The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1892-08-09
IN BLAINE'S STATE
The First Gun of the, Campaign
BE Fired IN septsmber.
SHE WILL HEAD THE VICTORIOUS
Republican Column and With an In.I
creased Majority--.sIr. Blaine Him.
self win Open tho Campaign
Reed, Mckinley. Aidrichiand Other
Great Leadcrswi 4 Take Part

H.L
FIRE the first gun Of Representations
paign Of 1892 on thesecond Monday oil
September, and, although the day OIL
election is moro than a month away, i'll
is oven o evident that tho old Pinei
Tree state will fire. an old-time Republic
can broadside into the ranks of tho frect
trade party. As Jod Manley, the chair.1
mar. Of the Republican state comnittee,i
said to mo last night It will DO Shorty
sharp and aggressive campaign" and!
when the smoke clears away the usual
number OF Democratic corpses will bel
found outside the Republican ramparts
One convincing proof Of this is thel
fact that the Democrats are already.
taking their customary view of tho sit-4
uation. The oldtimers, for example,
who have been regularly led up toTtheG
slaughter from their early childhood,
and rather grimly enjoy the fun. atet
announcing, with tho phlegmatic calm.l
ness born OF long experience, that oil
course ethe Dutch will take Holland.
again" Another proof 10 the fact that
the Republican party is united againstS
q minority and a1,divided enemy, and
has nominated for governor generali
Henry 3. Cleayes, who Is probably thel
most popular Republican in the state,
next 70 MI. Blaine and Tom Reed.
The campaign does not open until
August IL, and OF course there is a littlet
talk and Dragging In the Democratic!
press that the Republican majority will
be considerably reduced This deceives
no one, and reference is made to 1t only
as q matter OF record. It is true that
the Republicans of Maine were sadly
disappointed because Mr.. Blaine was
not nominated instead Of President
Harrison; but it is equally true that
they were as keenly disappointed in
1875, for example, when President
Hayes defeated Mr.. Blaine by an exas-
peratingly small vote. Yet in that year
they rolled up aIbig majority in Sep
tember, and next month they Will be
aided by circumstances that recall the
condition of affairs in the Democratic
party ten years ago, when tho Republic
cans won by 10000 or 1900 majority
with comparatively little effort.
But before examining the situation
further, Iwould like to recall the fact
thatthis is the first election that Maine
will hold under the Australian ballot
system. Iwould also like to jog the
memories Of the Mugwump New York
newspapers, the Etening Post and the
Times, and remind them Of this fact. 1t
will be remembered that two or three
years g there was agonizing, Shrek
ing and frantic denunciations in the
Mugwump camp, because a Republican
legislature would not adopt the Austria
Ian system. The obvious reason was
that the state Of Maine, like Pennsyl-
vania, was So hopelessly Republican
that there wasIno urgent need Of the
new method in either state. The Re-
publicans Of Maine, however, yielded to
the popular wish, and Democratic
clamor was sflenced.
Now there is another great uproar,
and it comes from some OF the very
men who rayed the loudest for the
adoption OF 'tthe utmost safeguards for
the ballot box.p Poor peoplel There
was a prophetic ring in their howls.
The cold, cruel truth Is thatthey needed
the utmost safeguards for the ballot box
in their own household. This is the
keynote Of the situation.
Last month the Democrats of the
Fourth congressional district, which
has been ably represented for ten years
by Captain Charles a. Boutelle, les
pecially esteemed by the New York
Etening Poal attempted to nominate a
candidate for Congress. Don A. H.
Powers was declared to be the nominee,
and a pandemonium ensued. Open
charges Of cheating and rascality were
made, and to-day General s, d. Leayvit,
who was Powers competitor, officially
informed h eRecretary OF state that he
should be q candidate. Well. tits q
good thing for the further protection OF
General Leavvit that he will have the
utmost safeguards thrown around the
ballot box, especially in the notorious
Madawaska district in the upper Aroos.
took valley, where it is believed that
the Democrats and their allies counted.
in Governor PlaIsted in the memorable
Garfield campaign twelve years ago.
Captain Bouteile will stroll into Con-
gress this time.
The Republicans all over the state are
intensely amused over thecondition Of
affairs in the Fourth Maine district,
and, at the same time, are contrasting
it with the3situation in the Third. The
hottest fight on record in tho state
closed there a few weeks ago with tho
nomination. Of Congressman Seth NJ.
Milliken, who defeated Governor L. @.
Burleigh. Wehaye yet to hear charges
OF ballot box stufing In this contest,
and now thesexcitement in this district
has simmered down to a good-nutured.
rivalry between the Milliken and Bur.
leigh men TO see which faction will roll.
up the largest vote for Mr.. Milliken.
The Democrats, on tho other hand,
have put up mon Of practically only
local reputation against Tom Reed in
the First district and Congressman Nell
son Dingley In the Second. So that
with their row in the Fourth, and their
nobodies in the other districts, it is
hard to see where thoy are going to
make even little pit OF progress.
Of course, everybody will naturally
say the goyernorship Is their point of
attack. Isn't? First catch your hare.
It seems that the Democrats OF Maine
were In an unusual fraternal mood-this
wear, and had an unusual ambition to
atand up and DO counted. They had go
many candidates for empty honors that
there Is no end OF bad blood in their
camp. In their State. convention they
finally nominated q young lawyer
named Charles F. johnson for governor,
much to the surprise Of the rank and
ale. Nobody seemed to know him;
a1sn fho rAdonfabia Inn ManiaV said
ynsterdayt that no had not heard Of Mr..
johnson eforetheconvcntion was held.
It has boon discovered that he Is n