Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1896-12-01
MR L L ROOIHBY.


The Lewiston Journal gives the following
sketch 81 Nj. l.. I BoOthby % NatcrNile
a. the iir-t man ever invited q join the kepuh
Ncan party" The facts related Sre now al
important party 90 the political history 0f Maine
and the United states
Just AZ this time. when the echoes Of
the Jubilee Of Mckinley and Republican
ism are ringing through the land, it Is
timely 20 recall q forgotten and almost
unrecOrded bit Of history. Few people
Of the present generation know that the
republican party had is birth 10 Maine,
from whence il spread throughout the
Union. such. however, * the fact.
Mr.. BoOthby bears the unique distinc-
ton Of being the first man who was ever
asked 70 Join the republican party. Mr..
Boothby was living In Paris, Oxford
county. back IN the early iitties. Polite
ally he was quite q power 10 The anti
slavery party known as the Free
sellers" and liked nothing better than a
chance 20 get whack at the demo
Gratis" and wings"
One day in the year l>j3 he was going
down Main street, Paris, when Rufus T.
stevens, a Observation-Disclosures
democrat, approached him with this
question
What would YOU fellows say 10 join
ing hands and organizing temperance
party
A. quick as the question, came back
the answer
Wen do IL ="
Without more ado the two linked
arms and marched into the spotheeary
store If Or. \. ". Russ, Dr. Russ was
soa-in-law OF Rufus GOOdeuow, mem-
Der of Congress for the whig party, aud
one OF the leaders Of the local Whig
faction.
doctor" said the two 10 unison,
"Niu YOU join new party on the
Temperance issue II We Will:"
BY George" exclaimed Russ in his
high nasal KEY, bringing his fist down
on the counter with jar which upset a
couple Of bottles. I'm go YOU"
From there the three lost no time in
reaching the Office Of the oxford Dem
oerat, where Editor Pidgin vas let into
the scheme aud promised 10 publish the
call for q convention.
Next week the news was pushed
through the State by faithful emissaries,
aud in due time convention was held
at which Arson y. Morrill, was nOmi-
mated for governor.
That year he pOlled IL ,026 votes. Next
year he swept the State aud won hands
down with vote Of over A,O0O. From
this spread the movement which elected
Lincoln, saved the Union and will plsce
Mckinley in the presidential chair next
March.
Mr.. l.. L. BoOthby is now an esteemed
resident OF Waterville, where he has
built up one Of the largest Insurance
businesses in the State. He ia veri-
table encyclopedia of early political lore,
and his memory on facts and figures Is as
reliable as the Maine Register. He also
enjoys the distinction OF having attended
republican conventions for 81 years and
in that period never failed TO have his
candidate receive the nomination.
HOW TO KEEP 8YRANISM DEAD.
But we must not forget what were the
conditions that made il possible for Bry-
snism TO be the professed creed OF a
party that cast 46 per cent OF the votes
OF the nation. These were Cd the blind
partisAnship which accepts a regular"
candidate aud platform without regard
TO consistency or honor; % the coward
ice Of the political leaders who bid for
the votes OF the free coinage faction at
the sacrifice of large part Of the COM
munity as 10 what good money Is and
what Congress can aud cannot do with
il; a. the existence of feeling among
a large class that the wellto-do are un-
Justly benefited by our present laws.
IL we mean that Organism shall not
revive, we must steadily and wstehfully
resist the return of these conditions, so
far as they have passed away, and work
to abolish them where they exist.-New
York Times.