The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1884-11-10
A Review of the Case.

On Saturday night flor we will not antici-
pate what change the dispatches of Sunday
night may give to the situation) the result of
the election on Tuesday night was still in
doubt. The National Republican Commit
tee were still confident of Mr.. Blaine's cleo
ton and published an address saying:
The belief of this committee, founded upon in
vestgatien, is that Mr.. Blaine has a plurality of
several hundred votes and if that be every hon
est man win demand that it be officially declared
Until the official declaration shall be made we ask
the public to unite with US in an honorable effort
to secure perfectly fair count.
This is a fair and reasonable request, aud
must be SO considered by every patriotic cit
izen of the Republic, especially when accom-
panied, as it is, by the declaration s'f Mr..
Cleveland shall be found to have plurality
of even one vote prompt acquiescence will
follow from the Republicans of the United
States" The temper of this address is in
marked aud commendable contrast with that
of the Democratic National Committee who
on Friday night issued one declaring their
belief that Mr.. Cleveland was elected; but
instead of asking the people to wait patient
ly for Verification of their judgment by the
official canvass, they called upon their parti-
sans to assume that Cleveland is chosen, to
hold Jubilee meetings and to resolve that
their judgment, based upon returns and es-
Inmates of which the public knows nothing,
must be accepted as correct, the official re-
ports to the contrary Notwithstanding. This
is unfair, unreasonable, and dangerous to
public order, and it looks as if the men who
put out the address we're conscious that the
true result of the election when known
will not support their pretensions.
The whole country was kept in state of
great anxiety all last week by the uncertain
and varying character Of the returns as
transmitted by telegraph. They were so va
rious because they emapated from various
sources and because additional returns, re-
ceived from one or another of those collect
ing them, char ged the net result in each
case. The great body OF the people could
not well know and discriminate between
these different returns and their trustworth-
mess. They knew that certain returns we're
favorable to the Republicans and certain
others were favorable to the Democrats
There were in fact mora than half dozen
independent sources, no two OF which have
agreed together in the net result at any
stage, sure sign that none were to be abso-
iutely depended upon.
In the first place the New York AssOcia-
ted Press, which has always been chiefly de-
pended upon TO furnish trustworthy news of
elections all over the country, because the
Association is an organization of papers of
all parties and supplies the news it col
lects to all parties, has sent its reports. The
agent of the Associated Press in New York
made his arrangements to get the news of
the election from the twenty-five hundred,
more or less, distinct voting districts in the
State as soon as possible after the vote was
declared. The reports received were tabu-
lated and added in his Office and the aggre-
gates given to the public. This was one
source of news. Another was the Western
Union Telegraph Company. Many have
COMPOUNDED the bulletins sent out by this
company with the Associated Press de-
spatches; but they were distinct and one
was not responsible for the others reports.
It was business enterprise of the telegraph
company to send news collected by itself from
whatever sources it could, and quite distinct
from the business of transmitting over its
wires the news collected by and for the Asso-
ciated Press. Again several of the New York