The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-10-21
WHAT HE THOUGHT OF PORTLAND.
@. w. Stevens Letter to the London Daily
Mail,

Mr.. g. W. Stevens writes the London
Daily Mail an interesting letter from
Portland of which this is all abstract:
1t was my own fault. Why should ex-
pect Portland, Me-, to be a seething CEN
tire of political activity Yet l did. One
gets strange superstiti0ns about places
one has never been to. L had seen Port
land Oh the map so often that now I was
within a short four hours OF Is seemed
wicked to leave it unvisited.
Moreover, there was an election in
Maine-not the real Presidential perform
ance, but q sort OF rehearsal for the cleo
ton of a governor, a Congressman or
two. State senators and legislators, and
various constitutional oddments. No
thigg of national Importance, of course.
Maine has been Republican all it's life
except once-then 1t went Democratic by
accident. And in any case the real battle
of this election will be fought neither
in the extreme east nor in the outer
west. Michigan, Indiana Illinois, Wis
consip. Iowa-there the key of the position
lies, and the candidate who carries these
states will carry the country. As for
this part of the country I need only
quote tn e words of a gentleman encoun-
tered in the train. Bryan? Bryan
would stand NO more chance in Maine
than paper man in hell" And if you
weigh for a moment the exact degree of
chance OF paper man would stand at
that temperature you will get a rough
measure of the prospects of free silver in
New England.
In due time we drew into fair-sized
station Of continental appearance. Ev-
erything here suggests the continental
rather than England; you do not enter
the train FROM a platform as with us.
but climb from the level of the rails,
,i In. 1o Drrio, \
are of long foreign type. The station
was Portland, and Portland was enchanb-
ing. 1t was like canto of Longfellow's
"EvaRgelfne" brought up to date. The
low stone built station opens on to wide
lawn Of rich, shayen grass. The pave
m ents are of red brick, as in Boston, but
with broad ribbons of turf between them
and the road. The houses are paru
spotless wood. part sober red brick.
very road is fIiEged with shady trees.
1t is as sweet and wholesome as the
wholesomest parts of Boston, with the
add sd grace that no other parts meet the
eye. For the city is set on hill, and
between each parS of houses stretches a
long vista over the rolling green of
Maine bordered with faint hills, or else
over the still bluer Atlantic with no
boundary but the sky. Down where the
clipper schooners lie there are wharyes
and lumber trade, and that mars the
1dyll little, for America Is not the
land to import unnecessary picturesque
ness into the lumber trade. But that
you do not see; it is under the hill. Like
wise there are electric tramways and
wires overhead; but these drop graceful
ly between the trees as il they were only
waiting for Chinese lanterns and an IL
illumination. And il there are electric cars
he town is also full of horses and dogs,
clean bred and well-liking beasts each
one Of them. The men and women are
open faced, outstanding, and healthy,
slow and laconic in speech, and little
hard In feature, for take it that ease
uoes not come unasksd to folks in Maine
yet honest and courteous in their own
fashion. Altogether a comedy, oleanly,
kindly bit of New England; and he
who likes living in small town might
do very much worse than emigrate to
Portland Me-