The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1880-08-17
THE MAINE CANVASS.
AS VIEWED FROM TWO STAND
POINTS.
What Outside Correspondents Have to
Say.

Mr.. Frank Burr, whose letters from Maine
during the campaign last year were quoted
alike by Republican and Democratic papers
because of their fairness and the moderation of
their tone, and whose predictions were justified
by the result, is now acting as correspondent
of the Philadelphia Press. His latest letter to
that paper is from Ellsworth, where he met
the Hon. Eugene Hale. Regarding the
campaign this year the following conversation
was held:
There is no question:" said Mr.. Hale, "but
that we shall carry the State. Hard as the
fight may seem to you, and is, there is an ele-
ment in the State of Maine which cares little
for politics, and never comes out except in a
great struggle, such as we are this year max
ing. That element belongs to the Republican
party
"Do you really feel secure?"
eyes. SIR" said Mr.. b ale, ''there is no rea-
sonable question about the result. To carry all
of the Congressional districts is perhaps a
harder fight than to carry The State. The
continued, ''are in the hands of the Green
backers and our great fight will be to redeem
them. You are in the Fifth District now" he
said. "and it is the strongest Greenback dis
doubt that we shall elect Millikin. Captain
Boutelle has hard fight with Ladd in the
Fourth, or Bangor District but not as hard as
we have in this district. 1 am claiming" con-
tinued Mr.. Hale, with perfect good faith, the
election of all five Congressman"
''Will therebe any trouble about the Legis-
lature? That is very important, as you elect
United States Senator this winter"
81 do not anticipate any trouble about the
election of the Governor by the people, or with
the Legislature. AS 1 said before, regard
that as the easiest part of our fight, and yet
felt that SucrpSS iS aceurp1 q1tb 0uob don or
get that the struggle will be hard one. We
will make the fight stronger perhaps than ne
cessary because we WANT the victory of Sep
tember decisive enough so that we will not
have to make an aggressive contest for Noyem.
ber.'
"You'speak with much confidence of carrying
the State, and yet admit the bitterness of the
struggle"
"Yes, sir, and that is true; it will be a bitter
fight, but the organization and the leadership
are on our side, and the fusion of the two ele-
ments opposing us is in almost every instance
forced, and in many instances distasteful to
both ends of the combination. The Democrats
desire to renudiate Muir .h, and only indorsed
him after the Groenbackers in the First Dis
trict agreed to support General Anderson, a
Democrat. This sort of an alliance cannot last
long or be relied uyon for effective work. Now
that we are well in the fight, think see
every day where they are losing ground, and
the Republicans were never more united or ag-
gressive."
"How much majority will you have in the
September election?"
"From five to ten thousand" replied Mr.
Hale, ION the Governor; and perhaps more on
the Legislature"
Can Gen. Plaisted draw anything from the
Republican vote?''
mo, sir. If Mr.. Plaisted gets the full vote
of the two parties whose candidate he is, he
will be Fortunate" replied Mr.. Hale.
"Will the efforts of Fusionists last year to
steal the State, help you this year?"
Certainly replied Mr.. Hale. "It makes
our party more aggressive, and brings out its
latent strength. There will be no stay-at-home
vote this year. Our canvass is looking better
every day."
"Mr. Hale" adds Mr.. Burr. 50 has put the
situation in its best light, yet 1 think it may
not be too strongly stated. There is an i'm
provement in the canvass since the fight began
in earnest a week ago, but the battle is by no
means won. 1t will take hard work yet to put
Maine out of dispute. Yet the kind of work
to do is being and will be done. Not school
and if the memorable campaign of last year
was thought well conducted this will certainly
excel it in thoroughness and good manage
ment. Blaine is, as usual, doing the work and
his word is pledged for favorable result in
Maine, and it will be kept. He opened the
battle at Bath, a Greenback stronghold, this
week; and made, as he ever does, powerful
speech. 1t would be good thing if he could
give more time to speech-making, for his
voice is more potent in Maine than any other
and more people will turn out to hear him.
Garfield, even, as Presidential candidate,
could not attract the crowds or provoke the en-
thusasm that Blaine's presence does. Exact
ing reports as he does from every county every
night, he can only speak at points near Angus
ia, where ne can get back after the meeting
No man not here on the ground can imagine
the work, physical and mental this man is do
ing and will do for the redemption of this
State"
The Portland correspondent of the New
York Times, arrives aJ substantially the same
conclusions reached by the reporter for the
Philadelphia paper. Writing under date of
the 18th inst. he says:
Republican confidence may be quoted as
firm. with an upward tendency. 1 have, dur
ing the past few days, made a personal investi-
CATION of the evidences outside ''official cir
cles," and find many reasons for increased
faith in Republican success by good round fig
ures. In the first place one meets with no
doubling Thom2ses in the country towns, as
he did during the campaign of last year. From
the highest to the lowest in the ranks, the Re-
publicans bear determined faith in success,
sought, particularly in rural communities. In
the next place one does not meet the impudent
assertion that characterized the "fusionist"
and especially the Greenback fusionist of last
year. Among tnem tnere Is manifest q touch
OF humility, a disposition to wait for the intro
duction of political subjects by somebody else,
a bashfulness leading one to suspect that there
is wholesome fear that there may be tossed
back some brickbats from the ruins of last win
ter's conspiracy. To one who has been famil-
lar with county politicians in the past, these
indications are very marked and very signif-
cant. They show that Republicans have got
the other fellows on the run, and can keep
them going throughout the campaign.
The evidence to burden the poor Fusionsts
is not only cumulative but varied Another
item bears upon the happy family of managers
in their personal relations to the big combina-
tion-to each other, that is. Some time ago,
admonished OF impending danger, the Demo
cratic managers put their heads together at a
conference. and concluded that discretion be-
ing the better part of valor, they would re-
nounce the counting out fraud and throw it
entirely upon the greenback members of the
Garcelon Council. Frank Fogg, who is gener-
ally supposed to be the person known as Gar
celon's Judas, whom the Governor lodged be-
hind when the storm came too fast upon him
for endurance, got wind of this and was there
too. He disturbed their peace by a little affair
of business. my friends" said the modest
Fogg, "when we engaged in tabulating the re-
turns, some OF you wrote letters, to your friends
in Augusta, containing very emphatic .injunc-
tions to count out the--black Republicans
by any and all means!' My friends, those let
terS were not written to me, but knowing the
value OF such things, was at a good deal of
trouble to obtain them, and 1 have them In
my pocket now" 1t was unnecessary even to
cock the gun; the coon came down at once,
and it was then and there agreed not only that
Fogg and his coparceners should be 6 let off -
but that Fogg should run for Congress, as he is
doing The leaking of this little affair has
stirred the feelings of both wings of the fusion
and now Fogg finds the Bourbon privates in
his district disposed to do what the leaders
started to do, and he will befterribly cut up at
the POLLS
As sequel to my investigations in the coun-
try. have taken the estimates of several Re-
publicans of well-known standing and judg-
ment as to the result in September. Those es-
Inmates are bv counties and Congressional dis
tricts. The highest estimate would give the
Republicans about II 600 majority in the State
the lowest about 5000. Weighing all the evil
dence carefully, l will tabulate the result as it
appears mostly likely to be, thus:
Rep. FMs. Rep. Fns
Counties. Maj. Maj. Counties Maj. Mai
AndroscSgsn $50 aoo psdoSa:c; 900
| Gunlh land