The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1907-02-28

A Notable Figure at the State Capital.
[Boston Sunday Globe. ]

ist, who is a notable figure in the hive
OF lmpOrtunerS who swarm around the
Maine legislature, "but just thought
l would drop over 20 see that the fell
lows that made laws didn't tear any
more holes in the prohibitory law.
Now, I'm no crank on the subject. but
| kinder like to take fatherly interest
, in that measure, and | have chased
over here to Augusta every legislative
| session just to see that the grand old
| statute didn't get hurt in the scuffie.
want Maine to hang ON to it for awhile
longer"
R. W. Ellis. popularity known as
Farmer Ellis, lives now in Embden,
In Somerset county, where he carries
| on large farm.
He was born in Temple in Franklin
county, was raised in Penobscot county.
lived 40 years in Waldo county and the
rest of his career has been in Somerset.
He received common school educa
ton and supplemented it with short
| course at Newport academy. Since lie
was 81 years of age he has been engaged
almost constantly in agricultural pur-
suits. Farmer" Ellis politically has
shown no partialitv to the parties. He
has been Democrat, a Republican,
greenbacker, but always red-hot pro-
hibitionist.
Ever since he was elected to the
Maine house of representatives as Re-
| publican from the class towns of North
port, Lincolnville and Islesboro, way
| back in 1868, and was brought into fire.
quent contact with Gen. Neal Dow,
the great apostle of temperance who
was then haunting the Maine legisla-
ture to see that temperance legislation
maintained the even tenor Of its way,
Farmer Ellis has kept up his inter
est in the cause of temperance.
While all other measures are almost
| forgotten, he can not quite let go the
temperance string.
He has visited nearly all the lawmak-
ers. He has buttonholed solons all
day long, but in pleasant and not de-
/ fiant way. Altogether, he has been one
of the most popular lobbyists on the
scene.
81 don't want to go down to my
grave" said Farmer Ellis, "think-
| ing that up to the last hour | didn't
take hand in keeping the prohibitory
| law on the statute books"
incidentally Farmer Ellis has
| watched the agricultural legislation, in
every phase of which he is interested,
| and for the last II or Is years there has
been no more familiar figure to >be seen
| in the agricultural department during
legislative sessions. AS one farmer ex-
| pressed it a legislature without Farm
Ell" Ellis would seem lost.
| Farmer Ellis rejoices in the fact
that he was one of the founders of the
| Republican party. In 1854 he circulat-
| ed petition for the first congressional
Republican convention ever held in the
Init nH toto En
nominated Ebenezer knoWlton from
| publcans had won one State election
and lost another they nominated Han
nibal Hamlin, with the understanding
that they should eliminate the TEN per-
ance plank from the Republican plat
| form. Farmer" Ellis tore his hair
and fought this tooth and nail in the
convention, but the anti-temperance
| fellows won, and Hannibal Hamlin
| took the helm.
Farmer Ellis staid with the Repub-
lican party, or it staid with him, till
the close of the war, when he was at
variance with some of the policies then
advocated, and he withdrew from the
party.
After the slaves were freed he did
not believe in waving the bloody shirt
and sided with Horace Greedy that it
was better to shake hands across the
bloody chasm.
For 10 years following Farmer"
Ellis was creedless and wandering in
the political armament, but when the
| greenback wave started in Maine he
climbed OIL top of it and was elected a
State senator from Waldo county, re-
| ceiving the largest vote for a candidate
| ouor th ro,yp thara Ha corvpd two enc
cessive years in tie upper branch of
the legislature, and with some distinc-
: ton.
| 1t was Farmer Ellis who launched
! that memorable retIenchment and re-
! form measure in 1879.
| He was made chairman of the COM
! mlttee to which the bill was referred.
Some of the representatives in the
I house, thinking that he, being only d
/ plain, rustic farmer, was hardly quail
fled as chairman to WreStle with SO mo-
| mentous problem, red hard to get
him side.tracked for some bigger gun of
| the legislature. But at the first meet
ing of this celebrated mittee
Farmer" Ellis was asked to get up
and outline the purposes of the meas
ure, the members of the committee
| little thinking that he would even at
| tempt II. But IL SO happened InaC ne
had been making quite an exhaustive
study of the question. and he gave it so
much in detail that the members of the
committee stood aghast. When he had
| finished one of the members remarked:
| ellis knows more about the finances of
this State than anyone else in the legis-
lature." Following this incident, it was
| with great Difference that Ellis was APP
preached by the lawmakers during the
| remainder of the session.
1t was largely through the efforts of
| ''Farmer" Ellis that biennial sessions
of the legislature were brought about
| He also tried hard to change The time
of the election from September to No
vember, to conform with the national
date, but in this he was unsuccessful.
When the gfeenback party went cut
of existence in 1880 or 1891, Farmer"
Ellis took his bag and baggage ana
walked into the Democratic party and
voted with them up to last year, when,
not hiking their stand ON the temper
ance question, he once more changed
| his politics and is now a Republican.
Farmer Ellis used TO belong to the
State Board of Agriculture, was for
| merly president OF the board and has
always been great institute worker.
He has bppn in every county pf tho