The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-09-15
BLAINE IN HIS OWN STATE.
His Ancestry and Some Of the Reasons
for His Unsurpassed Popularity.
A Man in Whom Malice and Hate Find No
LOdgement-De Devotion to His Friends
The Recent Election.

SASCpAOiA HAONNSAHS1
sion. Unquestionably it has strengthened Blaine,
especially with the betting men, who are Offering
odds in his favor. Last year paid visit to
Maine and went through the most important
towns in the State, and was with the most rep
resentatiye men. 1t is mistake to suppose
that Mr.. Blaine was allowed to pass on the
ground of State pride among the politicians.
That feeling no doubt, did exist among the
common people, both the native and the adopted
folks.
Blaine went to Maine after he had been a
school-teacher in the South, the heir to nothing,
yet with the recollection of highly respectable
and even opulent parentage- people who had in
hospitality and good living squandreed their all
satisfied myself, in visit to southwestern
Pennsylvania, that Blaine came from perhaps
the best ancestry, for four generations of any of
the men who have run for President. His great
grandfather was in effect the great commissary-
general Of the American revolution and high
sheriff Of old mother Cumberland county, the
parent Of nations Of people. His grandfather
had come to the Monongahela river with money
and opportunities, but he did not possess any
knack of thrift or moneymaking, and he finally
died poor. But Blaines father, inheriting from
the commissary- general large sum of money
lence, and the boy who is now running for Pres
dent was born just as the great house they had
inhabited for many years had to be given up.
He lived at the other end of the town, when he
went to school, in frame house. and could walk
up the street and see the huge over grown palace
where his father and mother had been the chief
entertainers of the country.
Blaine got from his mother the sweetness of
nature which has made him friends, the polite
and courtly address which has made its impress
sion in other States where he was stranger,
and something of that half Virginia chiyalry
which would rather say yes than mo to any
request. For these very things he has been
abused The sneak school, complains that he is
too lberal that if he were President he might
give away peanut or something of that sort.
This campaign will extirpate, as predicted when
it began, the race of sneak reformers IN this
country No matter who is elected President,
the little gang of professional sneaks for whom
nobody is good enough will expire, and the class
of editorial writing INDUCED in by such papers as
the New York Times and the Evening Post will
be subject for laughter rather than interest.
Men without stomachs. with no pride of country,
are not fit for the editorial business; they are
not fit to be preachers of any kind. From Blaine's
father he derived his rougher qualities-his long
legs and big hips and stag-like appearance. His
fathers family were Scotch Irish bred on the
mountains, fond of hunting. cunning and pros
pecting in the woods.
In Blaine you find mixture of adventure and
refinement He had to be liberal man, because
| while he was brought up Presbyterian, and by
choice adhered to that Sect he knew his mother
was pure and devout Catholic woman. Hence,
during this campaign, when they are searching
everywhere for things to prejudice people
against him, there is surprisingly little to be
found in all his record of mere denunciation.
Hate was left out Of the mans composition He
will fight. although he does not prefer it, but
after the fight mild and compassionate spirit
comes quickly to him.
Blaine went to Maine with no other attach
mo f thapo fhan cxxifo
derstood that there was rather bright fellow
on the paper, and that he was tolerably smart at
a speech and had way of getting acquainted.
In very few years the old politicians of Maine
took Blaine right into their camp. If they did
not want him in he was there. He presided
over the Legislature, went to Congress and soon
beat the Massachusetts, man for Speaker. l
well recollect the contest between Dawes and
Blaine / thought Dawes would be elected be-.
cause he came from Massachusetts. 1t seemed
rather strange that fellow from away up in
Maine should beat the fellow with the Boston
dip for anything. 1 found, however, that all the
young chaps around Congress and all the clerks
were for Blaine
Mr.. Bartlett, now the secretary of the Chinese
legation, came to me one day and said that Mr..
Dawes was going to withdraw, that he could not
compete with Mr.. Blaine in his style of canvass.
| When man gets beat he throws himself right
back into the fact that he is too pure to adopt
| the other mans methods. When you catch a
man running for Speaker who will be behind.
hand in any of the methods of his opponent, you
may put it down that he has not his opponents
ability. There is no moral standard of running
for Speaker; the one standard of running for
Speaker is to be elected Blaine made Dawes
chairman of the ways and means committee.
Contrast this with the way Randall behaved to
Morrison come years afterward. He punished
Morrison for running against him. or for organ
lzing against him. by giving him some absurd
little committee. The consequences of that act
have been seen in the late scheme to make free
trade the Democratic doctrine, and by it to rule
Randall out of the party.
AS SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE.
Blaine became the great Speaker of the Repub-
lican party after the peace. That Office probably
never acquired the power it did in his hands, be-
cause, with his active nature he was constantly
expanding the Office and enlarging the power Of
Congress, and it is the genius Of our country
that the representative body should have the
fullest powers. The people Of Maine have sell
dom been greedy for political favors. They are
in general a remote and cordial people, who un-
derstand modesty and the great demands of a
place like the speakership upon their neghbor.
Most of these people would be greatly benefited
by an Office which paid them 81, 900 year salary
Blaine never behaved to these people as if he
was afraid they were going to ask him for some
thing He never was afraid to ask for favor
for another man. He was good counselor
however. and many person who came to him
with restless mind and wanted to enter the
government service would be pointed out by
Blaine better route to success in life, and he
would give him start for it. Many of the posi-
tions he got for other people were through his
rich friends outside. was well acquainted with
the late James w. Bosler, better man in all his
instincts than any reformer in the United
States, more generous, more appreciatiye and
he often told me of how Blaine would work a
man in here and yonder, get this man on a cattle
ranch, and another one on railroad.
It was in that very way that the fuss about
the Mulligan letters happened. In the State Of
Maine lived several rich men who had but little
idea of where to invest their money. Blaine
cultivated the young delegates from the new
Territories. and asked them where money could
be made. So Fisher. Colburn and others were