The Portland daily press., 1886-07-10

the effect of the Portland speech of Citizen
Blaine, which was cabled to the London pa
per, only to become a general topic of Euro
pean discussion. They c0ncede that Mr..
Blaine to-day is the master of the Republic
can situation. If he is not renominated in
1888 no one who is opposed to him can be.
One of the peculiar things to be noted in
this connection is the unceasing activity of
Mr.. Blaines enemies. Now that he is in
private life he is still as much of target al
most as if he were in public place. If the
weather happens to be bad in Maine the con-
dition of affairs is credited to the malign in
fluence of Mr.. Blaine. An anti-Blaine man
never reasons. He just hates and hates on
with an energy and abandon that knows no
rest. The abuse of Mr.. Blaine with the
anti-Blaine people has descended to rub-a-
dub. 1t has gotten beyond reason into the
realm of mere unreasoning noise. Those
who do not admire Mr.. Blaine's politics, and
who do not think he would make good
President need not feel obliged to continue
to throw mud at one of the most interesting
men in politics. There is so little in politics
that is of interest that every one should pray
for long life to Citizen Blaine, whose mere
presence among the living gives flip to the
consideration of every possible political
speculation.
A veteran Democrat said to me yesterday
1.-The day of talking scandal about Blaine is
in the past. Everything that can be said
about him has been said, while to-day he has
a greater individual hold upon the people
than any man in the country There is no
use in talking about the dead matters of the
last campaign. The Pan Electric statesmen
have supplied new issues. The party that
support an administration that carries At
torney-G General Garland and his staff of Pan
Electric associates need not ask the people
to help it rebuke Blaine's candidacy" This
Democrats. They say that they homes tly
advocated reform during the campaign and
made themselves almost i'll in their enthusi-
astic description of the reforms to be Brought
out by Democratic administration of the
affairs of the government
They see now no real change in the admin
istration Of affairs at Washington They see
the corporation powers which have so long
controlled Washington laying its plans to
have and to hold the new administration
They see a Democratic committee in the
House unanimously report stock jobbing
extension bill in the interest of the Pacific
Railroad gang of plunderers, without word
of protest from the administration officials
charged with the supervision of these roads.
They see this Swindle of the government S
interest stopped in the House only through
newspaper publicity, and wonder if the Pres
ident could not take his mind from the con-
siderati0n of a few petty pension papers to
see II he could not do something to secure
the government interest in the enormous
debt Of the Pacific railroads, now reaching
lions OF dollars: Good work in this direction
would incline the people to look rightly upon
the awful crime of signing unconsidered a
few doubtful pension cases.
number of discouraged Democrats who
have been carefully studying the situation at
Washington are beginning to ask themselves
how much worse off would they have been
had Mr.. Blaine been elected President They
see the departments still under the control of
the very elements so denounced by them dur
ing the last campaign. They see an admins
tration absorbed in petty details, having no
broad, general policy. They see the corpo-
rations more triumphant than ever. They
see no prospect of any change or any outlin
ing of any new general policy.
The PRESIDENTS course is the very one to
help MIR. Blalne's prospects as Republican
candidate The negative course of the adj
ministration leaves the opposition party
nothing to do. There are no aggressions to
resist. The record of Republican misdoing
is left undisturbed. On account of this lack
of active discussion there is no chance for
the development of new Republican leaders.
Mr.. Blaine to-day is the chief of his party,
and will undoubtedly SO remain until the
next Republican campaign. 1t is on account
of his prominence and his leadership that
the canvass in Maine this summer promises
to be so interesting. 1t is not because there
arise wholly from the fact that all of the
prominent Republican leaders have been IN
vited to speak, with the understanding that
the issues made are to be those of the Presi-
Dental campaign of 1888.