The Republican journal., 1888-08-30
Letter of Acceptance.

0otlcl VI ACCoptduCc.
HON. +. c. BURLEIGII ACCEPTS THE NoMINA-
TON FOR GOVERNOR. A PLAIN PRESENTA-
TON OF THE ISSUES OF THE CAMPAIGN
AUGUSTA, Aug. %. 1SSS.
Hon. Andrew p. Wiswell. President Republic
can State Convention
Sir-Important and imperative engagements |
in closing my connection with the State Treas
ury and subsequent personal illness have nee
essarlly postponed my formal reply to your |
letter advising me that was nominated bv the |
Republican State Convention As the candidate |
of the party for Governor. My first duty on |
my restoration to health is to announce that | |
accept the nomination with deep sense of the |
honor conferred. and with a sincere appreca- |
ton of the responsibility which it imposes if it |
should be ratified by the free choice Of the vot-
ers Of Maine. The duties of the position are
so plainly manifest under our Constitution |
that l need not dwell upon them at length
My conduct in the important offices with which |
have already been entrusted by the State will.
l hope, give sufficient guarantee of the faith
full and conscientious discharge of all duties
that may hereafter be devolveu upon me.
AGREE MOST CORDIALLY
with every principle set forth in the resou-
tions adopted by the State Convention.
In our Federal system of government the
questions which are at issue in a National cleo
ton directly affect the interests of each State
that it is practically impossible to hold a State
election the same year without having first and
special regard to the questions involved in the
choice of a President and Representatives in
Congress. The vote of Maine in September
will be her expression of opinion on the
weighty questions which are 10 be finally set
tied in the National election of November.
| make 10 apology. therefore. for directly
calling the attention of the voters of Maine to
the leading and absorbing issue in which 50
many of her material interests are directly in
n no oh of lrfias nh Iii al IN,
what is known as the Mills Tariff bill recently
passed by the Democratic House of Repre>en-
tatves and now pending before the Senate. the
LEADING INTERESTS OF MAINE
are seriously. and it would seem reckle>>ly in
Jured. The products of our extensive forests.
in which SO large number of our citizens are
directly and indirectly interested. will he sab
Jected to runouS competition if the Mills bill
becomes law. That bill places all kinds of
timber. all varieties of manufactured wood,
all sawed boards. planks and deals. slaves OF
wood. pickets and paings, lath> and shingles.
c!apboards of either pine spruce. and all
logs on the free list and invites the lumbermen
of Canada to take possession of the American
market. In addition to this the bill declares
that hubs for wheels. posts. last blocks. wagon
blocks. oar blocks. gun blocks. heading blocks
and all like blocks or sticks. rough hewn or
sawed shall be admitted free of duty. If these
provisions should be enacted into law they
would prove a serious calamity to the whole
State. but especially to our frontier counties
In Washington. Aroo>took, Penobscot. Pts
cataqui>. Somerset. Franklin and oxford. it
would enormou>lv diminish the value of prop
erty and prove
DISASTROUS To ALI. INTERESTS
connected with lumber.
Nor would the lumbermen of the State >uf-
fer any more seriously than the farmers. If
this tariff bill be passed and goes into
effect on the first of October. as proposed by
the Democratic party in Congress. all woods
and woods on the skin will be admitted duty
free from all parts of the world. SO also Will
all roots. and grains. and vegetables and all
fruits. and all meats and tallow. and came and
poultry. and milk and beans. AMI pcaSe and
seeds. Farmers i'll every part of the state can
see at glance how seriously and how iniuri
ou>ly it will affect them to permit all these
products of Canada to come into our own mar
ke;> as freely as their own products 10.
As II ESPECIALLY BENT
on shifting the industrial interest, OF Maine
the Democratic House of Representatives de
care> that all stones. free stone. granite. sand
stone and all building or monumental stone
of which Maine has such an endless Va
riety. shall come in freely from Canada and in
many cases by reason of the nearnes> of the
sea, the stone Of the Canadian quarrics could
reach the market of the United States more
cheaply than can the product of our own quar-
rles and thus continually under>ell u> in Our
own markets. And in addition to stone the
Mills bill freel! admits brick, also extensively
manufactured in many parts of Maine.
All the articles | have thu, far mentioned
are put upon the free list and are given equal
right in the American market with the articles
produced by our own citizens. Many other
articles while not made entirely free are to lie
reduced to so much lower duty that our manu-
factlrers and cur aboring men will
INEVITABLY BE >ORELY INJURED.
both so largely manufactured in Maine that
they have created prosperous cities in our
midst. is greatly reduced, and the same with
slate roofing, slate mantcls and all other man
ufactures of slate. The duty Oh potato starch
Is lowered to one cent per pound. which will
prove almost fatal to that industry. already
hard pressed 10y competition. In fact there is
scarcely an interest among all the varied in
du>tries of Maine which is not involved in the
wide sweep of destruction which the Mills
Tariff bill threatens.
Not satisfied with a>>aulting the agricultural.
numbering. manufacturing and grazing indus
tries of Maine. the Democratic party in power
has contemptuou>ly refused to aid our naviya-
ton interests in the slightest degree. If GER
tain products Of iron. angles. bars. etc.. could
be added to the articles made free of duty to
aid ship building. the industries of Bath and
other >hipbuildng towns of Maine would be
greatly benefited.
THAT PROPOSITION WAS MADE
in the present Congress by our own Repre-
sentatives and received the full approval of
the entire protection vote, but the Democratic
majority opposed it unless it should be accom-
panied by the liberty to import the entire ship
free, thus declaring that they would e@slatc
in favor of ship builders on the Mersev and
Clyde rather than in favor of those on the
Penobscot and the kennebec. Could mai hos
tility to the interests of Maine 20 farther: The
coast towns Of our State will certainly learn
from this act that nothing but unfriendly leg
isation to their commercial interests can be
expected from Il Democratic Congress. and no
recommendation of any other character from
a Democratic President. Nor has Names in
tere>t in the fisheries Jared better at the hands
of the Democratic Administration than her
other industries. The tirlnnes> of a Republic
can Senate has prevented the surrender Of that
great interest 70 England by treaty but it is
impossible at this time to foresee
WHAT OTHER FORM OF INJURY
the President may ultimately intict on that
patriotic body of men who are engaged in their
hazardous and meritorious calling. Their re-
lance for protection is solely upon the Repub-
lean party.
The most serious feature of the whole as
sault upon our industries is the inevitable eff
feet that it will have upon the laboring men of
the State Should the Mills bill become law
the field for labor in Maine will be narrowed.
and those who should still find employment
would have to submit to runouS reduction of
wages. The prosperity of our State rapidly
developing in late years would be arrested. and
we would once more have familiar acquaint-
ance with hard times" among our people.
But LET Us BE TRULY THANKFUL
that the ballot is in the hands of every
workingman. that he can protect the in
terests of his own tireside and family by his
own vote. and chat, unlike the Democratic
States of the South, bis vote can he counted. ;,S
he may choose to cast it. 1t is in the power of
the workingmen of Maine to defeat the assault
made upon their interests by the Mills tariff
bill. They can declare against it in such an
imposing majority that other States will be in
tluenced by their example aud the Democratic
conspiracy against the rights of labor in the
Nation will be destroyed.
The laborinS men of Maine under the intlu-
ence of the protective tariff have been
ENABLED TO SAVE MILLIONS
of money which they did not acquire and could
not acquire under system of free trade that
preceded the advent of Republican power in
the Nation. Another element has greatly add
ell to the prosperity of Maine. The industrial