The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1884-10-16
1t Stands Confessed.

1t is not necessary for the Democrats
to state and elucidate a single charge
| against James @. Blaine to demonstrate
not only his shameless, constant and
| systematic corruption, but also the uni
versatility of popular belief i'm that corrup-
! ton. The newspapers that now vie
with each other to be considered the
leading Blaine organs have in their mo-
ments of sobriety and candor in the
/ past furnished those who now oppose
/ their candidate with all the ammuni-
ton that they could possibly desire.
This is true with very few exceptions.
Even the New York Tribune and Boston
I Journal have at one time or another in
! their existence indicated doubts OF Mr..
/ Blaine's probity. But the leading pa
pers of New York State and the West
the Troy Times, Albany Journal
Buffalo Express, Buffalo Commercial,
Utica Herald, Cincinnati Commercial
! Gazette, Chicago Tribune and many 9TH
ers have recorded judgments against
Mr.. Bla ne, upon which the Democratic
party ought to be willing to rest its case
at any time. The present painful at
| tempt or these papers 20 make Mr..
Blaine's past reputable in view of what
their unbiased verdicts have been is not
calculated to convince their readers
or make their special pleading respec5-
ed. How Ikea prophecy the following,
from the Buffalo Commercial of May 6,
now reads:
Edmunds only added force to the fact that
if Blaine manages by hook or crook (he can
| not get 1t any other way 10 get the Chicago
| nomination, his party will he put upon the de-
! fensive with candidate of whose record they
are ashamed, whose future makes the bust
! ness men afraid of him, who would be con-
! sistently opposed by every truly independent
/ newspaper in the country; and whose cleo
| ton. should that be brought about by some
mysterious agency, would be regarded as the
! triumph of demagoGism.
That is what the election would sig
nifty, but to the triumph of demagogism
we must also add the triumph of cor
ruption. Eight days later the Commercial
| declared some more frozen truth as fol-
! lows:
! Outside of a ring OF politicians who have
! foundIn Blaine Il bold factiOnal leader, ready
| for raid where spOilS" were to be found,
/ there was no regret expressed. nor was there
| any felt. when his name was stricken from the
/ list of Cabinet officers. The man was at that
| time tested and found wanting. We do not
turn over the deflei pages of his record as a
/ member of the National Legislature The
|
! his career tnen TO mark him rs 4 man impul-
| sIve dangerous and unreliable.
These be strong words, my mast
ers," but none too strong for the appli-
cation that was made of them. How
can n newspaper face its own honest ut
terances of less than five months ago
and expect to carry any weight of in
fluence with Supplying arguments, Ia
boriously and speciously prepared to
meet a partisan emergency? When
Judge Tourgee in his attempted defense
of Blaine at Dunkirk. \. Y. was con-
fronted by the estimate of his character
and record to which he had signed his
name g few months before, he retired in
confusion from the contest. He showed
that he had enough sense of the ialsity
of his position, to blush for the incon-
sistency and insincerity into which, for
party reasons, he had rashly permitted
himself to be betrayed. Were it not
for partisan urgency Mr.. Blaine would
not have single honest defender in the
/ country.-B9StOn OSt.