Litchfield enquirer. [volume] (Litchfield, Conn.) 1829-current, 1880-09-23
Maine.

certain 10 60 tnat way Dy smaller or larger
majority. Republicans were thunderstruck
therefore, by the news of Tuesday morning
A Fusion governor; two, and possibly foul
Greenback congressman; and doubtful legis
lature with an q. 8. Senator to be chosen
next winter)-was an avalanche of bad news
that seemed overwhelming. Blaine telegraph
ed, to be sure, that heavy invoice of ''mules'
had upset calculations that seemed certain
but kilograms of that kind seldom carry much
weight unless supported by corroborative facts
and no such facts were just then obvious.
Since those first reports, the aspect of affairs
has most materially changed: The Republi-
can candidate for Governor is elected by q
small plurality, perhaps even by small ma
jority; the election of three Republican Con.
gressmen out of five, is no longer in doubt
and the legislature is heavily Republican.
Surely great improvement. 1t was no longer
rout, nor even a defeat. In 1878 the Re
publicans of Maine were in minority of near
5000 on the popular vote; and of twelve,
on joint ballot in the legislature. Last year
they barely carried the legislature, but were
still in minority of over thousand on the
popular vote. This fall, for the first time in
three years, they got even with all their adYer-
saries on the popular vote. This may not be
| great gain, but it is something.
1t is this change for the better in the re-
turns which, when analysed, supports Mr..
Blaines assertion of a late and heavy invest
ment of Democratic campaign funds in Maine.
Every one who has ever figured on election
returns understands how it is that the vote of
large scattered population like that of Maine
is estimated so accurately within few hours
| after it is cast The large and the easily &C.
| cessible places are those on which the first
estimates are made. Suppose, for instance,
| of 500 towns at midnight of election day. He
compares the vote with that of the same places
in former years and gets the percentage of
gain or loss each party has made. He then
applies those percentages to the vote of previ-
| Gus years IN the whole State; and, if there
have been no disturbing elements which make
his comparison unreliable, he will have arrived
at very close approximation to the total re-
| suit in the State.
Any influence however, which affects the
towns first heard from, and which does not
effect the rest, makes the first election news
very misleading. The percentages of the
towns first heard from, uniform though they
| may seem, form no criterion for the localities
still to be reported. That all the gains first
heard from should be in favor of one party,
and that all the gains thereafter should favor
the other, is sure indication of special lnf1u-
ences brought to bear ON one or the other of
these classes of localities. Now this was
precisely the difficulty with the Maine returns
All those first received favored the Fusionists :;
the later returns as uniformly favored the
| Republicans. This establishes the fact that
special Democratic influences were brought to
bear on the cities and larger towns, and those
most accessible, which did not affect the back
| towns or the back counties. What were those
influences? Mr.. Blaine writes as follows to
Gen. Garfield regarding the supposed Republi-
can defeat:
The result is undeniably q surprise to us,
and equally 80 to the mass of the Democratic
party in Maine. Our canvass was never more
accurately taken and it showed on Wednesday
last total vote for Davis of t:iie over 76, :
| 600, with an assured majority of 5000 at the
minimum. In the four days preceding the
election we lost over 5000 votes by means
| well known to the managers of the National
| Democratic campaign, and which do not call
for further specifications from me. The total
cost is variously estimated at from $75, 900 to
loO, OO0, and the money all came from beyond
the State. Such scenes were never witnessed
| in Maine.
And in subsequent letter he says: ''The
| Democratic alarm over the result in Vermont
caused the application of arguments in both
districts last week which we could not meet"
AS we before remarked we do not pin our
faith to any statements of Mr.. Blaine, unless
the facts warrant them. Do they not sustain
| the charges he makes in this case? We are
familiar with the similar management of af-
fairs in cur own State Whenever it is the
Democratic politicians object to carry the
State on popular vote, he puts his money
into the large cities, where voters can be
bought for 30 head who would cost $15 in
the country and where the larger masses of
voters can be reached effectively, yet expedt-
iously. What Connecticut Republicans have
to fear, this fall, is the vote of New Haven.
Hartford, Waterbury and Bridgeport-cities
whose vote have so frequently turned the scale
against US. This seems to us to have been the
precise policy in Maine. Mr. Rarnum put his
hand late, but heavily, on the cities and the
largest and most accessible towns. Here he
scored large gains. and saved two Greeubaclx
congressman from defeat. He played his
game well, and has given the Republicans
throughout the country scare that ought to
do them great deal of good In playing this
interesting game for q presidency with Mr..
Barnum, Messrs. Jewell, Blaine, and other
Republicans workers" are dealing with a
old hand who is very apt to win the odd
trick.
The Springfield Republican has a Connect
cut correspondent who speaks out with the
holiness peculiar to the paper; but he some
times misconstrues events, as he plainly has
done the recent Democratic Congressional
convention in this district:
Both sides mean to work. The Republi-
cans set aside Andrews, who by the way by
gracefully accepting the situation has dread.
fully disappointed the Democrats who were