Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-09-18
VERMONT AND MAINE.

VEhMONT AND MAINE,
No one was ever placed in a worse
plight for meeting an enemy than were
lately the democracy of Vermont and
Maine At the outset, in both these
states, under the ruinous, baleful influ-
ence of Clevelandism, which was in con-
troll of the organization the party was
1nveigled into direct antagonism to the
doctrines and traditions of democracy of
the union. and aligned upon the same
front with that assumed by the repub-
lican convention at st. Louis. In both
states gold monometallsm was injected
into the platform and gold monometal-
lists placed upon 1t. When the demo-
cratic convention at Chicago pronounced
for bimetallism and free coinage neces-
slty became apparent either to let every
thing go by default and to be wholly
swallowed up by the republican enemy,
with whom no issue was left to be fought
out or to change front completely and
realign upon the position marked out at
Chicago.
In vermont practically nothing was
done. The party there did not renounce
its gold monometallist platform, which
also Endorsed the denominations of the
OAO'N ioiio Even with
this there were apostates like Phelps.
CleVelands minister to England, who
refused to support the ticket and voted
squarely against it, Four or five days
before the election the candidate for gov
ernor abandoned the platform on which
| ne was nominated and had canyassed
| the state and pronounced for bimetallism
| and free coinage, thus attempting to
swap horses while swimming the river.
or course, this only made matters worse,
and he went under. No effort was made
by the national democracy to do any,
| thing in that state for a platform and for
candidates directly and avowedly hostile
to itself. On the other hand, the repub-
licans lavished both money and effort to
increase their vote in a state. of which
they were already absolutely sure
| for moral effect elsewhere and raked
1t from end to end as with a
fine comb to bring out all their
party to the polls. Their increased
plurality of 1000 ought to surprise no
one. The only wonder in the ca Sc is that
in the midst of such surroundings the
real democrats of the state, who stand
| on the Chicago platform, went to the
| polls at all; and it is a marvel that they
| actually cast more votes than they did
| two years ago under the auspices of
| Clevelandism, and nearly IL not quite as
| many as were given for Cleveland HIM
| self in 1892.
! In Maine matters were little better. if
at all. There also the party organiza-
ton had been asphyxiated by exhala-
lions from the White House. An extreme
British goldite platform had been built
| and goldite nominees placed upon it, Had
| these remained the republican plurality
| would have been much greater than ii
now is. But after the Chicago conven-
ton the nominees had the decency to
come down, and a new platform and
candidates in harmony with those of the
Chicago convention were brought out. It
was case of changing both front and
leaders on the eve of battle and in full
| view and presence of the enemy, No
help came from without to them. while
republican money and speakers filled the
state. 1t is no mean proof of the sterling
| quality of the democracy of Maine that
thus left to their own resources, deserted
and assailed by pretended democrats and
scowled upon by the sham which is really
republican or worse, while it pretends to
| be democratic administration at Wash
ington, there were still found $500 of
them who could not be bought by Hanna
nor bullied by Cleveland away from the
support of real democratic doctrines-a
number greater by 5000 than all who went
to the polls two years ago under the aus
pices and with the presumed favor and
support of that administration when a
vote for the ticket meant approval of its
heresies and treacheries, including the
British gold standard. Three months
ago hardly 5000 free silver men were to
be found in the state of all parties. The
self-education Of ninety days has in
creased this number more than skiold
in spite of all opposing influences, and the
process Is still and will be going on until
November, with results which no one can
| forecast.
The same causes which have wrought
adversely to democracy in Vermont and
Maine are working and will work against
the Hannacrats- in the great states of the
central west, across the Mississippi and
south of the Ohio. There it is the repub-
lican party, which has been debauched,
bribed or driven into the abandonment
of its position in 1892, when 1t declared
itself, and the American people also,
from tradition and interest in favor of
bimetallism," while the democratic party
stands firm and steadfast where 1t has
always been planted, in support of an
American financial policy, the coinage Of