The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1880-03-24
How the Tabulators squirm!
Names Electoral Vote.
Boston Traveller.l

Boston Iravcller.l
Names Electoral history began at time
that is within the recollection of her most
eminent citizens, of whom Senator Hamlin
can be considered the special representative
for though she is of the oldest territory of what
now forms the American Republic, and she
bears an ancient French name that is associ-
ated with Normandy, she did not become a
State until the year 1880. She was admitted
into the Union on the 18th of March, 1920,
sixty years ago last Monday. Nine Electoral
votes were assigned her, under the apportion-
ment made after the census of 1910 had been
taken. AS the number of Electors in 1920 was
232, she had almost twenty-sixth part of the
entire force. Now she has seven Electors, in
total of 369 votes, or about fifty-third part
of the Presdent-making power. Thus she is
not quite half so strong in 1880 in this respect
as she was in 1920, though her population is
far more than twice as large as it was in 1920,
and her growth in other respects has been i'm
mense. Such are the workings of our Electo-
raj system, that individual States become
weaker, in the matter of appointing the ma
tional Chief Magistrate, as they increase in
population and material prosperity. Voting
for the first time in 1820-21, Maine went with
all the other States, helping to re-elect Mr..
Monroe to the Presidency, and Mr.. Tompkins
to the Vice Presidency. In 1S24-5, she voted
for Mr.. J. @. Adams and for Mr.. Calhoun:
but in 1S2S-29, while eight of her Electors
voted for the reelection of President Adams,
her ninth Elector voted for General jackson,
and for Mr.. Calhoun. This was the first sup
port OF the kind that General jackson ever
received in New England for the Presidency;
but in 1928 Maine gave all her votes, in
creased to ten, for his re-election-and she
voted for Mr.. Van Buren,, who was the Demo-
cratic candidate for the Vice Presidency. The
Democratic position then assumed by
Maine she maintained, with one exception,
down to the time when the aggressions of the
shareholders had forced the Republican party
into existence. In 1S56-37, when the Wings
had failed to unite in the nation, on any can
didate, her 10 votes were cast for Mr.. Van
Buren, and for Colonel Richard M. johnson.
Under the Whig fury of 184O-41, she supported
General Harrison and Mr.. Tyler; but it was
close work, the Whig majority being but
large popular vote. The State went back to
the Democrats in a year, at the gubernatorial
election of 1841; and in 184445, her Electoral
votes, reduced to nine, were given for Polk
and against Mr.. Clay. She stood out against
the "bolting"' storm of 1S4S-49, voting for
Cass and Butler; and in 1928 she supported
Pierce and King, giving them eight votes, the
last time that she gave Democratic vote at a
national election. AS she then, as now, held
her State election in September, her local ac-
ton came to be considered as an indicator of
the result of the later Presidential election;
and so she obtained consideration out of pro-
portion to her Electoral strength, and her de-
cision was observed from all parts of the Un-
ion. Hence, when, in the summer of 1856, it
began to be said that Maine would pronounce
for the Republicans in September, the Demo-
Gratis treated the assertion scornfuliy but in
September they had to accept defeat in Maine
and the incident gave them dreadful fright.
This was the first effective incident in the
national history of the Republican party. In
November, she made choice of eight Electors,
who voted for Colonel Fremont and Mr.. Day
ton. At every subsequent national election
she was found on the Republican side; and
there she will be found in 1SSO-S1. The high
esteem in which Mr.. Blaine is held throu h
out the country, and which has made him so
prominent as a Presidential candidate, is in
part due to the fact that he is the representa-
tive man of one of the stoutest and most con-
sistent of Republican States-a State that up
holds liberal principles because sincerely at
tached to them, and which has no idea of coun-
tenancing change.