The Portland daily press., 1892-04-30

been impossible.
In the Express of last evening Colonel
Dow published a supplementary expla-
nation of his conduct in the matter of the
appointment of state committeeman.
Very much of it was entirely irrelevant.
1t denied not a single one of the allega-
lions made in the PRESS of yesterday
morning nor impeached their correctness
IN the slightest degree. There are para
graphs, however, in the article which call
Tor moments consideration. Replying to
the suggestion made in the despatch to
the PRESS that Mr.. Reed should have been
consulted before the appointment was
decided upon, Colonel Dow says:
The Press says Mr.. Reed should have been
consulted. Why? MI. Reed is the Represent.
atiVe OF the First District in Congress, not of
State Committee. He had as much right to
speak on that matter as any other Republican
IN tne county and no more. No dozen men
could claim the right to speak for the Republic
cans OF Cumberland on that subject. The only
one WHO had authority was he who had been
s sfsfs to represent the county in tn, the
been So see sserl' But t' for his his
voluntary resignation he would still be acting
II Ea the position nov. filled by MI. Freeman
When lie put aside the responsibilities entruSt-
ed 70 h:nl BY the whole party, it became his du-
ty to do his best to see that they were
placed in the hands of some one who would ex-
ercise them for the whole party, not for any one
man or clique or faction, and he would have
been false to his duty if he. had allowed any
man to do what it was manifestly his right to
do himself.
Here is bold assertion that the whole
matter was in Mr.. Dow's hands to do en-
tirely as HI ,aw fit, coupled with very
plain intimation that consultation with
Mr.. Reed Or anybody else was not only
uncalled for, but would have been i'm
proper. Yet in the statement which Col.
Dow put out in the Express of the day
before, he said this:
my reasons for suggesting Mr.. Freeman,
Wh3cbI sgas to do only ii the event Of his being
personally satisfactory to this special represerl-
tatices Of Mr.. Reed, were first, that he was the
last retiring chairman of the Republican county
committee" SC.
viii Col. Dow explain how he hap
pened to agree to this condition, if he be-
lieved there was no reason for consulting
Mr.. Reed? If he believed as he asserts
in his second statement that stno dozen
Republicans could claim the right to
speak for the Republicans of Cumber-
land,' why did he practically consent to
make the opinion of one gentleman whom
he styles the especial representative of
Mr.. Reed' decisive as to whether he
would recommend Mr.. freeman or not?
Col. Dow says s'he would have been false
to his duty if he had allowed any man to
do what it was manifestly his right to
do" yet he had, according to his state
ment of the previous evening, agreed
that a mere declaration on the part of
the especial representative of Mr.. Reed"
that the man he had selected was per-
sonally unacceptable should be fatal.
What emergency arose between the time
of Mr.. BOWS first statement and his sec
ond to so radically change his mind as to
the propriety of consulting any Republican
in the district other than himself? Was
it the fact that it had come to the knowl-
edge of the public that this Especial rep
resentative'' of Mr.. Reed had protested
against the making of the appointment
until Mr.. Reed or the Republicans of the
county could be consulted?
Again Col. Dow in his second state
ment, by way of explaining why he did
not assent to the request for delay says:
There were committee duties to be imme-
mediately performed and it was necessary that
the vacancy should be filled on the spot.
Yet in his statement of the previous
evening he said this:
called Mr.. Freeman's attention to the mat
ter [of his Selection] more than two months ago,
but as he did not decide to accept until he had
Reed that he was personally acceptable e. and and
did not notify me of that fact until e0ith5,a
te, minutes Of the meeting OF the committee it
will be seen that had less notice of the matter
than did Mr.. Freeman himself.
1t will be seen how great was the i'm
portance of filing Mr.. BOWS place on the
evening in question. 1t was so great that
ten minutes before the committee met
Mr.. Dow confesses he did not know
whether it would be filled or not, be-
cause Mr.. Freeman had not notified him
whether he was acceptable to the ''spe-
cial representative of Mr.. Reed" So
great was the regard of Colonel Dow for
the opinion of the Especial representa-
tive'' of MI Reed, that he came within
scratch of letting the important meeting
go by without filing the vacancy on the
committee, because this opinion had not
been ascertained. Yet when Mr.. Free
man asked him to postpone the appoint
ment he absolutely refused.
A Sure Sign of Death.