Morning journal and courier., 1886-06-24
What Judge Luke P. Poland Say,
 AboMr Their Relations.

From Letter te the Burlington Free Press.l MT. Edmunds and MT. Blaine have bott been for many years in public life and seve ral years were in the Senate together. Bott are men of uncommon ability, both are am. bilious and both understand that it is better to be rich than to be poor-in other respects they are unlike as two men could be made The natural cast of their minds and their different training brought the natural result that upon many public questions they took very opposite views. Neither could yield his own or look with approval upon the opinion of the other. Hence I have no doubt MT. Edmunds would have much pre- ferred to support candidate whose ideas were more in accord with his own, and that he honestly believed that such 8 man would be better for the party and better for the country. But I do not think that in Mr. Edmunds' view, Mir. Blaine was so unfit and unsafe man for President that honest Re- pubEicaus ought not to support him. It was said, and I sI.sspose it to be etrne; that Mr. Edmunds made a journey to Vermont to vote the Republican ticket at that election.
 He would not have done so had he regarded MT. Blaine unfit unsafe for the office
 think MT. Edmunds' action or non-action was due to another cause.
 Shortly before the meeting of the national convention a close and confidential friend of MT. Blaine published a letter in which he charged that MT. Edmunds in the Senate acted and voted on a railroad bill while he had personal interest in the property. Mr.
 Edmunds at once replied and showed that the charge was perfectly groundless
 Whether the person making the charge be- heved it or not do not know. Probably he could easily have ascertained if he desired hnf0 1aJ,o that if this charge against him was not di- rectly instigated by MT. Blaine, it was at least sanctioned and approved by him, and he felt outraged and aggrieved by it and was naturally very indignant.
 Mr. Edmunds' resentment for what he considered gross personal injury to him self I think influenced his action much more than the causes to which it has generally
 been attributed. In common with most other Republicans, 1 greatly regretted that MT. Edmunds could not or did not come at once to the support of the Republican tick ct. felt he ought to forego what he felt to be a personal wrong for the good of the much easier to forgive injury done to other people than those done to yourself.
 do not think MT. Edmunds appreciated at all the results of his silence; ordinarily the mere failure of one man to help in 6 campaign is not of great account, but the peculiar circumstances of the campaign of 1884 made the silence of MT Edmunds a factor of great moment. I have thus stated in as few words as possible my idea of the reasons and consequences of MT. Edmunds' action in 1884. Of course they are mine only; perhaps nobody else thinks as I do. In conversation with people from time to time I have stated them substantially as I do to you. I have never said anything on the subject for the purpose of being report ed, or that I had the remotest idea would be- have never supposed that any opinion of mine was of any more consequence than that of any other mere private citizen.
 I never said anything from which it could be inferred that I was an enemy of Mir. Ed munds or that I was opposed to his re-elec- tion to the Senate, unless from statements like the above. I know that under circum- stances when so many are watching to know what man will say, and then perverting what he does say, 8 very watchful and pru- dent man would say nothing, though doubt if that would help him, but I have all my life been accustomed to say what I thought and believed, without much regard to wheth- CT it was prudent or polite. In relation to the re- election of MT. Edmunds I have uni formly said that if he desired to be re-elect- ed had no doubt he would be. I do not like to stand in any false position or in any doubtful position, and so I ask you to give space for this in your paper.