490 



MAINE. 



A Temperance Convention had been held at 

 Augusta on the llth of February, at which the 

 following declarations, among others, had been 

 made: 



2. That no political party shall receive our support 

 that docs not recognize the iniquity of the liquor- 

 traffic, and demand its destruction as essential to the 

 public welfare. 



3. That the enforcement of the laws relating to the 

 liquor-traffic can be secured by adopting as a living 

 principle the motto " Vote as you pray," and by hold- 

 ing parties and officials responsible for righteous laws, 

 and a non-partisan enforcement of the same. 



4. That all effort to secure success at the polls by 

 an alliance with those who are engaged in the liquor- 

 traffic is destructive to political morality, and has our 

 emphatic condemnation. 



5. That in view of the fact that in some localities in 

 the State county and municipal officers neglect or re- 

 fuse to enforce the prohibitory law, we respectfully 

 request the Legislature to enact a law providing for a 

 State constabulary. 



Another convention was held at Augusta on 

 the 22d of July, which adjourned to meet in 

 Portland on the 19th of August. At the lat- 

 ter meeting Joshua K. Osgood was nominated 

 as a candidate for Governor, and the following 

 declarations were made : 



W hereas, The earnest temperance voters of Maine 

 feel that they have been deceived by politicians, and 

 that the "enforcement" of the law has been made 

 purely as a matter of policy and not of principle ; we, 

 members of this Convention, this 19th day of August, 

 1880, assembled in Portland, do hereby resolve : 



1. That we denominate ourselves the " Enforced 

 Prohibitory Party of Maine." 



2. That we have an honest conviction of heart, and 

 an earnest belief that our " sacred cause " can be se- 

 cured only by enforced prohibition. 



3. That with the great end and aim in view that 

 humanity may be elevated and a true morality may 

 be advanced, we do demand that none but known 

 honest temperance men shall hold offices of honor or 

 trust in our gift. 



4. God and humanity demand that Maine shows 

 her belief in true temperance. Let her voice be heard 

 with no uncertain sound. 



5. That our motto is simply " Honesty, Economy, 

 Sincerity, Enforced Prohibition." 



Mr. Osgood shortly withdrew from the can- 

 vass in the following letter : 



GARDINER, MAINE, August 24, 1880. 

 To the Honorable James M. Stone, President Stale 

 Temperance Convention. 



SIR : After mature deliberation and the fullest con- 

 ference with trusted friends of the temperance cause, 

 I feel it to be my imperative duty to withdraw my 

 name as a candidate for Governor. 



I am persuaded that the only effect of my candidacy 

 would be to divide and distract those who should act 

 in harmony and concord for the promotion of the 

 common cause. 



I have labored with zeal and with all the power 

 God has given me to advance the doctrine of total 

 abstinence among the people, and it would be a 

 source of lasting regret with me if in any way my 

 name could be used so as to divide the strength of the 

 temperance army. 



It may be true that Governor Davis has not used all 

 the power at his command to stop the sale of liquor in 

 our State, but, after a careful investigation of the charges 

 brought against him, I find the charges not sustained, 

 and common honesty compels me to deal justly with 

 all men. I can not consent to remain in a position so 

 heartily endorsed by our enemies. 



With the highest and sincerest regard for the gen- 



tlemen who tendered me the nomination, I very re- 

 spectfully withdraw my name as a candidate for Gov- 

 ernor. You will greatly oblige me by giving this let- 

 ter to the public. Yours truly, 



J. K. OSGOOD. 



The name of Joshua Nye was substituted by 

 a committee of the "Enforced Prohibitory 

 party." A Temperance Convention at Old 

 Orchard Beach on the 1st of September issued 

 an address which was a substantial approval 

 of the course of Governor Davis and his party 

 on the liquor question, and a condemnation of 

 the action of those who nominated Mr. Nye. 



The political canvass excited much interest 

 on account of the peculiar division and com- 

 bination of parties, and the fact that the elec- 

 tion would be one of the first preliminary to 

 the Presidential contest. The Republicans were 

 particularly active under the personal leader- 

 ship of Mr. Elaine, who was chairman of their 

 Executive Committee. 



The election took place on the 13th of Sep- 

 tjember. The total vote for Governor was 

 147,802. Davis received 73,544, Plaisted 73,- 

 713, Nye 309, William P. Joy 124, "Harrison" 

 M. Plaisted 57, and 55 were returned as u scat- 

 tering." The constitutional amendment was 

 ratified by a vote of 57,015 to 35,402, which 

 fact was officially proclaimed by the Governor 

 on the 9th of November. Of the five mem- 

 bers of Congress the Republicans elected three 

 and the " Fusionists " two. To the State Legis- 

 lature the Republicans elected 22 Senators and 

 84 Representatives, and the Fusionists nine 

 Senators and 67 Representatives. 



After the State election a portion of the 

 Greenbackers, under the lead of Solon Chase, 

 withdrew from the " Fusion," and nominated 

 an electoral ticket of their own. The total 

 vote cast for Presidential electors in November 

 was 143,899, of which 74,039 were for the 

 Republican candidates, 65,171 for the " Fusion " 

 ticket, which was pledged to General Hancock, 

 and 4,480 for the straight Greenback or Weaver 

 ticket. There were 92 votes for the Prohibi- 

 tory or Dow ticket, and 127 were returned as 

 scattering. Garfield's plurality over Hancock 

 was 8,868 ; majority over all, 4,169. 



When the vote for Governor was canvassed 

 by a joint committee of the Legislature, in 

 January, 1881, two reports were made of the 

 result. The figures were the same, but while 

 the majority of the committee reported that 

 " Harris M. Plaisted, having a plurality of all 

 the votes returned, is duly elected Governor 

 for the current political term of 1881 and 1882," 

 the minority raised the question whether the 

 amendment to the Constitution, providing that 

 a plurality should elect, could take effect upon 

 the same election at which it was submitted 

 for ratification, and recommended that the Su- 

 preme Court be asked to pass upon this ques- 

 tion. The minority report was rejected by a 

 vote of 26 to 3 in the Senate, and 129 to 8 in 

 the House of Representatives, and Mr. Plaisted 

 was inaugurated. 



