The Portland daily press., 1879-07-03
The Democratic Exhibition.
What the Papers Say about 1t.
lCorr. Boston Herald.l

The platform, as reported, isn't particular
ly lucid, not to say elegant, document, but it
will answer. Nothing is said in it about the
national banks, or the payment of the bonds or
half dozen other things of equal interest to
the Greenback element; but the Republicans
are denounced and the terrible election laws
decred. To say that the convention was en-
thusiastlc OF even cheerful would not be true.
Everywhere the Greenbackers are leading off
with their county conventions, and almost ev-
erywhere the Democrats will, in due season,
adopt the nominations which the former have
made. AS result the coalition will carry
some counties which went Republican last year
The legislature is going to be the bone of con-
tention. The impression which the conven-
ton has left behind it is, that it was composed
of highly respectable set of gentlemen, who
came here and enjoyed themselves and went
home without having said or done anything
which Will help or harm anybody. They
might as well have staid at home.
Lewiston Journal
The address read by the chairman of the
Democratic State Committee, combines more
perversion of facts, misleading half-truths and
fallacious reasoning than we remember to have
seen in partisan appeal for long time. We
take it for granted that the gentleman who
read it was not giving expression to personal
knowledge or convictions, but was acting as
the mouthpiece Of the Democratic managers,
and laying down their plan of campaign. The
statement of savings by the present State
administration is eight times too large; the
comparison of expenditures of 1878 with those
of 1896 perversion of the facts the attempt
to throw on the Republican party the response
b1lity for the increase of taxation caused by
war forced on the country by Southern Demo-
Gratis, cooler than January mornings and the
presentation of the Democratic party, as an ex-
ample of economy, purity and fidelity the
most laughable farce on record.
The private talk among the members of the
convention was to the effect that it is neeessa-
ry to nominate a Democratic candidate for
governor, in order to preserve the Democratic
organization and prevent sound money Demo-
Gratis from staying at home or voting for the
Republican nominee. 1t was argued that it
made no difference whether a voter supported
the Democratic or Greenback candidate for
governor, as vote for either contributed to
defeat an election by the people-all that it
was expected to secure. On senators, represen-
tatlves and county tickets, perfect fusion Of
Democrats and Greenbackers ON one ticket
was urged; and it was said that as the Green
hackers could not long survive as q separate
organization, the Democrats would be likely to
catch the most of the party when the dissolu-
tion came.
Bangor Whgl
1t was the settled purpose to drive Governor
Garcelon out of the field and either Watts or
Madigan was to replace him. The Governor,
however, refused to be coaxed or driven into
withdrawal, and although he had but beggar-
ly array of supporters, the fear of grand row
controlled the wire-pullers and the word was
passed around that Garcelon must be taken
again. The thing was therefore done by ac-
clamation to avoid the exposure of opposition
that would have come from ballot.
Of course the great feature of the day was
the discussion of that essentially Democratic
topic, the rum question. When that was
brought out, the Convention at once proceeded
to business in the most thoroughly Democratic
style. For nearly an hour there was a scene
compared with which Babel would have
seemed solitude and silence. Half the
men in the body of the house were on their
feet shouting either the Divine authority
for free rum, urging that for policys
sake the troublesome question should be lodged.
1t was an edifying spectacle, and when it was
brought to a close by a heavy majority vote
against attacking the prohibitory law, the Re-
publicans present smiled at the present eager
ness OF the Democracy to avoid any assault
upon feature of Republican policy that has
been fought year after year by the Democratic
party Ol Ndllle.
The speeches were all peculiar. There was
a "softness' i'll all illusions to the financial
issues, that gave queer tone to "hard-mOn-
ey Democratic" convention. Boynton greved
over resumption as a calamity and uttered
stentorian lament over the success of the Re
publican party in bringing every paper dollar
to par with gold. He said the pauper popula-
tion of Europe, had done it by purchasing SO
enormously of our productions as to give us
the balance of trade and we almost thought he
would burst into tears because we are now ex-
porting more than enough to pay our debts.
With such profound and original views of fl
nance, it is not surprising that Boynton took
issue with the Republican candidate for Gov
ernor who regards the resumption of specie
payments as a triumph and our increasingly
prosperous foreign trade blessing Boynton
appropriately wound up by signing his name,
as it were, to his remarks, with one of those
dignifed allusions to the "Old Carthagenian"
which he learned from constant iteration in
the Bangor Democrat. The crowd seemed
hardly as well pleased with Boynton as when
he used to denounce the hellish war for the
preservation of the Union.
The platform adopted boldly champions
fraud at elections and revolution by Congress.
1t demands the repeal of the only laws that
furnish any safeguards for the purity of the
ballot, and asserts the revolutionary doctrine
that Democratic majority in Congress shall
refuse to appropriate moneyfor the execution