The Portland daily press., 1884-08-26
Portland. Aug. %, 1884.
Comments by "RepubIican. :.

Comments by seRepubIican.v
To the Editor Of the Press:
have before me the letter of Judge Cleaves
to the Press to which you have called my at
tention, and In reply to which wish to make
the following suggestions:
His first complaint is that Republican"
misrepresents his war record in saying that
Judge Cleaves remained at home and sup
ported the party whose platform declared the
war wrong in principle"
am pleased to learn of the action of Judge
Cleaves in boiling the convention at Augusta
to which he refers, and to give him credit
therefore. 1t WAS the action of the Democratic
National Convention of 1864 to which refer
red, and Judge Cleaves does not tell us
whether he supported the nominee of that
convention at the Presidential election in
November of that year. 1.-The did not I shall
be pleased to be corrected by him.
The point which intended to make was to
show that Mr.. Reed served in the war, and
Judge CleaYes did not, and that therefore the
former was within the spirit of the principle
appealed TO in the Brunswick address, that
soldiers are entitled to preference in appoint
ments to Office, and a fortiori, to the support of
their party after they have been fairly nomin-
ated He next complains of my reference to
the count out The course pursued by the
PRESS in commencing Judge Cleayes because
he resigned thu position to which he had been
unlawfully certifcated was prompted pre-
sumo by the apparent contrast between his &C.
ton .and that of others, such as Daniel W.
True, who took and held his position in the
Senate and William B. Skillin, who qualified
and undertook to perform the duties of a
County Commissioner until elected by decree
Of the Court. As compared with them, the
position of Judge Cleaves vas honorable, .
but it would have been still more SO if he had
initiated the example of Mr.. Augustus f.
Moulton, who refused to qualify as County At
torney under the certificate issued to him at
the same time. The latter might have as
sumed that the "public business" required
that he should follow the example of Judge
Cleaves, because there were forty jail pri-
soners awaiting the action of the grand jury
who were then in attendance; but Mr. Moui-
toms action indicated conviction that the
pressure neither of his party nor of "publIc
business would justify him in qualifying
upon the certificate Illegally issued.
The gentlemen whose names are mentioned
by Judge Cleaves undoubtedly viewed his ac-
ton In the same light as the PRESS did and like
the PRESS, having no actual knowledge of
facts showing the contrary, acquitted Lin of
any active participation in the cor at out it
self, or intentional endorsement approval o
1t.
1t is true that he worked for the county
without compensatiosa for two weeks; but hi
last official act sso the expiration of that TIM
wss one wt:zdn he could have performed on tn
- C .Sa4 = 49,
ARRANGE to have Judge Gilbert of Sagadaho
hold the court in this county until Judge Pea
body, 1olso had been elected, could take his;seat
This course, taken earlier, would have provid
ed for the public business and left him fire.,
from any charge of endorsing the act of "Tabu
lator' Chase.
In addition to the fact mentioned yesterda,
that Mr.. Swasey appeared in opposition to thu
petition of Judge Peabody before the Govern
or and Council, would call Judge Cleaves
attention to an open letter signed by "Tabula
tor" Chase, addressed to Hon. A. A. Strout
Sept. 10, 1880, in which the "Tabulator" tire,
times refers to Judge Cleayes as advising ant
endorsing the very course which he pursued.
Iquote the following extracts from that let
ter. He says:
ST am Democrat from principle, standin,
with Bion Bradbury, Nathan Cle0Ues, George
Walker, ex-senator Bradbury of Augusta, A
p. Gould, and, in short, every Democrat in tn,
State SO far as know on this question Of TIKI
so-cdlIed cotLntout."
Again he says: "As to the cities thrown on
owing to "fatal defects" it was unanimous Al
this did after looking over the whole matte
and receiving the very best legal sd0tee in tn,
State, including Nathan CledUes, Bion Brad
bury, our Atty. General A. P. Gould, ex-Sena
tor Bradbury of Augusta, and others of Port
land and elsewhere. In fact no Democratic
lawyer or other Democrat was ever to m,
cd haor d toe ~ 11of0
perfectly legal and correct" (The "Tabulator'
forgot that Mr. Putnam pronounced 1t fraud
And for third time he says: NOW, all thu
excuse offer for writing 30 much is l know
was right, and some OF the first lawyers in tht
State say that we were right; lawyers like Bior
Walker and many Others"
Thus the "Tabulator" in no uncertain man
per cast the responsibility largely upon
Judge Cleayes; and as the former is today one
Of the ardent supporters of the latter
[ presume the latter has never repudi
Cleaves is noc prepared to say that the Estate
steal' was larceny and premeditated fraud
and that he resigned because it was gross at
tempt to undermine onr republican institutions
and not from policy because he saw the hand
writing on the wall; and that he qualified moi
to endorse the act of the "Tabulator," whom
he had, according to the latter, advised; then
will the writer commend him.
Had he like Mr.. Moulton kept aloof or like
Mr.. Putnam openly condemned the whole pro.
ceeding, and had he as lawyer sustained the
Court against the vituperation and abuse
heaped upon it by Democratic lawyers and
orators, the PRESS would most cheerfully re.
peat today the complimentary words which are
quoted by bim-and would say Amen!
The object of my former article was not to
attack Mr.. Ceaves, but to expose the unsound
position of the address of which it treated. ]
make no attack now upon him, but either he
must condemn the dishonest count and his
friend the "rabulator," or he must approve it,
and if the latter, then / ask Gen. Chamber
lain and Judge Barrows how contributing to
his election can advance the principles of a
free ballot and an honest count to which the
Republican party is fully committed in precept
and in nractice REPUBIICAN