Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1879-12-31
Remarks of Hon. VIM. Il. Frye at
the Indignation Meeting at Lew

the Indignation Meeting at Lew
istOn.
Ordinarily, when come home from Wash
ingtDn and receive the kind greetings of my
friends, my heart is filled with unmixed
pleasure.
Tonight it is not so. ! meet you in the
profoundcst modification and deepest humil-
iation. In the city of Washington, ] ha, c
always been permitted to have pride in this
border State; to have pride in its motto,
''Dirigo;'' in State where public schools
have been firmly established for century
in a grand old State, in whose constitution,
Thomas Jefferson wrote the article guaran-
teeing free schools to You forever. In this
State, found clear. plain, palpable, une-
quivocal political fraud had taken place. and
that Governor and Council had committed a
clear, palpable, unequivocal political crime.
GGreat enthusiasm.
Washington Democrats Condemn.
hardly found single democrat in Con-
gress who for one moment dared uphold our
Governor in this plumber, and may say to
the honor of the greenbackers, that found
but one. who dared to intimate that they had
done right. One democrat did say to me with
a leer. you can't say, FRYE. that we did it..
They are all Id renegades from the repub-
lican party" Another said, Louisiana steal
in your own State. Your chickens have come
home to roost" But there was not a man. !
met not a man so low As to undertake to de-
fend this crime.
The louisiana Excuse.
Yet since | came home. | find democrats
who do defend it. Defend what? Because
they have done the same thing that they
charged on the republican party three years
ago. and for which they have been saying
that the republican party is not fit to live
| mean the counting of the electoral vote of
Louisiana for Iaves-now instead of denounc-
ing the count in this State. they defend it..
admitting that it is a steal. They defend it
on the ground that we. too, have stolen. Now
there is no parellelism between Louisiana
and Maine. Maine has schools and churches.
Her air is breathed by freemen. Louisiana
is half barbarous. Don't forget that Gen.
Phil Sheridan made record in the six weeks
that he was in Louisiana, showing that 3. 900
black men had been killed in that State, sim
ply because they dared to exercise their po-
ltcal rights. Don't forget that this very
state of things compelled the Legislature of
Louisiana to create a returning board. II
was their duty to examine every return, to
hear each case. They heard the witnesses
and lawyers on each side, and were compelled
by law to come to the conclusion that they
did. Don't forget that if they had refused
them to do it. Don't forget that they were
simply doing the duty imposed on them.
Don't forget that when the matter came up
in Congress, when ever since the foundation
of the government, the President of the
Senate had counted the electoral votes. a re-
publican President of the Senate shrank from
the responsibility. Don't forget that repub-
lican minority yielded for the sake of peace.
The democrats demanded that commission
be appointed. Don't forget that minority
of republicans united with a ma orty of dem
ocrats and passed the commission act. that
was made in democratic caucus. Their
own commission decided against them. APP
plaEse.
Yet they say that Maine is parallel case
Where have rights been invaded in this State?
Where are the bones of our fellow men who
have been murdered for their political opin-
ions? Where has there been a political out
rage? Where is there a law resulting from
such state of things? Where can you
point to any one Of these things? Yes.
remember one. A Sunday school teacher in
Lewiston was bulldozed Laughter
The Plot an Old One.
Now, my friends have said hard words ?
! said that the will Of the people had been
overruled. Let me give you some facts. |
say that this plot was hatchcd months ago.
On the very day when you were rejoicing
over the victory of the republican party at the
polls, two democrats and one fusionist were
heard to declare ''Let them laugh hardest
who laugh last. They will never see Daniel
+. Davis Governor of Maine" Again say
that in the city of Bath leading democrat
said in the presence of 100 men: ''Let them
shout. The raseals will not get the benefit
of this vote" In town after town, man after
man can be found, who declared that the
republicans would never reap the fruits of
their victory. Again say there came from
Augusta, from the printing off &c of Eben +.
Pillsbury, the prime minister of the plot to
Ave cities of this State, blank election warrants
addressed to the City Marshal. / say that
Pillsbury knew that the City Marshals of
cities are officers unknown to the law of the
State. and that the warrants should have
been addressed to constables. If the elec-
tions had been held upon those warrants as
printed. they would not have been legal meet
ings. 1t was discovered a few days before
election and in many noints remedied
charge on this internal ty-I mean no pO-
litical party. but this nest of vipers, that
they did this with the intention of depriving
these cities of their representatives. 1t was
done to disfranchise every city in the State of
Maine. Another blank was sent out out-a
blank for returns of the election. On it was
line for Mayor. a line for city clerk, and
lines for three aldermen, when they knew that
all of the cities in Maine have five or seven
aldermen. Now they have disfranchised you
because you made up the returns in the way
that they were printed. The evidence
against them is overwhelming. 1t has been
fixed by abiding facts that the flsionists de-
termined to control this legislature Anyhow.
right or wrong. What for? What is the
wonderful importance of this legislature:
There is on election next year, upon which
the destnies of forty million people depend.
1t will determine which political party shsll
control this country the next four years.
They had one purpose, one design; to elect
men of their own kidney. to hold those men
one year and when we defeat them next fall
by 10000 majority, as we shall, they intend
to count us out under the constitution and
law, and override the will of the people.
This is the plot. Has it succeeded? Ny
friends, Mr.. Dingley, Mr.. Savage and Mr.
Hutchinson. have taken you step by stey
from October nm To this dnv and have sLowr