Daily Kennebec journal., 1879-11-14
Threatened Fraud i'm Maine.

cal journalism will find il in these Globe let
ters They are filled with staring capitals and
abound with allegation, vociferaton and i'm
/ aginatien, but in every instance they lack
substantiation. In reading them one can
hardly resist the inference that the writer
was humorst running AT large and engaged
/ in selling the Globe and the public. From
his description of the gigantic bribery COM
mitted by the republicans, one waits with
horror for The sickening details. and
he waits as the reader of knick-
erbockers history of New York does
for the ghastly victims in that tenn
tempestuous war, in which the sword of W ou-
ter Van Twiller did such terrible execution.
After sundry atfirmations of the widespread
use of money in Maine by thousands and tens
of thousands, the Globe correspondent is
finally compelled to come down TO facts, and
then we are Mortified with the following mar
rative, viz. He found from the alleged mem
oranda of republican committeeman that in
the town of Codyville eight dollars were
spent for political purposes; in Eaton, ten
dollars in Topsfeld ten dollars; in Waite.
ten dollars in Danforth, fifteen dollars; III
another plantation, eight dollars In other
words. in five towns and two plantations the
republicans spent sixty-eight dollars for polit-
ical purposes; and in addition to the fright
ful corruption which this lavish expenditure
of money implies, the correspondent found
that one King. in Codyville, gave to Lewis
Gross an order on the store for a pair OF
''thick boots, and the correspondent assumes
that they were given for Cross's vote. Wise
Mr.. Cross. who on selling his vote for pair
of boots, stipulated, as W inter was inpend-
ing in the far North, that they should be
thick ones"
The same correspondent got scent, as he
thought, of an important letter written by
Mr. Blaine, chairman of the Republican
STATE Committee, and he very naively tells
the public how he tried to steal the letter
| from the postmaster supposed to have 1t;
how he acted as confidence man." as pimp,
as spy. as thief; and then failing in any and
every one of these capacities to get hold of the
coveted document, he exhibited his enter
| prise and genius as a newspaper man by
turning forger inventing letter and signing
Mr. Blaines name to it. To be sure, Mr.
Blaine Immediately wrote TO the Editor of
the Globe that the whole thing was for
gerry. but il did not appear TO harmonic with
The Globes sense of propriety to have its
own correspondents exposed As forgers IN its
own columns. and so Mr.. Blaine was com
PEELED to publish his note in the other Boston
papers. And yet correspondent that writes
down his own inhmy and confesses himself
to be ready for any kind of rascaity is the
person selected TO expose republican frauds
in Maine.
Mch who are bent on a dishonest purpose
a ,t, ,,t,I np1t hoe,
spiraturs against popular rights and popular
elections fail TO observe that they are really
establishing the fact-if proof thereof were
needed-that the election i'm Maine was singu-
larly and exceptionally free from the use of
money. In the few places where they speci-
ficaly allege its use they do not find the sums
employed in those country towns sufficient to
pay the ordinary expense of wagons and teams
to carry to the polls those voters who are too
far away to walk and who do not own horses.
In short, their specification of the use of
money. viewed in the light of accusation
against the republicans is beneath contempt
in its paltriness viewed as a justification of
the republicans. it is of immense value in its
significant inference
We have made these remarks on the as
sumption that the democratic and greenback
papers are reckoning with their host when
Council will adopt the course they advocate.
But we prefer ourselves to believe that Gov
ernor Garcelon and his Council will behave
like honorable men, and that they will admin
lister their great trust according to law and
precedent and principle. They will hear
members of their own party cry aloud that
the democrats were defrauded by the Return
ing Board of louisiana, and that now is the
time to pay them back in like coin. The
same code of morals in private life will jus
tify you in stealing Smiths yoke of oxen
this year because you suspect that he stole
your horse last year. Nor would even this
code of political morals find fitting applica-
ton in this case for whether the law of
Louisiana were right or wrong, wise or un-
wise. it did specifically confer on its Return
ing Board the discretionary powers which
they exercised. But on Gov. Garcelon and
his Council there is no power conferred save
that which has been exercised by his prede
cessors of all political parties.
| Should it appear that the Executive of
Maine is actually engaged in usurping the
powers of the legislative department of the
Government and Judging in advance of the
''election and qualification of Senators and
Representatives" the case presented would
be a very grave one. 1t would involve. in
deed, an usurpation of power that could con-
tinue the political supremacy aud rulership
of party which the people by their votes.
had deliberately cast off, and it would in
volve in its ultimate result the destruction
of representative government, leaving to the
people for relief only the violence of revolu-
ton when the peaceful methods of Consti-
| tuition and law are choked by fraud. We
are sure the republicans of Maine will act
with prudence and discretion in any exigen-
cy in which they NAV be placed If the
threatened fraud shall exhaust itself in the
silly vaporings of inconsiderate partisans,
and still more inconsiderate newspapers, the
effect may in the end be good Should it as
sumo the more serious and menacing shape
of deliberate purpose of the Governor and
Council Gin which purpose we repeat our
disbelief.) it will then devolve on the repub-
licans of Maine to see to it that the fraud
shall not be successful. Successful once, il
repetition would be attempted, and if only
once, its evil effects would be momentous
and lasting.
Another Answer to Boston Globe
SANDERS.