The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1882-06-07
nemiston Journal

The nomination of Scion Chase for Governor
by those Greenbaekers who believe in main
tanning Greenback party, and the nominal
ton of Governor Plaisted by those Greenback-
ers who believe that it is their mission to unite
themselves with the Democratic party, was an
inevitable outcome of the differences which
have existed in the Greenbaek ranks, on the
question of the objects and methods OF their
party organization.
The Greenback party was inaugurated ID
Maine through the efforts of Scion Chase and
other men, who, we have no doubt sincerely
believed that whatever the Government
stamped and declared to be money, was mon
ey OF the value stamped upon it, without any
reference to its intrinsic value or redemption
in coin On that assumption every one of their
complaints against tie financial policy OF the
Government was we'll founded. On the other
hand, If that assumption was unsound. then
the whole fabric of their denunciatory platform
fell. No sooner had this really sincere but
mistaken class of men founded the Greenback
party than its remarkable growth began to at
tract not only the mere soldiers of fortune but
a large proportion of the leaders and voters OF
the Democratic party. The soldiers of fortune,
who care nothing for any principle, thoughe
they saw chance for loaves and fishes The
! leaders OF the Democratic party, shouting the
| battle cry OF ''any thing to beat the Republi-
cans y comforted themselves and their follow
efs with the assurance that by temporarily pre-
| tending to be Greenbackers they could not only
cantuge the Greenbaek party but ultimately
| bag lie ten thousand Republicans who bad
| goAe Into the Greenback party, for the benefit
| OF the Democratic party. We are all cognlzant
Of the fact that hating Democrats, who hest
| tate6 to aid the Greenback party, have peen
/ repeatedly told by the Democratic leaders that
| by playing Greenbaekism for short time no
J harm would be done to the Democratic party,
| and eventually the whole Greenback party
would be bagged by the Democracy. :,
Everything went smoothly in the "bagging
programme Till 1880, when Scion Chase and the
i original Greenbackers began to see that the end
| OF fusion would be the swallowing OF the
/ Greenback party by the Democratic party.
| Indeed, they saw that already the State Com
/ nliitee set to guard the Greenback party, We're
| simply puppets pulled by the Democratic lead
eis, and that the Greenback party could nom
mate no candidates except as dictated ny the
1 same Democratic leaders. The real Green
/ hackers were hoodwinked in the gubernatorial
! campaign of 1880 bv the assurance that Plaist-
ed was nothing but a straight Greenbacker.
| AS soon as the gubernatoral campaign was
ended, however, Plasted showed his hand, and
| it cropped out that he was nominated by the
| Democrats with the assurance that an electoral
| should be Hancock men.
| This unmasking OF Plaisted's sale to the
| Democrats and of his purpose to make the
| Greenback party practically wing OF the Dem
ocratic party, caused the Straight Greenback
revolt in the Presidential election of 1880, and
the upsetting for the time being of his plans.
| Then followed last year the refusal of q thous-
| and or moro Democrats in the second district
TO fight under the Greenback banner, on q
| platform which declared that the nominee for
| Congress should act with the Greenback party
| in Congress, and not as Ladd and Murch had
| done, simply as Democrats in disguise. These
| Democrats simply said chat they were willing
| to vote for candidates. without regard to their
| label, who would act as Democrats after they
were chosen; but they would not vote for any
! who proposed to act as members of the Green
back party, to further Greenback ideas.
To make sure that the Greenbackers who pro-
posed TO maintain distinct Greenback party
and never to go over to the Democrats, should
have no organ, the Fusion leaders deposed So
| lon Chase from the editorial control OF bis In
quirer, made the management of the Green
back party simply an "annex" OF the Demo-
! cratic party, put forward PlaiSted as "Green-
back" candidate for governor, to catch Green
hackers, with the understanding that he shall
| also be nominated as the Democratic candi-
| nate to catch Democrats, and should continue
| TO regard the Democratic and Greenback party
| as one and the same in nominations for office.
! The result was that those Greenbackers who
really believed in Greenbackism, and who
wanted to maintain party to further its prn-
| ciples-and not simply to help the Democratic
! party into power-have refused to longer coun-
tenance the plans of the Fusion managers, and
| have raised the banner of Straight Greenbaek-
sm The movement will be likely to show
how many of the Greenbackers are ready to
| practically go over to the Democracy, and how
| many propose to stand by distinct Greenback
party and Greenback ideas.
| 1t is noticeable in this connection that the
| Fusion Greenbackers of Maine have separated
themselves from the Greenbackers of the rest
of the Union Everywhere outside of Maine,
/ the Greenbackers maintain their separate or
ganization, nominate, always, their own candi-
dates, pledged to stand and vote with other
| Greenbackers and refuse to trade with either
Of the great parties. In several districts mem
bers of one or the other parties have voted for
Greenback candidates. but they did it with the
express declaration that the candidates would
be Greenbackers and nothing else. Outside of
Maine, the Greenback party stands for a free
ballot and fair count, and the Greenback
| Representatives ia Congress outside of Maine
vote for it every time
But the Fusion Greenbackers of Maine and
the so called Greenback Representatives that
they have sent 10 Congress unite with the DEM
| ocrats in endeav0rs to make election frauds
| successful, and one of them-Ladd-even yot-
ed for Gam Randall for Speaker in 1879.
In the recent great contest in tho National
| House to secure free ballot and a fair count
as the South--a contest which practically in
yolVed also the right of Col Lowe, of Ala
| bama, a Southern Greenbacker, to his seat
| Laid voted or refused to vote, every time,
! with the Democrats, and Murch was absent.
Such facts clearly show that Fusion Greenback-
ism is marching straight for the Democratic
| party and every Greenbacker who supports it
can but see that he is not supporting the Green
back party Of The Union, but the Democratic
party.