Arizona republican., 1920-10-07

aid, the Webster Reflection and the lukewarmness of the Fillmore admin istration.
 Daniel Webster consented to become the head of a bolting Union ticket, but he died few days before the election and his little party died with him. few days before his death Webster sent for his bosom friend, Peter Harvey, and asked 'Ts Rufus Choate going to vote for Scott?" T don't know" was Harveys reply, but I think not" Then Webster said, Tell him not to ruin his future by voting for Scott, and tell him, as my dying message to him, that after the second day of November next the Whig party as a national party, will exist only in history" The pub lication of this interview in the Dem- ocraiic papers a few days before the election did not aid the Whig's dying cause, although Choate announced his fealty to Scott. Webster's prediction was correct. In 1852 the Whig party died and in the same year Henry Clay and Daniel Webster its greatest lead CTS and its worst enemies, were gath cred to their fathers. In the, elec- ton the Whig ticket carried but four Massachusetts and Vermont in New England, and Tennessee and Ken lucky in the south
 The "Maineacs"
 In the Democratic party that year there was a great fight for the pres idential nomination. Lewis Cass. James Buchanan. Stephen A. Doug las and William L. Marcy were the principals, but from the first it was
 believed that a dark horse" would
 win. Sam Houston, then a senator
 from Texas. who had been governor of
 Tennessee and president of the Repub- lie of Texas, was a formidable possi-
 bility for while. But Houston had lately become a "Maineac," that is to
 say, he had become a teetotaller and a prohibitionist and was in favor of
 the extension of the Maine liquor law
 to all states. Persons holding such
 views in those days were called
 HMaineacs."
 On the thirty fifth ballot in the Dem
 ocratic convention the Virginia delega-
 tion pumped a solid vote for Franklin
 Pierce of New Hampshire, whose name
 had not been mentioned in the con-
 vention, although the New York Her
 ald had suggested him as the possible
 dark horse" That started the ball,
 and Pierce was nominated on the for
 ty-ninth ballot. Pierce had a good rec
 ord as a politician, had served with
 some distinction as a brigadier- gen
 eral in the war with Mexico and had
 the negative strength of being a com
 promise man.
 When Pierce was nominated the
 Democrats did not yet know how many
 mistakes General Scott would make or
 how many letters he would write. They 'i only knew that the Wings were cer- : tain to nominate him and that he was ~ a war hero. 1t was the frightencd-ae -aef.
 fort to get the hero to match a hero v that Houston was proposed, and thai 7 Pierce was selected. Yet how few
 Americans remember today thai " Franklin Pierce had a wer record 1T Y Mexico?
 ," The Pierce nomination was the frs
 in which the onlooking galleries in , le national convention took part Whel h. Pierce's name was first voted for e- New Hampshire delegate. wild witt 70 excitement, invited the people in tn ne galleries to join in the cheering. The. es accepted the invitation despite tn es precedent that had always obtained K forbidding the galleries to cheer or ap m plaud. The result was the first con II vention demonstration" 1t lasted fo III eight minutes. Thus was begun tn unhappy custom which has made ne loedlam and a mob of every nationa ef convention since.
 IT. The campaign of 1852 was affecte
 to considerable degree by two sid " SnoWS tfdt were running-Ihc prOhi in bition moveemnt and the woman suf lg frage propaganda. The suffragette D. held a great national convention whic $. was attended by women from all owe ed the northern states, most of them al ce tired in "bloomers." Elizabeth Cad he Stanton and Susan E. Anthony wer tt two prominent figures. The prohibi no tion movement did not enter into ma
 tional politics. but it was a great fac m tor in state and compression contest of When it was all over the countr, l. breathed easier The Democrats ha oh been restored to power by an over an whelming and non- sectional vote. Pee re pie hoped and believed that the com gs promise of 1850 would stand. and ths e. the agitation of the slavery question n. would die out. They were deluded. bt an their honest belief at the time explain he many things that seem to be unrea r. sonable in the light of later events.