"Very truly yours,
"John Sherman.
"General J. S. Robinson, Chairman Republican State Committee,
Columbus, Ohio."
Charles Foster was nominated by the Republican convention in the latter part of May, and Thomas Ewing by the Democratic convention. These nominations necessarily made prominent the financial questions of the time. After the close of the funding operations, I received from Mr. Blaine, as chairman of the Republican committee of Maine, the following invitation, which I accepted:
"Augusta, Me., July 3, 1879.
"Hon. John Sherman, Secy. of Treas.
"My Dear Sir:—Could you speak at Portland, Tuesday, July 23, and then during the same week at Augusta and Bangor—say 25th-27th? Your Portland speech we should expect to have printed the next day, accurately from your own slips.
"Your two other speeches, hardly less important to us, might be made with less care and accuracy, that is, more on the order of the general stump speech.
"In your Portland speech I hope, however, you will talk on something more than the finance, making it, however, the leading and prominent topic—but giving a heavy hit at the conduct of the Democrats during the extra session.
"Sincerely,
"James G. Blaine."
The election in the State of Maine preceding those of other states, great interest was taken in it, as the result there would have much influence in other parts of the country. That state in the previous year had faltered in support of the Republican party. In that year there were three candidates in the field for governor, the Republican, whose name I do not recall, the Democratic, Garcelon, for hard money, and the Greenback, Smith, under the lead of Solon Chase, an alleged lunatic in favor of fiat money, the repeal of the resumption law, and the enactment of an eight-hour law. Smith received about 40,000 votes, Garcelon about 28,000, and the Republican candidate about 54,000. Many Republicans either did not vote or voted the Democratic or Greenback ticket. By the constitution of that state a majority of all the votes cast is required to elect a governor, and in case of failure the house of representatives of the state proceeds to ballot for choice. The names are then sent to the senate for the action of that body. The result was the election of Garcelon, the Democratic candidate.
This was due to a strong feeling then prevailing in favor of irredeemable or fiat money, and to some discontent among Republicans with the liberal measures adopted by President Hayes to secure peace and quiet in the south, especially the recognition of Hampton as Governor of South Carolina and of Nichols as Governor of Louisiana.
I thought it important to turn the issues of the campaign to the financial measures accomplished by the Republican party, and therefore prepared with some care a speech to be delivered at Portland, and confined mainly to this subject. This speech was made on the 23rd of July, 1879. I regard it as the best statement of the financial question made by me in that canvass. In it I stated fully the action of the administration in respect to the resumption of specie payments, and the refunding of the public debt. The people of Maine had been greatly divided upon these measures. The Greenback party was opposed to the effort to advance the United States note to the value of coin which it represented, but wished to make it depend upon some imaginary value given to it by law. I said the people of Maine would have to choose between those who strictly sought to preserve the national faith, and to maintain the greenback at par with coin, and those who, with utter disregard of the public faith, wished to restore the old state of affairs, when the greenback could only be passed at a discount, and could neither be received for customs duties, nor be paid upon the public debt.