The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1890-06-12
r ON ITS WAY.

lUt iitp ihkNu tNIot VI NV hsPoo
lican convention of the first congress
siOnal district of the state of Maine
held i'm Portland last Friday is just at
hand and proves to be so full of signiii-
canoe as to be worthy of preservation
among the political archives of the ma
ton. Other congressional conventions
have been Just as unanimous. just as
enthusiastic, just as demonstrative, but
seldom, perhaps never, has one been so
full of ambition, so instinct with lofty
and tremendous determination, SO
heavily charged with gall. The Port
land convention was not content with
putting in nomination a candidate for
the house of representatives. That was
merely an incidental or secondary part
of its work. There was a duty of far
vaster importance to be performed, an
undertaking of national consequence
TO be begun. The convention, il must
be admitted, realized TO the full the
magnitude of the obligations d~evolving
upon il, and approached the business
in hand with a proper sense of the
grandeur and sublimity of the occa-
sion.
Out of a possible 2S9, one reads, no
less than 213 delegates answered to
their names. u remarkable attendance
considering that the nomination had
been SO cut and dried that not the
shadow of a possibility of a contest re-
manned. The 273 delegates came to-
gether not To fight u with another,
but To rejoice and be glad over the
magnificent privilege they were To ex-
ercise. The trainers of the declaration
| of independence were not more deeply
impressed with the stupendous signiii-
canoe of their act when they met To at
tach their signatures to the glorious
document. than were these 213 dele
gates To the republican convention of
| the first congressional district of the
state of Maine when they assembled
last Friday to whoop il up for Thomas
Is. Reed.
The keynote of the meeting was
struck when the orator who presented
Mr.. Reeds name to the convention
reached this superb p%eroration:
We are happy In the fact that We can present
| w tnt ltblut " ittu Nv lNIatt Nv Has httn
pure, whose public life cannot be- assailed from
any quarter. A man from whose presence sian.
ders stink away, and before whose good name
and fame libels wither and vanish. Applause.
u Is our privilege Ia marshal the way along
which he moves Ia the summit OF his greatness
and ] move, MIR, Chairman. that We nominate by
ncclamation. Ms our candidate for rpIresentati We
10 congress. Hun. Thomas d. Reed.
There is no necessity for dwelling
upon the tumultuous applause which
followed these words: or upon the pas
sage of a set of resolutions embodying
the speakers sentiments in good set
terms: or upon the awful uproar Incl
dent TO the actual placing of Mr.. Reed
in nomination. The only feature to
which especial attention is invited is a
single sentence of the nominating ora
tor: 1T is our privilege to marshal the
way along which he moves to the sum
nit of his greatness" Here the speak
er got down To business. lifted the veil
and disclosed the real object of the
meeting. This sentence. catching
up the Reed boom which has been sail.
ing around in the darkness upon the
face of the deep for some months past.
and which hitherto has necessarily
been without form and void, gave il
shape, proportion and t%angibility, en-
dowed IL with the attributes and char.
acteristics of other booms. and started
IL on its way rejoicing.
The 2I3 delegates proceeded to en-.
dorse the orators sentiments in this
matter with the emphasis and decision
expected of them. Blanks were dis.
tributed asking each 10 express his
preference for president in 1892. and
the result of the ballot showed: Reed.
26,: Harrison, I; Blaine. ,. II will be
observed that Mr.. Blaine. who for sew
eral years has been regarded as Names
favorite son, is not quite so solid at
home as he once was. In fact il an