The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1904-11-10
The November instalment of the BIZ

The November instalment of the BIZ
ography of Thomas Mast by Albert
Bigelow Paine, in Pearson's Magazine,
discusses the Cleveland Blaine cam
paign, and more particularly the part
tax en- in it by George William Curtis,
editor of Harper's Weekly, Thomas
Mast ,cartoonist for the paper, and Har-
per Brothers, the publishers. Curtis
was chairman of the New York dele
cation at Chicago. Blaine, Arthur and
Edmunds were put in nomination, Cur
tbs seconding the last named. Blaine
was chosen on the fourth ballot and
John A. Logan was accorded the Sec
ond place. confused and dazed," says
the writer in Pearsons, Curtis acqul-
esced in the nominations" :. "Im-
mediately he wired that he would tele
graph an editorial against Blaine, and
added word for Mast. But presently
he remembered that he had acquiesced
in the nominations. Roosevelt and
others who had pursued like course
considered themselves pledged to the
ticket" So, it may be added here,
would any honest man. We need not
follow the dilemma Of Curtis farther.
AS is well known Harper's Weekly,
formerly Republican, declared for
Cleveland, and Curtis and Mast joined
in villifying and lampooning Blaine.
The cause of this change of front on
the part of the Harpers, although we'll
known at the time, is not mentioned
by Nast's biographer. The Harpers
were very anxious to secure Mr..
Blaines book, Twenty Years in Con-
gress," but he had made previous ar
rangements, or got better terms else
where. and he gave it to another pub
fishing house. This transformed the
before obsequious publishers into bit
ter enemies, and they used the pen Ut
Curtis and the pencil of Mast as We
hicles for their venom. In the election
that year 1854 New York State was
given to Cleveland by few less than
eleven hundred votes, The word given
is used advisedly, as it is now general
ly accepted fact that Blaine had a ma
iority of the votes but was counted out.
Nast's biographer says: "a change OF
a few more than five hundred votes
would have altered the result. That
the influence of Mast alone sWayed
many times this number. will hardly be
denied Admitting this, it was dear
victory for Mast, Curtis and the Har-
/ pers. Says Mr.. Paine: Neither Mast
nor Curtis ever recovered from the
stress and bitterness of that campaign
Nor did the house they had SO ably
served. The Harper Brothers had cal
culated that their stand for good gov
eminent q would cost them fifty thou
sand dollars, but the cost was many
times that sum-" Mast soon dropped
out of sight and was so far forgotten
that it was generally supposed he was
dead. He was living in poverty ano
obscurity when in March, 19O2-aftel
Theodore Roosevelt had become Presi
dent of the United states-he received
letter from his old friend John Hay
Secretary of State, offering him con
sulate. The only available post wal
that at Guayaquil, and this he accepted
only to die on that far and fever-smit
ten coast. Curtis simply fell from thu
literary pedestal he had so long occu
pied, and must have deeply felt in hi
last years the humiliation of his posi-
ton The downfall of the once leading
publishing house of Harper Brother
was rapid and is familiar to all. Ha(
Mr.. Blaine given them his book to pub
lish there might have been very diff
terent story to tell.