St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1886-04-01
For The CaledOnian.
WHO ARE FIGHTING AGAINST ED
MUNDS?

opened it's batteries on Senator Ed
munds, flor not making stump speech
es during the late presidential cam
paign) according to pre-arranged pro-
gramme which has been well under
stood for sometime by those who have
had a chance to peep behind the scenes.
1t is thus publicly proclaimed that Mr..
James G. Blaine is to honor the little
state of Vermont by taking an active
hand in the management of her local
affairs, and that his revenges are to
play an important part in our senate
rial campaign. Thus one after anOth-
or the Heterogeneous elements of oppo-
sition to Mr.. Edmunds materialize to
public view. Even now the cOmbina-
ton arrayed against him is very
pretty one as it stands, though the
straightforward republicans and sub
stantial people of Vermont seem to Oc-
cupy very small space in the mOttled
procession.
chief, our great railroad king and pO-
litical :'boss," John Gregory Smith,
the millionaire, "the richest man in
Vermont" his friends boast, who has
in some way piled up his millions
while devOting his life mainly to the
management of bankrupt railroads
surrounded by his trained "ring" spies
and scouts, and attended by his body
guard, the ever faithful Gree Pass
Brigade" ever man of which will fol-
low his personal fortunes wherever his
pass will carry him.
Next, and in full sympathy with
him, with money bags in hand, come
the great law-defying mOnOpOlies of
the country, such as the Pacific rail-
road, and the telegraph and telephone
com binations, with Jay Gould at their
head, that are striving to defy and
override the power of the nation, and
crush out the life blood of the people.
All these monopelies hate and dread
Mr.. Edmunds both for the sturdy
blows he has already given them and
for the still sturdier blows which they
know they will get from him hereafter.
Give him a chance, and they know he
will find way to throttle them i'll
their lawless proceedings and designs,
as he, and he alone, has found way
to grapple with the filthy Mormon
mOnstrOsity that has so long disgraced
the nation. They naturally want to
to their nefariOus purposes, and SO
they join hands with Smith and his
followers to drive into retirement not
only the ablest but the most incOrrupt-
IDLE and useful man in the national
councils and the man who has fought
and will continue to fight, with mark
ed skill and power, the great battle for
the rights of the people against the
monster mOnOpOlies and the case-hard-
sned money kings that control them.
And Mr.. Blaine's Tevenges are used
skilfully to stir up and combine all
these opposing forces. Last, with Chi
nese gongs and illuminatiOns, making
more noise than all the rest, comes the
great democratic war-chief, Hiram At
kins, with his painted warriors behind
him, swearing swift destruction to the
doomed senator. In spite of his bonn
bast and sieve-like leakiness, he is
Smiths most trusted and most relied
on lieutenant. Without him and his
forces, Smith could have no possible
hope of beating Edmunds; so the dem
Ocratic element in this anti Edmunds
combination is the principal and con-
trolling one, and is chiefly relied on to
win the fight.
Now how do the old fashioned re-
publicans of Vermont like the looks of
this combination We have Gov.
Smith, the railroad and political boss,
with his trained retainers and merce-
naries, backed by Hiram Atkins and
his democratic cohorts, here in Yer
mont, aided and allotted from abroad
with abundant "sinews of war" by the
great mOnOpolies of the country, and
all inspired and egged-On by reeenge
We are free to say that, 50 far as our
observation extends, the staunch re-
publicans of Vermont, almost to a man,
are of the opinion that we can manage
our local affairs right here at home,
the aid or advice or dictation
of any of these outside parties, whose
is supremacy offensive
and they especially resent the idea
that Hiram Atkins is mixing himself
up and meddling in the matter in any
way. They have known all about Hi
ram these many years and they know
nothing good of him politically, and
very little good of him, any way and
want nothing to do with him. And
when he assumes to dictate the choice
Of republican officials, as he is now do
ing, or in any manner to control re-
publican action, it will go far to set
right any republican who has been in
,lined to go wrong. Republicans have
found it safe rule of political action
for long while to go just opposite to
,he direction in which Hiram is trav-
cling. They are quite sure to do so
now.
Regarding the revenges above refer
red to, we think it safe to say this /:
That Senator Edmunds was asked to |
declare that what lie once pronounced |