The Portland daily press., 1893-04-14
TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE FRAUD.

TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE FRAUD.
When on the day following the ex-
posure of Warden Harper's miscount Mr..
Guptill expressed his intention not to,
take his seat in the Board of Aldermen
he acted upon an honest impulse. The
extent of the fraud in Ward One he did
not know. He thought, and perhaps
correctly, that it had not extended far
enough to vitiate his election, but as
there was no way to absolutely demon
strate this any more than to demon
strate the contrary and inasmuch as it
was shown that fraud had been practiced
he believed that to accept his GER
tificate would be an affront to his self re-
spect and inimical to the public welfare.
Therein he was right. An honest
man must avoid receiving not only
goods that are absolutely proved
to be stolen but also goods to
which suspicion attaches. When a
man tries to argue himself into the be-
lief that while some of a lot of goods
may be stolen the particular arti-
Gle of the lot offered to him is all right
he is compromising his integrity. To the
credit of Messrs. Guptill, Simpson and
Tibbetts be it said that their own incli
nations We're not to indulge in any argu-
ment of this kind but to have nothing to
do with the goods whatever They were
weak enough, however, to allow the
Falmouth Club and Young Mems Demo
cratic club to bulldoze them into the ae-
ceptance of their certificates and the
taking of seats in their respective boards
The result Of their action has been to
make it possible for the hold-over Mayor
who was in all probability not only
not elected but defeated, to take advant-
age of the position which Harper's fraud
placed him in for partisan purposes.
Under the circumstances in which Mr..
lngraham found himself, with very
strong moral doubt existing as to the
rightfulness of his continuing to occupy
the Mayors chair-a doubt which he
himself admitted by suggesting that
the Democrats might concede Mr..
Bakers election by putting up.
no candidate scrupulously fair
man would have exercised no
power not absolutely necessary for the
transaction of the city's business. He
would have appointed no more commit
tees than were absolutely needed, and
he would have filled no vacancies in Of
flee except where the city's interests de-
manded it. But Mr.. Ingraham no soon
er became installed as hold-over Mayor
than he began to exercise the full powers
of the office, and that, too, in thor
oughly partisan way. He appointed all
the COMMITTEES and packed the most i'm
portant Of them with Democrats; he
filled all vacancies as soon as thew oc-
Cured, and in one conspicuous instance
at least he changed an important com
mission, which had been made up from
the date of its creation of members of both
parties, so as to include members from
one only. Nearly every partisan advan-
tage which he could take of the position
which there was strong reason to be-
lieve Warden Harper's fraud had con
ferred upon him, he availed himself of.
But his unscrupulousness would have
availed nothing had not Mr.. Guptill, at
the dictation of the Falmouth and the
Young Mems Democratic club. sur
rendered his self-respect He could
have have been held in check, and no
partisan advantage been taken of the
fraud had Mr.. Guptill not assented to
the demands of his party. To Mr.. Cup
till, therefore, belongs the discredit of
aiding in the use for partisan advantage
of situation which he had admitted
that he strongly suspected was brought
about by fraud
But behind both Mr.. Ingraham and
Mr., Guptill, and morally more responsible
than either of them, have been the lead
ers of the Democratic party in this town
impelling both OF them to stitle their own
honest convictions and use situation
brought about by the fraud of Demo-
cratic warden and Democratic ballot
clerk for partisan advantage. There is
no stronger way of endorsing fraud than
to knowingly and purposely accept its