Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-12-17

as Il Republican, to vote for the Re-
publican nominee for United States
| senator.
Now there are some things that sp-
! pear absolutely sure: that virtually
! every member of the next Legislature,
| elected rs n Democrat, will vote for
Gardner for L. s. Senator; nearly
! every man who was elected as a Re-
! publican having sufficient regard for
| the wishes Of his constituents express
ed in the primary and also at the State
election will vote for Burleish-that is,
| Maine will be represented in the Unit
ed States Senate for the next six years
either by Edwin c. Bryleigh or 0ba-
| Giah Gardner.
The older citizens know something
of the records of the two leading par
| ties in Maine, though since the birth
Of the Republican party a majority of
the voters have had sufficient conf
denee in the honesty and integrity of
/ the party to put it in control of the
administration almost continuously for
more than half century. In 1879,
| however, we had a Democratic Gov
ernor and Legislature, and what was
| the result2 The count out" or state
steal" the most dastardly attempt to
I
ever inflicted on any state. One can
/ hardly imagine what might have been
| the result but for the supreme court of
the State. Two years ago the State
again went Democratic. This would
not have been the result but for the
| fact that several thousand citizens
VINO had previously voted the Repub-
| liean ticket then voted the Democratic
I . fs.ir1
! enforcement of the prohibitory law,
evidently believing that conditions
could be no worse and because of the
| fact that one plank in the Democra-
| tic party platform was: The Strict
| Enforcement of All Laws" They lis
| tened TO the promises of party candi-
dates and spellbinders that all laws
would be enforced and voted accord
ingly The principal issue in the
campaign of 1910 was resubmssion.
ard, as the Democrats did not have
two-thirds of the members of the
Legislature, resuSpnission was preVen-
| ted by the votes of the Republican
members who had sufficient confidence
in the integrity of a majority of the
voters to believe that they would vote
against any change in the law. The
small majority. Then the administra-
ton had one more card to play-an
extra session of the Legislature. This
session would not have been but for
this one purpose hoping to defeat the
VIII of the majority and enact law
giving few for a money compensa-
ton in each city, large village and
town. the legal right to educate the
va hot ,ierbt
become habitual drinkers and drunk
ards.
Such a law would have been enacted
but for the fact that there were a few
Democratic members having the hon
esty and courage to vote according to
, the wishes of the majority of the vot-
era as expressed at the special cleo
j., ton.
At the State election, last September
the voters expressed their disapprov-
al of the present administration, and
elected a Republican Governor and
majority of the members of the Leg
isIature. While the majority was
small, there was a change of almost
! 10000 votes from 1910. The State has
been redeemed from Democracy, but
what party will be in power in the flu
4
work of the coming Legislature.
The Lewiston Journal recently said
editoriallv:
| IF Progressive Republicans and
| Democrats unite in Congress, Legisla-
lures and elsewhere, the Hale Bur
leigh system will be knocked into a
cooked hat to which its dement's fully
entitle it."
| 1t is one of the principles of the
progressive party, that there shall be
no alliances with other parties. and
| yet the Lewiston Journal is strongly
! advocating some sort of a deal or
/ trade with other parties-for what
! purpose? Evidently with the sole de-
sire to defeat e. C. Burleigh for u. S
! Senator, and Peters for speaker of
the House. There probably is hardly
a Progressive in the State who would
be opposed to the election of Progress
sives as presiding and minor officers
of the State Legislature, but no can
! did fair minded member of the Pro-
gressive party can sanction an effort
to defeat the choice of every citizen
not Democrats-who voted at the pri-
mary election.
If an attempt is made to elect a
Progressive for United States Senator
/ the result will be another Democratic
Senator, from the Republican State of
Maine, Democratic administration
two years hence and the first nails
party in Maine.
H. IT. HALVES, Progressive,
Riverside, Maine.