Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1880-05-19
From the Boston Herald.
Once More.

The late Governor of Maine and his eoun-
ciliors have made one more attempt to ex-
plain away. and argue away, and scold away
the terrible array Of facts which faces them.
Their latest statement would make page
and half of the Herald. 1t has been IN
manuscript for nearly month, but with some
excepted portions which the Herald has print
ed, it did not find publicity until yesterday.
Having refused to appear before the legisla-
tive committe, the councillors now deem II
a duty" to submit statement as TO the way
in which their official duties we're performed
II comes too late. 1t is too long. 1t Is
neither fresh. bright, short nor thick enough
to have any effect upon the public mind. Peo-
pie have formed their opinions as to the right
fnlness or wrongfulness of the contingent
business, and since life is short. they are not
likely to change them after perssing twelve
or fourteen-column article. This document
is not the weakest which has been published
upon the subject. 1t makes every point that
can be made, and some Of them are good
ones. II reviews republican precedents and
practice, alleges irregularities in the past,
though none by which the will of the people
the familiar history Of the events Of last No
yember and December, takes up in de-
tail the weIl-worn "Skowhegan case" and
Pennington case and all the rest of the
cases, explains for the hundredth time, as
Gov GarcelOn and his associates were won't
10 explain last winter, the principles of action
by which they were guided, and working in
accordance with which they were so fortunate
A. always to be able to count out their ene-
mics and count in their friends. In all this
there is nothing new. The old, old story is
told once more, little more methodically
and a good deal more verbosely than ever.
Then comes brief recital Of the events at
Augusta, after the meeting of the legislature,
adorned with considerable criticism Of the
court and cursing Of Chamberlain. The rest
of this strange cOnglomeration of history and
imaginative work is devoted to a criticism Of
the report of the Hale committee.
1t would be dull business now to take up
these matters one by one and go over them in
detail. 1t is enough for the ordinary man to
know that the councillors deny Indignantly
that any alterations of, or tampering with.
the returns took place after they had re-
ceived them. The members have always in
dividually done this. as we know. But the
probabilities are against them. The report
Of the Hale committee charging these things
is against them, and when it appears, with its
fac SMILES of altered returns and amended
names. the sentiment of the people will be
against them even more strongly than now.
Mr.. Eugene Hale. who had charge of last
winters investigation, attaches no impOr-
lance whatever to this new defence of an old
crime. He expresses himself now as
thoroughly satisfied of the accuracy of the
conclusions at which his committee arrived,
and entirely unmoved by the remarks of
Messrs. Garcelon and company. The insinu-
alton that changes, if changes exist at all in
the returns. were made after they passed in
to the hands of the republicans, he pro-
nounces. with undoubted correctness. as alb
surd in the extreme. All Of these alterations
were of one characterize be useful in help
ing along the defeat of the republicans.
They were all used for that purpose. In no
other way can they be explained, and no.
body has yet limited how that party could have
hoped to make anything by series of crimes
of that kind
The reply is a failure. 1t dwells too much
upon such points as we have referred to and
too little upon others of which something
might have been made-such as a defence Of
Gov. Garceon from the wild charges of dis
honesty in the expenditure of the public
money and the like, which have been so free
ly made by some party organs. 1t will be
read by few but those whose minds are al
ready made up in sympathy with it, and it
will change no votes. The document is I'M
derstood to be the work Of Hon. S. s. Brown
If he had enjoyed a newspaper training, Mr..
Brown would have "boiled it down." But.
seriously, until these gentlemen have some
thing new to tell, they would do better BY
keeping silence. They help neither them
selves nor their party by appearing before
the public when they have so little to say.