The Portland daily press., 1890-02-26
Buncombe.

When the Missouri Compromise was un-
der discussion many years ago in the House
of Representatives an old gentleman who
represented district in Missouri arose near
the close Of the debate and insisted on max
ing a speech. The House did not want to
hear him, and undertook to shout him down.
But he persisted. though he had nothing of
Importance to say. declaring that the
people Of Buncombe, which was one of the
counties In his district, expected him to
speak, and therefore speak he must.
The letter Of the Hon. John W. Deering,
accepting the nomination of the Democratic
convention for Mayor which appeared in
yesterdays Argus, has about the same rea-
son for being as did the speech Of the gen.
tleman from Missouri. 1t was written, not
because he had anything to say of any con-
sequence, but because he labored under the
idea that it was the proper caper to say some.
thing. 1t begins In the good old regulation
way with tender of the most heartfelt
thanks" to the Democracy of Portland for the
honor conferred upon him. 1t may strike
some people that the intensity of the thanks
Is entirely out of proportion to the honor con.
ferred. but buncombe's sense of proportion
is seldom correct. Having tickled the vanity
Of his constituents Mr.. .Deering next pro-
ceeds to administer liberal dose of ''taffy,"
as the boys say. to himself as follows:
Unsolicited you have placed the standard of the
democracy OF our city In my hands anu ask me to
summon TO It's support all Of our citizens hat be-
ieve N constitutional law, and In the sanctty of
the oath that Is taken by the chief Official chosen
TO sustain 1t.
ad r naoriun
cient history there would have been at this
point an allusion to Cincinnatus and his sud-
den call from the plough to save Rome. But
the idea is there all the same.
Following this Mr.. Deering again returns
thanks, incidentally mentioning that this is
the fifth time circumstances-b his
control no doubt-have required him to do
the same thing, and then proceeds to tell
his constituents what he will do If the crown
is bestowed upon him. First and foremost
he promises that 'tbat your standard shall
never trail in the mud of corruption and n.y.
pocrisy, and shall be returned to you with
out stain upon its folds" Here was a fine
opening for bit of poetry, but it was left
unimproyed. The regulation programme
of political letters and speeches for
buncombe always requires that you
give the enemy fits, so Mr.. Deering
next proceeds to do that. 1t is done
with tolerable success but 1t might have been
done more impressively Thus it might have
been alleged that corruption stalked abroad
at MONDAY, that the present city officials
were so many leeches sucking the life blood
from the people, that the municipal admins
tration was rotten to the very core, that our
rulers were fattening upon the vitals Of the
taxpayers and SO on. But moderation was
used lest the uprising Of the people excited
night partake too much Of the character of
riot. Letters for buncombe, however.
lever leave their hearers quite disconsolate.
There is always in their dark and gloomy
pictures CLEAN of light, their blacklist
clouds have silver Innings. Mr.. behring's is
no exception. Wandering though we have
been for four years past In the wilderness of
corruption and extravaganza there is still
nope. There is Moses in the community to
lead us out. The last paragraph of Mr..
behring's letter reveals this Moses. Uis 9th.
er name is John W. Deering, He mnst he
carefully distinguished, however, from NJ
John w. Deering, the grocer, who doesn,.
profess to be Moses, and doesn't write
letters for buncombe.