Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1880-01-07
lProm our regular eorrespondeni'l
WASHINGTON LETTER.


have had nothing to discuss bNt 'hp
Maine difficulty, As the facts rc'a''
Ing TO tho situation IN That State he'
come better known here, mufh hdnl
ration IL expressed for the conscien'
lious aud courageous course OF Gov
Galcelon aud his grecnbacs council
men, while the hot'hrad action ot
Blaine AMI company, IN rndcavcrlng
TO incite mob violence, II condemned
by all thinking men. Had the demo-
cratic majority who elected Tildca III
1876, adopted such u course when
they were counted odl, aud three
states stolen from them by means OF
perjury and forgery, what wonld have
been the condition OF this country
Blood would have flown IN the streets
Of every town from Maine to Florida
But cooler counsel prevailed. aud the
democrats, though in majority Of
more than q quarter Of million on
the popular vote, permitted the first
fraudulent president ever inaug'''ated
in the nation 20 take his sea, rather
than resort TO revolution. BIT there
is no comparison between the two
cases. There has been no fraud in
Maine except the republican frauds ut
the ballot-box. The counting has
been done strictly according TO law,
and with previous precedcnts and
court decisions for guide in inter
pretihg the law.
But the most sickcnmg feature Of
the comment upon the case here is the
talk OF John Sherman and the present
occupant of the White House. TO
hear the chief hacker and adviser Of
Madison Wells in New Orleans in
1876, and the man who chiefly bene-
flied by that monstrous fraud. pate
about outraging the voters, il enough
to make mule shed tears. Hayes
said tho other day that the "fraua"
would fail, because the men to whom
G.rcelon had given certificates would
decline 10 take their seats. Now,
from what analysis does this thick
skinned fraud deduce this conclusion ?
He certainly don't judge others by
himself. He didn't refuse 70 take the
seat to which another was elected.
The cheek of this man would paral-
we a book agent or a lightningrod
peddler.
II is said that an effort will be
made in Congress, after the recess. to
abolish the agricultural bureau as a
separate department. The idea is
that as now conducted the institution
is one of the most expensive and least
useful Injuries the Government has on
hand. Very little practical benefit to
the agricultural industries of the coun-
try can be set down to the credit Of
this institution, wlile its printing bills
and other expense items are enormous.
1t is proposed to have the work for
which this department was originally
designed performed under the direc-
ton OF some other department-:he
Interior for instance. One of the OBJ
jects sought to be accomplished by
this movement is to get rid Of lie DUO.
The common verdict is that lie Due
is a first-class humbug. For the time
being he has abandoned bis bon-bon
plants and his experiments with BAN.
boo seeds, and since the unwilling OF
the Thomas statue has been turning
his attention to the monument crop.
There are few things so much needing
the attention of the Agricultural De-
partment, whose head official has ac-
cclnplshed such momcntous results
hitherto. There is a great demand
for monuments, which is growing year
by year, and there really does not
seem to be any good reason why we
shouldn't raise our own monuments, and
in that way save great deal of mon
ey that has been wasted in getting mp
a lot of halt.fnished and imperfect at
fairs for everybody to poke fun at.
When the obelIsk which is destined
for this country arrives, Commissioner
lie Due will confer great favor upon
all who are 10 need of monuments if
he will suggest some method OF graft