The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1880-07-02

The Republicans of Standish flung to the
breeze last night, an elegant campaign flag
bearing the names of the Republican candi-
dates. There was large crowd present and
much enthusiasm was manifested. The unfurl-
ing of the flag was greeted with cheers and on
all hands the determination was expressed by
the Republicans of Standish to do their full
share to make the names on the flag the names
of the next President and Vice President of
the United States. After the flag raising the
Unitarian church was filled to listen to
speech by the Hon. T. B. Reed. After the
meeting was organized Mr.. Reed was intro
duced and received with applause.
Mr.. Reed said he had not come before the
audience to make anything but plain talk
such as man might make among his neigh
bors and friends about matters which vitality
concerned their welfare, personal and political,
and their honor as men and citizens.
Our government founded on the needs and
faiths of homogeneous population of 100000
is on trial as to its fitness for the control of
45, OOO, 900 of men born and reared in all lands,
and spread over an expanse Of country not
even dreamed of by Washington and Adams
The chief corner stone of our system is
that ripest result of Christian civilization that
a majority of one shall have rule as unoppos-
ed and unquestioned as it would if it were the
unanimous will of all the people. Let but the
honest figures of free, untramelled ballot be
announced and thenceforth without jar or
strife or battle we must know our rulers until
the next election comes round. This chief
corner stone of our institutions, it goes without
saying, must perforce rest upon the bedrock
of common honesty. Let it be once under
stood that the ballots of the people are but
counters with which dishonest politicians may
juggle and cheat, and government of, by and
for the people will have visibly persisted from
the earth For sixty years the state of Maine
has occupied no mean place in this Union.
Though small in size and population, with an
unwilling ssoil, situated away out on the
stormy borders of the world, her statesmen
and soldiers, living and dead, had made her
name the equivalent of courage and conduct,
might have stood tagainst the lworld. Today
we are battling with desperate men to uphold
her reputation for common honesty, to wipe
off the black stain of one year of conglomerate
rule How does it happen that a state of such
repute should be subject to such reproach?
The explanation is simple. A Republican gov
eminent is the expression of the temporary
moods as well as the principles of the people,
the worst as we'll as the best. just as a wise
man will somtiemes do foolish thing SO
people will. 1t seems as if sometimes the
wiser the man the more foolish he will be,
when he is foolish 1t was reserved for Judge
Story, the most learned judge, the wisest jur-
list we ever had, to maintain in a long opinion
have second trial because the con-
stitution forbids second jeopardy
for the same offence and consequently the
man would have to be sentenced to protect
him against the risk of new trial! Two
years ago the people of this State, smarting
under the depression of business, split up and
annoyed by antagonisms inside the Republi-
can party were invaded by the most astonish-
ing collection of political mountebanks, char
latans and quack doctors that ever afflicted
people, They swarmed like locusts. They
denounced everything that was and promised
the millennium. Not country school house
escaped Where they came from, nobody
knows Where those who did not get into the
Governors Council or into Greenback news
papers have gone, nobody knows. You could
not explain to the people their utter worth
lessness. They seemed to be sacred. Like the
Fakirs of India the dirtier they were the
holier. Bankrupt Spectators with glib tongues
farmers born ruined, loudly proclaiming that
they hadn't brains enough to raise steers at
profit, assured us that all the craftsmanship of
this world was inside their heads. OF course,
there could be but one result tolsuch frenzy
The cheapest and lowest came to the surface
and for one year stayed there. After the
smoke of the election of last year cleared
away it was found by common consent, by the
admissions Of every newspaper, fusion or Re-
publican, that we had carried the Legislature
with ~ majority in the House, and seven in
the Senate. Not until late in October did any
rumors spread that fraud was to nullify bal
lots. In justice to the people of Maine, inca
pable of conceiving such crime to be possible
it must be said that these rumors created no
belief. Mr.. Reed said that for his part he
must confess that he left Maine in December
believing that no such wickedness would be
attempted. 1t was not only attempted but
achieved. 1t now remains fol- US to pronounce
upon it, Ii we fail so to do we invite dishon-
eSty and shame.
In this case as in every other we find that
the criminals deny the crime. But God, in
his providence, has so constituted his world
that great crimes are not to be covered up by
the denials of bad men, and are not dependent
for detection on the testimony of even good
men. The laws even of this imperfect world
all tend towards the right. He who does
wilful wrong must expect the stars in
thhir courses to fight against him. All
great crimes are their own discoveries. The
world is not big enough to hide some forms of
proofs in this case that Henry Ingalls, and
Geo. f. Hill, members of the committee, who
heard all the testimony, strong partizans of
the Democratic party, declare, under solemn
conviction of duty, that "they cannot deny
that the recital Of facts IN the report (of the
majority is substantially in accordance aoith
the euidence," and that "the euidenee being an
contradicted they cannot make a denial of the
facts proUed by it,"
Now what are the facts proved by the evidence?
They are these. Out of 100 Republicans elect
ed at the polls 81, or 80 per cent, were counted
out. Out of 70 Fusionists elected not one
single one had fatal defect in his returns!