The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1884-05-22
Blaine of Maine.

He is a queer creature is Blaine, OF
Maine. He is decided original, and
as :ull of tricks as any monkey that
ever appeared in the only greatest show
ON earth-Or in any other show on any
other earth. Neither politicians or peo-
pie know where to have him or what to
do with him. 1t begins to now look
very much as if one of the places to
have him is to DO the place of Repub-
lican candidate for the Presidency; but
appearances may be deceptive. as they
often are in Blaine's case. Even if he
should be candidate the question what
to do with him will be as difficult as
ever.
Starting out with the most pro-
nounced determination not to be a can
didate. Mr.. Blaine apparently betook
| himself to his book and hammered
away at it as diligently as if he were a
space writer dependent for his daily
bread upon the performance of a stated
amount of daily labor. The booms of
the boomers went laundering through
the land, brit he kept his ears closed
and heard them not. His own boom
was laid up in lavender. He knew APP
parently no had no record upon
which to run for even q nomina-
ton, much less for an election. Most
of his party papers told him so and
many of them told him why with q
| fullness, not to say coarsness, of de-
tail which left nothing either to the i'm
agination or to the ingenuity of oppos-
| ing partisanship. He made no defense;
his friends made none. His unavail-
ability seemed to be an accepted fact,
and his withdrawal from the race a
foregcne conclusion. Suddenly it ap-
pears that he has an admitted strength
of 1873 votes in the Chicago Convention
and a claimed strength of $50; his
friend Phelps, of New Jersey. comes to
his defense with an elaborate sponging
out of all the wicked stories his party
has been telling about him, and the pre-
tense that he is not candidate, but 3
poor struggling author is thrust into
the dim background.
Was ever party in this humor wooed?
Never that we recall. But this wooing
has been wonderfully successful; and
the winning of the party is among the
most prominent of political probable
tiles. If the nomination is secured the
party-in the main-will accept it.
It will cost good deal of swal-
lowing. There are brave words
innumerable about tainted candi-
dates" and rotten records" and tat
tooed men, to be eaten before Blaine
can be shouted for with anything like
unanimity. But the swallow Of the
party of moral ideas is capacious, and
practice has made it very expert. Like
the savages who eat only tainted meat,
the proud old party" rather likes can
didates that have been left too long out
side the refrigerator. They will take
Mr.. Blaine with Phelps very 8imsy GER
tifcate of character and the assurance
of the New York tribune, 1.-THE party
will have to rob the cradle and the
grave to find a candidate of whom no
evil can be said.' And they will leave
the task of defeating him, and OF pro-
tecting the Republic from the dishonor
bis election would entail, to the DEM
ocracy.
Such, at least, Is one of the present
probabilities. Allowance must be made,
however, for sunstrokes. The Chicago
Convention convenes about the time the
first crop of sun-strokes ripens; and no.
body can guaranty Dir. Blaine's absti-
nence.-DetroH Free Press.