Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1886-12-03

BILE conduct of the latter at the house of
ex President Arthur:
There were several reasons why Mr..
| Blaine did not feel disposed to recognize
Mr.. Edmunds That gcnteman's treat
ment of Mr.. Blaine has been shabby and
almost treacherOlis. | do not refer to
| their antagonisms in Congress, nor espe-
ciallv to Edmtnd's conduct in 1854, for
! Mr.. Blaine would he the last man to crit
| icise any one for not supporting nm But
| when the opposition to Edmunds's return
! to the Senate began TO develop in Vermont
| 1t was Edmunds who offered the olive
branch to Blaire II is doubtful wheth-
err any effort Mr.. Blaine's friends might
| have made could have prevented Ed
munds's reelection; but they could have
| given him warm fight, ana that would
have gone far to destroy Edmunds's great
prestige in the Green Mountain State.
! Mr. Edmunds foresaw that and sent his
| friends to make terms with the Blaine
people. They said, 1--WE have had enough
factional fighting Call off your dogs and
| lei US have peace" The Blaine people
c consented and Mr.. blHine went so far as
to use his personal influence with his
| friends to keep them out of the fight.
| That was done ! do not think that Mr.
! Blaine expected any reward or hoped to
advance his political fortunes by dong it,
but he certainly had right to expect and
! demand decent treatment at Mr.. Ed
munds's hand. That he did not receive
| From the moment Mr. EdmundS was re
elected he and his friends proclaimed from
the housetops that they had crushed
Blaineism in Vermont and that the vic
tory was purely personal one for Ed
munds, in spite of the best efforts of the
| Blaine men to defeat him, when, as have
said, Mr.. Blaine's friends either took no
part in the fight or worked for Edmunds
The friends of Mr. Blaine We're willing
to allow Mr.. Edmunds to enjoy little
self-g lorification rs long as he confined it to
| That, but when he came out IN another
private letter, reaiIrming the base insin-
uatiOns he made in 1854 against Mr..
! Blaine, we thought it was adding insult to
injury. Mr.. Blaine concluded that for
| bearanCe had ceased to be a virtue and he
cut Mr.. Edmunds from, his list of &C
| quaintances from that time. Who can
blame him He could not have taken
| Edmundss hand without FORGETTING his
self-respect. Mr. Blaine regretted that
they met where they did, but he could not
help that. If Mr.. Blaine had reflected he
might not have made his snub quite so
marked, but he is impusive by nature,
and smarting under Edmunds's double
dealing and brutality he acted as any
other man of spirit would have done under
! the circumstances.
Who the blaine people, alluded to
may be, we do not know but be they
who they may, we feel quite safe in deny
| ing that Mr. EdmuHds ever sent anybody
to make terms" with them. Having all
along said that he was not conscious of
any personal animosty toward Mr..
Blame, and that his course in regard to
| him was matter of principle, Mr. Ed
munds could not have had any apologies
to make, and we do not suppose that any
one who knows him believes that he asked
for any favors. He would not ask favors
of his friends and he most certainly did
not ask favors of his enemies.
This is the first we have ever heard
about Mr.. Blaine's using his personal
influence to keep his friends out of
the fight against Mr.. Edmunds. That fight
was made from first to last by Mr.. Blaine s
friends. Mr.. Charles Sheldon Of Rutland
who boasts of his personal intimacy with
Mr. Blaine ana who honestly believes that
| Mr. Blaine made tine universe, was the
bitter opponent Of Mr.. Edmuuds, right up
to the day of the latter's reelection. The
/ paper he owns was filled with gross per
sOnal abuse of Mr.. Edmunds all through
the summer and fall, and we do not know
as he has stopped abusing the senator yet.
\ word from Mr.. Blaine would probably
have stopped this, at any time. After the
county conventions throughout Vermont
had distinctly shown the desire and inten-
ton on the part of the Republicans OF
Vermont to return Nh Edmunds, the
fight against the senator was maintained
by men and money sent to Vermont 10y
Mr.. Baines intimate friends in ano hel
State. These "5laine people hired q
professional slanderer to come to Yer
mont to attack not only Mr.. Edmunds =,
public course but his private character
and filled the State from one end to tn,
other with copies of the newspaper
which printed the lies and scurrlOu,
eiTusions of the hired libeller, right up tC
the election. This is the way in which Mr..
Edmunds's outside opponents "called of
their dogs" Right after the first Tuesday
in September one dog went home to New
York, with his tail between his legs.
, No proclamation was made by Mr.. Ed
munds, or by any one authorized TO SPEAK
for him, that they had crushed Blainesn
in Vermont Mr.. Edmunds's utteranCe:
after the election We're characterized by
the same dignity and reserve which h,
had shown before. Nor has he "com'
ont" with a letter reatlirming insinua
| written in 1854 mas recently been printed
but not at the instance of Mr.. Edmunds
= We have no idea that he was in any
manner a party to its publication at TIM
time. Al most the letter was simply on'
of a number of explanations of his course
; given to his friends two years ago, severu
of which, substantially similar to this
@ were printed during the canvass 1t at
forded no reason why Mr. Blaine shoulC
cease to conduct himself like a gentleman
; More might he said but we contine our
2 selves to IA correction of the distinct mis-
statements in the above attempt TO eXcus
the conduct of the Maine statesman.
Making New States.
The question of the admission of Wash
ington and other territories is likely to b.
r. pressed ON Congress in its coming session
1t seems to be impossible to prevent tn,
. | contrOllinp influence of political consider