The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1886-09-02
Ra,sisA News aaa oAsssvse.)
Mr.. HBlaame,s speech.

III. james q. Blaine, OF whom moes OF OUT
readers have heard, and who b aptly referred to
BY the New York Ssr % Congressman, sx-
Senator. ex-Secretary Of State. ex- Presidential
candidate and ex-pectant Of more than al these
learned titles imply" blew the first blast OF his
campaign for the Presidency In 1883 from the
shores Of . little Maine lake on Tuesday. In
other words he sounded the keynote OF what the
next republican air is to be and under these cir
cumstances It might have been supposed that he
would say something new. But this seems not
to have been 90. He endeavored, a. OF old, to
embitter the North agains, the South and Ia
bored TO make a. heavy - possible the line BE-
tween the two sections which yet he referred TO
Is imaginary and which 10 point Of tact 10 I'M
aginary. He took up the labor question and
twisted 1t to his purpose, putting the skilled Ia
borer of the North on notice that 20 long IS hc
h forced to compete with the negro laborer OF
the South he cannot expect that his condition
will improve He held that the Southern negro
Is not allowed just share Of the wealth which
his labor produces, and that this Is the result of
silencing Of the negro's voice at the ballot box
by the democratic He made bid for the sup
port of the Knights of Labor by declaring that
In the South by depriving the democrats OF
power or be dragged to lower plane by forced
competition with the cheap Southern labor.
This style of harangue, il will be seen, is alto
gether in the vein of Blaine of former years. 1t
will be recognized by all who have given any
attention to the Plumed Knight of republican
ism. Its only novel feature perhaps is the fact
that it is less plumed knighly than Blanes efforts
used to be, indicating decay not only political
but Intellectual
The Democratic administration is arraigned
in the speech, OF course, particularly as regards
the fisheries, the Mexican and the tariff ques-
tons, and the conclusion is devoted to the pro-
hibition question. The truth is that the prohi-
bitioniss are about to drive the Republican party
| out of Maine, and hence Mr.. Blaine labored
earnestly to prove that the prohibtionist can
| find everything he desires in the Republican
party.
The general impression of the partisan effort
seems to be that it will do the Republicans more
harm than the Democrats. The New York Is1
6une praises II as in duty bound, but touches the
| prohibition feature of it only as it were with
ten foo, pole. The New York World (Dem)
says of il:
ut is plain that Mr.. Blaine is apprehensive
about third party, and he labors with all the
| argument and logic at his command to prove
that the Republican party Of Maine is TO day
| and has always been consistent friend OF pro-
| hibiton. His fight in Maine is to hold the pro-
hibtion party voters in the Republican ranks,
| this year, for the Neal Dow detection promises
| to reduce the Republican majority next month,
| and this TO Mr.. Blaine means great deal just
| now"
| The New York Times Und. Rep.) says
ut is such speech rs VIC do not remember
| Mr.. Blaine ever to have made before, and such
as any one of five hundred or thousand ora
| tors in the Republican party could have made
| with equal ease.
| On the labor question Mr.. Blaine speaks, on
| the whole, with candOr and good sense. The
spirit of what he Says is fairly represented by his
exbortation to every citizen to keep before his
| eyes and in his thoughts the honOred maxim
that the liberty OF one man must always end
where the rights Of other men begin"
The New York Herald Qnd) says
"He attacked the Democratic as the party of
free trade, maintained that the panacea for the
labor difficulties is protection, criticised Secre-
tary Bayard's patient endurance of Canadian
outrage toward American fishermen on the one
hand and his unnecessary and undigni6ed dis
play of insolence and bravado toward Mexico
on the other, and finally coming to the main issue
in the State canvass, assured the prohibitonsts
that the true party of prohibition is the Republi-
| can"
The Philadelphia Press (rabid Republican,
says:
I'VE commend to the copsidera!on Of the rea q;
sincerity the protested objects of the prohibition
organization the remarks of Mr.. Blaine on this
subject before they cast their votes to aid party
which has opposed prohibition whenever and
wherever it has been directly or indirectly in
issue by every means and device at its com.
mand."
The Philadelphia Times Qnd.) says:
Those who anticipated an oratorical display of
| the fireworks order from Mr.. Blaine will be dis
appointed. His speech opening the Republican
| campaign in Maine and incidentally his own for
the presidential nomination in 1888 is not of ex-
traOrdinary brilliancy. II is evident that in his
| opinion the tariff will be the main issue two
years from now, and he hastens to renew his de-
| votion to protection. He sympathizes with the
laboring men in their efforts to keep in the SWIM
but be has nothing new to offer and finds pan
acea for all their troubles in protective tariff
But the one thing that is troubling Mr.. Blaine
more than any other is the attitude of the third
party. Neal Dow and his prohbtionsts have
threatened to drive the Republican party out.
| They have begun work right in Maine, and are
threatening Pennsylvania, New Jersey and other
States Mr.. Blaine scents the danger in the air,
not only to his Stale party, but to his national
party as we'll The third party must be stamped
out before 1t grows 10 strength and power, and it
| is TO this work that he addresses himself"
The Baltimore San Qnd) says:
ION the whole, this effort of Mr. Blaine, con-
| sderng the amount of ammunition he is re.
ported to have been laying in, oes not do JUS
| tice 70 his reputation political debater, but
would rather seem TO indicate decided break
ia the distinguished gentleman's intellectual
| vigor"
1t appears, therefore, that the Plumed Knight
has simply thrown a boomerang. His alleged
party has renewed cause for entreay that it may
| be saved from such friend.
Cuth ia \ I