The Portland daily press., 1899-04-13
SECOND DISTRICT CONTEST.
General Hyde's Candidacy I'm .sagada-
hoc-whst Shall the Basis of Repre-
sentation Bel
Correspondence of the PREss.)

Bath, April H. Governor Powers
having named June 10 as tile date
for the special election of con.
gresham from the second district
greater interest Is being manifested In
the campaign every day, and the outcome
of the battle being wsged between the
several candidates will be watched closely
from now out.
Already the friends of Charles IL.
Littlefeld are claiming that they are
gaining supporters for their candidate in
Richmond, Arrowsic, Bowdoin and
Georgetown In Sagadahoc county, while
even in Bath there is some sentiment for
Mr.. Littlefield. Among the gentlemen
here who appear interested in that gentle
mans behalf are Hon. William Rogers
Frank K. Southland and George W. Hunt.
Regarding the candidacy of Con. Ihos.
W. Hyde the Bath Enterprise said
editori ally Wednesday morning:
"1f Gen. Hyde were a well man, his
candidacy for Congress would command
the enthusiastic support of Bath, Sagada-
hoe county, and a good portion Of the en-
tire Second District. 1t 10 wicked thing
to do, for Republican party leaders here
to put into the field a man whose better
judgment is against the thing, and whom
it required no small degree of argument
and urging to make him consent to stand
at all. Gen. Hyde is too good a man to
be- sacrificed to crafty the selfish ends of
heartless schemers whose leading thought
Is but to down Littlefleld, the Rockland
candidate. Little do they care for Hyde
beyond the pull that his election, IL 1t
were possible, might be expected to give
to them. 1t Is folly and II onsense for the
Bath Times to say that Gen. Hyde carried
to Congress on a stretcher would be
better man Tor the district than any other
candidate. The district doesn't want to
send a sick man to Congress, and Gen.
Hyde does not want to serve the district
on a stretcher. 1t 10 too bad that our
political leaders have brought things into
the condition that they are They have
made mistake. and The merely perfume
tory support that tine General Is getting
from right around home, should warn his
friends that 1t is mistake and that he
should withdraw from contest into
which he never should have entered. "
The PRESS correspondent has inter
viewed prominent Republican leader
here and here is what he has said:
"Littlefeld's friends are claiming all that
there is in sight and the talk that they
are making nroads In Sagadahoc county
Is all talk.
''This county will send a strong Hyde
delegation to the convention. There is
one thing, however. that the supporters
of Gen. Hyde and in fact all of the coun-
ties with the exception of Knox should
naturally object. to and that is the action
of the district COMMITTEES which will l
understand issue a call for the convention
with the representation based on the vote
of 1893. instead of that of 1896. This
gives Mr.. Littlefeld an unfair advantage
for in 1898, the campaign was very pas
siVe one In every county in the state ex-
cept Knox when there was u contest over
the senatorship and a great attempt made
to get out full vote.
BY taking the 1898 basis instead of the
1896 Knox county the hons of Littlefield,
only loses Is per cent of its representation,
while Oxford, the home of Swasey, lose,
thirty per cent and Sagadahoc the home
of Hyde loses 81 l-2 per cent. In other
words Knox loses is per cent and the
average loss for the other five counties in
the district is 1917 per cent.
The following tab lie shows the figures
very plainlyi