The Portland daily press., 1884-08-28

and u Presidential Elector-The Fusion
Wing Tries to Capture the Convention
and FaiIs-NO County Convention Held.
In pursuance of call, purporting to be
signed by j. f. Turner, chairman, and W. +.
Eaton, secretary, of the Straight Greenback
District Committee, about twenty-five we'll
known Greenbackers met at Reception Hall
yesterday morning.
j. f. Turner called the meeting to order,
and read the call. By this call all voters of the
First District who oppose both the Democratic
and Republican parties, and who will pledge
themselves to vote for Butler and West in
November, and who will agree to support in
convention, only such men as are willing to
fight both old parties, were invited to meet in
mass convention and nominate a representa-
tive to Congress, Presidential elector and
district committee. Mr.. Turner was elected
permanent chairman, apd-after several gen.
tlemen had been nominated and declined
Mr.. f. A. Lambert secretary.
The chair was authorized to appoint COM
mittee on resolutions, and from this point
trouble commenced. The chair appointed
Rev. W. f. Eaton, the Straight Greenback
candidate for Governor and secretary of the
District committee, chairman, and P. 81. Cor
don and Isaac Hanscomb such committee. Mr..
Eaton said it was well known that he had op-
posed Butler as Presidential candidate from
the outset, and did all he could to defeat his
nomination at Indianapolis. He certainly had
never pledged himself to accept Butler as STAN
dard bearer. If he had known that the call
4 ioI,h nI hoo o,,l .aI, IL
nature was to have been issued he should
never have permitted his name to be at
tached to it. Consequently it would be absurd
for him to be chairman on the committee of
resolutions of this convention. He never
knew such a convention was to be held antil
two days before, when he accidentally learned
of it from Judge Gilbert of Bath, to whom he
disclaimed any part or parcel in it, saying
those who knew of the action taken by him at
Indianapolis would think he had turned a
complete political semersault. He found the
chairman of the county committee in the same
fix, not having signed his name to the call for
that convention. Whether the name of the
chairman of the District committee had been
obtained in like matter he couldn't say.
Mr.. Turner then nominated Mr. 81. W.
Fletcher, Mr.. Simonds, Rev. Mr.. Butterfield
of Deering, and Samuel Jewett of Deering
Mr.. Hanscomb and Mr.. Jewett both declared
they had never promised to support Butler
and declined, as did all the other named gen.
tlemep.
Mr.. Gordon then opposed the appointment
OF any committee on resolutions, and on his
motion it was voted to endorse and re-affirm
the State and National Greenback platforms.
Mr.. Hanscomb here stated, on a call for
members from York county, that he was the
only one present. He declared he thought the
standard bearer of the party, Rev. Mr.. Eaton,
should have been consulted before the
call for the convention was issued and
he declined to make York county responsible
fer the conventions action here today.
Mr.. J. f. Turner said he wrote the call,
showed it to several prominent Greenbackers,
and as they approved it, and as Mr.. Eaton was
away he took the responsibility of issuing it.
Mr.. Eaton said that while he was deeply in
sympathy with Greenback principles, he was
not going to submit to any body Of men who
put him IN position compelling him to
support man not in sympathy with those
principles: He had antagonized Butler in his
paper, and strongly in the national conven-
ton: Possibly. occasion might arise that he
would support Butler, but not, as now, by
surrender of principle,
DR., #. Observation-Disclosures of the late Fu-
sion-Greenback district convention-said the
members of most conventions had no power to