Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1893-05-03

cnAkruAn% yook own kreox oo0Aeoxs IL. ao4f
should b voted for according 70 IL psofsr.
ences Of the individual dslsessss
Tho same issue WAS fought out In the CON
mtttee on credentfAiA On whose report dele,
gates appointed by the state conventions oi
Alabama and Illinois were excluded nd dis
trict delegates recognised The victory. how.
ever. while Of Infinite value In all failure Re
publican conventions, was fatal TO both o
these candidates. Such bitterness had b.
inspired BY the contests in committees TIA
the nomination Of either became Ahsoluiell
impossible, and the CONVENTION turned - 6aR
field.
These defeats only ssrvsd to iNcrsass ths d.
votion of MIR. Blainss friends and their do
termination to make him president. His con
duct under defeat WAS always admirable HI
never salked for moment In his tent, but be
OF the election Of the nominees Of the Repub
iican party.
So in lssa again they presented his name 4,
the convention and succeeded in securing hi
nomination. He did what WAS very unusua
for u candidate. took the stump and personally
advocated the principles Of the party which hat
placed him in nomination. making speeches al
over the country Of singular power, OF mar
vellous ability. | think that President Har
rison's speeches during his trip to the Pacifi,
were the only parallel in the history Of thu
world TO these campaign speeches Of MIR
Blaine. He was defeated, II defeated III
all. ot which ihavevery serious doubt. hy ~
accident, the mere ALTERATION Of Run
Romanism and Rebellion" for the utterancs
of which he ought not to have been held at al
responsible.
Again, in 1883, the friends of Mr. Blaine de-
termined 10 nominate him, but he refused te
allow the Use of his name. He resisted all oi
their prayers and their cntreaties. steadfastly
adhering To his Florence letter. Once more
'the Plumed Knight" entered the field and
performed wonderful service in that campaign
the result of which was the election Of Presi-
dent Hal rison.
In is9s the desire TO nominate Mr. Blaine
seemed to have intensified, and all over the
North the demand for him as u leader was
louder than ever before. States that had
,een against him wheeled into line. and 1t was
entirely apparent that he would be nominated
by aceiamation, and in all probability
,riumphantly elected, but Mr.. Blaine
in letter to MIR. Clarkson in the
month of February, declined peremptorily To
be regarded AS candidate. That this was his
deliberate well considered determination there
is not in my mind a shadow of doubt From
that time forward he was literally besieged by
prominent men all over the country demanding
that he should withdraw the declination and
permit his name 10 go before the convention.
His old friends, who stood by him from the be-
their efforts with victory, and never were
they more earnest. vigorous and forceful in
their attempts to change the mind of their
chtef than now The enemies of President
Harrison admirable as his administration OF
affairs had been, he had made some, very
prominent men in the councils Of the party
tooseized upon this as the only opportunity
10 defeat him. SO men who had never been
counted as friends of Mr.. Blaine Joined with
his tried and true followers, and sought a.
earnestly, AS vigorously. AS persistently as they
To overcome his self-expresscd determination.
They gave him no rest, no peace. The most
powerful argument used with him was that
he owed IL his duty to the Republican
party. that the only hope of victory in the
campaign was in having him as the standard
hcarcr;s that with him success was absolutely
certain, without him defeat equally sure.
His name was presented to the convention,
whether with his assent or not is not for me
to say; do not know. ! do know that two
months before that convention, on a Sunday
afternoon, when Mr.. Blaine was sick, spent
pleasant aud agreeable two hours at his
bedside They were hours which l now
recall with delight. His mind had its
full vi,,or; his eye was un- dimmed;
his talk delightful. ! told him that
he WAS to be listener for awhile and allow
me 10 be the talker; that had come as an en-
voy from the people; that ! was profoundly
Satisfied of two things First, that he could be
Nominated by accamation in the approach
ing convention; second, that he could be
elected. told him that then he could with
draw his letter of February 9Th honorably;
that month later he could not; that
thought his friends who had stood by him
through all these years were entitled to take
advantage Of this splendid opportunity and
realize their hopes. He replied to me that he
had given the subject probably more consid-
Grafton than any or all of his friends; that he
knew himself and his physical condition bet
ter than they; that any participation on his
aart in IL political campaign would kill him
kefore the contest WAS over; that If, as ! sug-
scsted. he should remove himself from its ex-
elements, he could not live and perform the
duties of the president of the United States
three months.
