Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1914-08-25
The Standard for Maine.
(Fairfield JournaD

Maine is in the preference OF leaders.
There are two political organizations
in the State whose purposes are COM
mon and whose operations are in some
measure hostile. The BODY of voters in
both organizations could work together
happily for the common cause of
Maine and the nation but the voters
of each organization object in more
or less degree to the leaders of the
other. That forms the basis OF prefer
enee In the decision of each voter in
choosing the leaders whom he wishes
to work with and thereafter the party
organization with which he will be
affiliated What is the standard of
craftsmanship for Maine?
Republicans and Progressives alike
cheer the name of James G.. Blaine,
greater than whom Maine has never
had, and it is safe to declare that he
can be accepted as a standard for
Maine craftsmanship In speaking
of party formation Blaine once said:
Great parties never come by a
whereas and a rule, Parties cannot
be improvised or extemporized. They
grow. They come from an instinct,
and the masses of the people, and are
not the product of political labor"
This undisputed political logic OF
Blaine's can now be applied not only
to parties but to leaders and it can
be truthfully said: Great leaders new
er come by a whereas and a rule.
Leaders cannot be improvised OF ex-
temporlzed. They grow. They come
from an instinct, and the masses of
the people, and are not the product of
political labor" 1t Is possible to claim
an exception to this declaration by
pointing to so-called leaders who have
not come to their standing in the man
ner prescribed above. but close appli-
cation to the subject will show that
such sc-called leaders are not leaders
at all but merely persons usurping the
positions of leaders and falling to lead.
Blaine himself was neither improvised
nor extemporized; he grew. He came
from his natural instinct fer states
manship and the instinct of wise asso-
ciates that recognized his greatness.
He came from the masses and was not
the product but the cause of political
! labor
Measure the leaders of the Re-
| publican and Progressive organiza-
tions by the standard of Blaine and
! by Blaine. Do you believe that John
| A. Peters, congressman from the
third district is a political boss and
a reactionary as Progressive lead
| ers nave given Theodore Roosevelt to
understand? The real fault the Pro-
gressives find in Peters is that he de-
| feated E. M. Lawrence in the special
elections in 1913, but does the choice
of Peters by the third district voters
render him forever after a reaction
airy and Bourbon? Mr.. Peters came
not by a whereas and a rule, he first
entered political life actively when
urged by his neighbors and towns
men in Ellsworth to be a candidate
| for the legislature. He was not i'm
provised nor exemplifed; he had in
| him the requirements of the states
man to a remarkable degree and his
constituency knew him for what he
| was politically worth. He grew. He
| was returned to the legislature for a
! second time and became speaker. He
| grew more. After being urged so
earnestly that he could not refuse, he
became a candidate for Congress and
was elected preferred by the people
of the third district to either Z. NJ.
Lawrence or w. r. Pattangall. He
| is now one of the men of whom Maine
| is justly proud, for he is recognized
as a brilliant statesman untrammeied
! by bosses. himself claiming no undue
! influence, and truly loyal servant of
1 and for Maine.
Some one has told Colonel Roosevelt
| that Congressman Peters is a reac-
| tionary and Colonel Roosevelt in his
recent sde-stepping statement in re-
gard to endorsement of Republicans
| in Maine has said that he can work
| with Republicans who refuse to sup
| port such men as Peters. How can
| true patriot refuse to support Mr..
| Peters? He is of the best that Maine
| can boast; he can represent the third
district nobly and far better than any
! other candidate or possible candidate
! in view Politically he is absolutely
clean and to refuse support to him
could mean nothing less than choosz
ing one less worthy, less able, and
less capable of winning Shall we
/ accept the standard of Blaine, the
! truest standard we know in Maine, or
shall we be guided by the petty teal-
ousies of preiudiced and insincere po-
| litical parasites? The sagacious Roose-
welt who indorses Mr.. Human and
rejects Mr. Peters must be guided NOT
by his own knowledge but by the
false information given by his Maine
parasites; the great mass of Maine
men who believe in Roosevelt would
not have misled him in regard to Mr..
Peters, they would have told him the
! truth. Measure Mr.. Peters for your
self by the best standards we have;
and reject the untruthful judgments
mades of him by self-styled statesmen
who seem not to judge him but to at
! tack him.
And Colonel Roosevelt says he cam
not agree with men who support
Barnes. Barnes is not an issue IN
Maine; we are not asked either to ae-
cept or reject him. In Maine we have
a State chairman wholly unlike
Barnes; a man who is so far from
/ being a boss that he is recognized as
a party servant and does the bidding
of a party upon which he never forces
his will There is not a political party
/ ~ h.