vote this year. 1t is coming out all over the
State. In this district there were, at least,
1000 Republican voters who staid at home last
year and did not vote at all. If they come out,
as we expect, we shall have a majority over
both the Greenbackers and Democrats in this
locality. Last Saturday received letters from
Mr.. Davis, the candidate for Governor Gen.
Hall of Damariscotta, and Postmaster Wake
field of Bath, and all give the most encourag-
ing accounts of the situation. l will give you
little incident which will show you what the
feeling is among the people. A short ago l adj
dressed letters to fifty Republicans living in
the towns in the northern part of this county,
asking them to meet me on certain day at
central point for conference in regard to
CAMPAIGN WORK.
Some of these men had to ride as many as
fifteen miles in order to reach tue point indi-
Gated, and all had to come a considerable dis
tance. OF the 50 whom L invited 45 presented
themselves at the appointed time, and it was
like Methodist inquiry meeting to hear these
old, grey-headed farmers get up, one after the
other, and confess that they had not done their
duty to the party in recent campaigns. They,
one and all, promised to go to work and do
their duty this year."
Mr.. Dow says that he has the names of two
Democrats of prominence in this county who
are coming out openly for Davis 'at the proper
time, and who are expected to carry q great
many Democratic votes over to the Republican
side. A Republican member OF Congress
whom met to-day said that he had addressed
"A meetings thus far during the campaign; that
he found good many neutrality-suspicious.
coming back to their old party affiliations; that
he had not been interrupted but once at any of
his meetings bya
GREENBACK QUEsTIoNER,
and he could not get them to ask any questions;
that the reopening of the shoe factories in An