He said that his course was marked out and
that nothing on earth could lead him to devil
ate from II one jot or little; that when the
weather became warm enough for IA residence
tt Bar fiarbor. he should resign his office as
secretary of state. go TO that summer home and
never more have anything TO do with political
sfliee: that he would devote the rest OF his life
{, his family and to himself, and try to expe-
renee "A l''e to the end, SO happily portrayed
in Cicero dc Scnectute." That such was
his deliberate purpose have not shadow of
doubt. II is possible, indeed probable-because
III t'lal 'DHNcItlDn we're hDint ueVpttu lT1tnuS
of Mr.. Blaine, who had been so for years. who
would NOT otherwise have been there advocat-
Ing his uomnstion-tbat overcome by the
PERSISTENCE of those seeking to secure the use
o. his name in the convention by appeals to his
tlty 10 his party and his country. a reluc-
iipt consent or lasscnt may have been oh
rlucd. | do, however, know this, that he
reSer expected TO receive the nomination and
nat he did not himself personally desire 1t.
Mr.. Blaine In Congress.
Mr.. Blaine was first elected to the national
house of representatives in 1852 reelected six
times: in 1875 entered the senate; served there
until lsS, when he resigned 10 become Pres
ient Gariicld's secretary of state. His career
In these two bodies was as remarkable as it
was brilliant. Young and comparatively un-
known, in turbulent times, he entered the
house from this arena. the most exacting, the
isiost certain to disclose true manhood, to de-
t"ct shams, to puncture pretcnces and to re-
ward real merit in the world. No crueible
N.5s ever more severe, more searching, or more
= fortri1 to reveal the pure metal. The celebrity
IT IL n,icts and the promptncss with which
il enforced its judgments were well calculated
t. djsInhy the stoulcst heart. Mr.. Blaine did
fpt shrink iron the test. Scarcely had he
served single term before he was ineasur.
ing swords with the most accomplished and
experienced statesmen Of the day. Compelled.
by sense of duly TO the country, To differ
with such giants as Thaddcus Stevens and
Rnscoe roGkline. he never hesitated for a
moment to advocate his opinions, TO enforce
his views in speech terse. vigorous and con
vinciuG that in every such encounter he came
OF the victor.
In the running debates of the house he was
peerless, with his wonderful memory, his
familiarity with history. his aptness of illus
t-ation, his quicsness in repartee, he was an
tnk- Il r.f.s l<
speaker. and the only presiding officer who ap-
preached him in knowledge Of parliamentary
law, in i;npartialify, in courteous bearing. in
prompt decision, WIS Mr. Clay. From his day
To Mr.. Blaine, the labors, vexations, and re-
qnirements of this great office had in
creased immensely. The house had more
than twice many members, the rules
had become more intricate. their en-.
forcement much more difficult; 50 the
ability Of Mr.. Clay had never been exposed to
any such test was Mr. tlaine's. 1 never saw
Mr.. Blaine consu-ed moment on any ques-
ton of order. nor did | ever witness any
successful appeal from, his rulings. His entire
fairness and impartiality were never ques-
toned
He seldom IBdulged in extended speeches.
seeming to prefer the give and take Of dispr-
tatior in which he was preeminent. In 1854
he made great speech. which attracted tho
attention Of the whole country. His subject
WAS The Ability Of the Country to Sustain
the Expense OF the War and Pay the Debt 1t
Involved" II was a theme just then Of over
whelminE interest. and was handled In such a
mastery way the; the entire north drew a
long breath of relief. was inspired with new
courage and buoyed with brighter hopes. He
clnsed this splensiid speech with these words
These are the great elements of material
progress. and they comprehend the entire
circle of human enterprise agriculture, COM
mercc, manufactures. mining. They assure 10
us an increase ia property and population that
will surpass the most sanzuine deductions Of
our census tables. framed as those tables are
upon the ratios and relations Of our progress
in the past. They give into our hands, under
the blessings Of Almighty God. the power to
command our fate as a nation. They hold out