The daily enterprise. [volume] (Livingston, Mont.) 1883-1884, 1884-06-07
Rlaine'S BiOgraphy.

James Gillespiej Blaine was born in
Pennsylvania January 81, 1880, and is
therefore ffty-four years old. Several
years of his early life was spent in Lam
caster, Ohio, in the family of Gen. Thomas
Ewing, with whom Gen. Sherman also
lived at one time His education was ac-
quired at Washington college, from which
he graduated in 1847.He was a school
teacher few years and in 1853 he be-
came tho editor of a paper at Kennebec,
Maine. The far cast state his been
his home from that time forward
and has been the field cf all
his honors. In 1853, when editor of a
Portland paper,he was elected to the state
Legislature and served four years in that
position, during two of which khe was
speaker of the assembly. His service in
the state body was terminated by his cleo
ton to congress in 1862, where he quickly
became distinguished as an able debater
and rare parliamentarian. In 1869 he
was honored by election as speaker which
he held during the term and succeed ed
in saddling himself with those charges of
corruption which have been thrown at
him ever since, and which will he made
to do constant service during the coming
campaign. In 1877 he entered the sem
ate, and one of his first votes in that body
was cast against the Electoral Commission.
as being unconstitutional. Under Gar
fields brief administration Blaine was Sec
retary of state and potent factor in the
government as whole. With Garfield's
death Blaine retired and has since busted
himself with writing his "Twenty Years
in Congress- work which has added
greatly to his fortune and will be no in
significant item in the total of his future
fame. Blaine has long had an ambition
to be president. In 1876 he first came to
the front as prominent candidate. But
during their congressional service he had
incurred Roscoe Conkling's enmity by In
f1icting some wound to the latter's sensi-
tive personal feelings s-calling him tur-.
key-gobbler or some such matter. What
ever was the cause Conkling brought the
entire weight of his great influence against
the man from Maine to prevent him from
gaining the nomination; yet SO strong was
the latter that Conkling could only COM
pass the nomination of r B. Hayes,
sort of nobody who was never elected to
the presidency though he held the seat
four years. Blaine at that that time got
351 votes out of 37S necessary to achoice.
Hayes was nominated on the seventh
ballot having worked up to 3S4 on that
ballot from 81 on the first In 1880 there
was another struggle by Blaine against
the Conkling faction with Gen. Grant as
their figure head. Conkling was still pow
erful but not sufficiently so to secure the
nomination of Grant though he held the
votes of the noble 1906 against all odds.
Blaine got 284 votes on the first ballot out
of necessary 378, but did not advance
beyond that strength. Garfield was
brought to the front as acompromise can
dinate and the nomination and election |
were given him. How he ruled during a
few months, how he received the assassin's
bullet, how he suffered and finally died
are fresh in the memory of all who can
read what is here written. Blaine was
of state during the seven
months administration and handled the
department with no uncertain grasp. Now
in 1884 comes the .splumed knight" once
more with the demand that the republic
an convention nominate and the people
elect linn to the presidency. In the first
move he has been successful; in the sec
md thc result remains to be worked OUT
amid tlse utmost uncertainty. No conk-