Evening journal., 1912-08-20
NEW NEWS OF YESTERDAY
How Blaine, Gained His
knowledge Of Maine
and Its People
BIZ Holland


campaign in Maine was at its height,
spent several days at Lewiston, hav-
ing heard that the final rally of the
campaign would take place in that
town and that General James A. Gar
eld, Ellis H. Roberts, then a promi-
nent member of Congress and after
wards Treasurer Of the United
States; General Joseph r. Howley, a
year later United States Senator from
Connecticut, and Congressman VIII
liam p. Frye, later Senator, would
address a great Republican mass
meeting The Greenback party had,
in fusion with the Democracy. made
vigorous campaign. United States
Senator James G. Blaine was then, az
he had done for many years, directing
the State campaign for the Republi-
can party
Ex-Governor Nelson Dingley, who
afterward gained national reputation
as the author of the tariff law that
bears his name, was editing a paper
In Lewiston. and him / asked how
Elaine, a national figure and engross-
ed in affairs of state, found the time
to direct as difficult a campaign as
the one then in progress in Maine.
Blaine Governor Dingley replied
musingly has, ! think, the most de-
tailed and encyclopedia knowledge Of
the State OF Maine OF any man living
or who has ever lived i'm this State.
His mind is of such order that he can
instantly make use OF the resources
in the way of knowledge and informa-
tion which he has stored up in his
mind. For this reason 1t is compare
lively easy for him to direct cam
paign in this State.
II wonder If you would like to hear
OF the way in which Blaine obtained
his detailed information of the people
and Of the characteristics Of this
State?
Blaine came from Pennsylvania to
Augusta. Maine, to live in the early
fifties He had been in Augusta only
a little while when he accepted a
proposition made to him TO become
one of the owners of the leading Re-
publican newspaper of Augusta He
was then only % years of age.
"Only a few days after he decided
10 accept the newspaper proposition
he asked a member Of the staff to
bring him the bound volume Of the
numbers OF the newspaper for the
first six months after it was started.
When this was placed before him he
remarked that it looked as though il
had not been opened for twenty years.
II was yellow with age and covered
with dust
"Blalne Went carefully through this
entire volume. When he had done that
he called for the second volume, and
that volume was followed by the third
and so on to the last volume He
spent every spare moment for about
six months in reading diligently from
end to end every copy of this news
paper from the first number. His
power of assimilation was very great
he read understandingly very rapidly
And when he had finished the last
bound volume he said
81 know now the State of Maine
In history and the State OF Maine as
she is to-day
HE did not overstate. He held
that vast mass OF information as com.
pactly and perfectly assimilated in
his mind as II would have been had
II been collected and published as an
encyclopedia and well indexed
"Afterward Blaine learned the
State Of Maine by personal exper-
ience. Now ] think you know the
reason why he has been a master
hand in directing the politics of this
| State, and ! think you will agree Will
me in saying that had he not beer
/ diverted from journalism to politics
he would inevitably have become yer,
! influential and very great as a iOur
nalist-perhaps the greatest thl
United States has ever had"
Copyright, 1912. by F. ]. Edwards
All rights reserved)