Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1880-02-12
THE FUSION CRIME IN MAINE.
The Real Purpose of Its Undertaking
---LOOI<ing Ia the Presidential Elec.
ton.


An Augusta, Maine, correspondent of
of the New York Tribune thus explains
the "true inwardness of the Fusion
plot:
The control of the state government
for a year was mere incidental feature
of this gross and palpable crime against
free government. The chief object
which the conspirators had IN view was
to capture the electoral vote of the state
if possible, and in any event to prevent
its being counted for the Republicans.
Their plan, if they had been permitted to
control the Legislature, was to avoid the
presidential question during the regular
session and provide for an adjourned SEES
sion in October under the pretence OF
completing the new state valuation. At
that session they expected to have the
choice of two courses. If the Septem-
Der election proved Republican deluge,
rolling up majority too big to
be tempered with, then they would fore
stall the November election by the legis-
lature taking the choice of electors away
from the people and electing outright n
full quota to cast the vote of Maine for
the Democratic candidates for president
and vice president. If, however, the
September election were close enough to
make the Juggling of the returns feasible,
the scheme would be to count in the
Democratic electors in November by the
same practice employed to manufacture
a Fusion Legislature last month. The
object in throwing the business over TIL
October wonld be to wait until the legis-
latures of Connecticut. New York and
New Jersey were safely home so that they
could not offset the fraud here by the
choice of Republican electors in all three
of those close states
Only by the exercise of the utmost
prudence and sagacity have the Repub-
hcuns been able to defeat the conspiracy
Everything was in its favor from the
start. If the point played for had been
merely the possession of the state gov
ernment, the Republicans, with law and
public conscience on their side and the
Supreme Court decision backing them
up, could have won a complete victory at
any time, and could have successfully
maintained their rights when once they
had taken possession of them. Rut the
Democrats were eager for some act of
violence. All they wanted was techni-
cality, or pretence of some sort, to take
before the Democratic congress next
winter, and furnish an excuse for rob-
bling the Republicans of the electoral
vote of Maine. If the Republicans
had turned the Democrats out of the
state house by force they would have
done exactly what their enemies hoped
they would do. In the hope Of bringing
about such a result the Fusionists were
eager to get into the state house on
Monday morning after the Supreme
Court made its decision If they had
got in and had been afterward put out by
General Chamberlain S armed force there
would have been a cry of military usur-
patton loud enough to make the country
partly forget the rascality of the Demo-
cratic conspiracy. To Mr.. Blaines cool
ness and sagacity throughout the whole
affair we owe the impregnable strength
of the Republican position to-day, which
has not been compromised in the least
10y any violent or hasty act.