8
The Green Bag
With the exception of 1874, when Gov. William Gaston defeated Thomas Talbot,
Massachusetts had gone solidly Republi can since the days of the party's incep tion and the great battle between Winthrop and Andrew. On the other
gross abuse of political power in outside states and in the national government resounded and was echoed and re echoed by the Democratic papers. The movement toward civil service reform so properly pressed forward by George
present
William Curtis had aroused thoroughly
nominee of the Democratic party, had
the honest sentiment of the country. People were daily shocked to hear of the open assessments to be used for cam paign purposes levied on even the pettiest
hand,
General
Butler,
the
several times been defeated, and there is little doubt that at the outset the
friends of the Republican nominee were overconfident. They overestimated their own prestige and underestimated their opponent's growing popularity.
oflice holders,"and the bullet of Guiteau
victory soon proved one of the most heated political contests Massachusetts
had recently given to the public as many believed a shocking illustration of the workings of the spoils system. As a result Massachusetts Republicans suffered for the sins of the party in other
has ever seen, with the result that Gen
states.
eral Butler polled 133,946 votes to Mr.
Again the tariff, that ever-recurring subject of contention, made its presence felt. One side urged that the protec tive system upheld and increased the wages of labor, the other that it aug mented the cost of commodities upon which the laboring man must live.
What at first appeared to be an easy
Bishop's 119,997.25 Many circumstances tended to make the nominee’s task difiicult; some condi tions seem strangely irrelevant to the
real issues; others seemingly worked exactly contrary to the logic of the situation. For instance, Mr. Bishop, while in the Legislature, strongly favored local option but not prohibition, the
temperance question being then quite a vital issue.
The platform adopted at
Worcester said nothing as to the party's attitude, but the Democratic party in serted a temperance plank. To the credulous this would seem to place General Butler in the forefront as a temperance candidate, especially as the temperance element in the Republican constituency was not placated by rallies and through the press. The liquor dealers themselves, however, knew better; and the Republicans lost at both ends. Again no state had done more credit able work than Massachusetts in elimi nating the evils growing out of political patronage and suppressing public ex travagance. Yet the outcry against the 9‘ Manual of the General Court, 1883, p. 270.
The unfortunate financial condition ship of theand nation discontent created which a feeling in ofpolitics hard_ always works against the party in power. The recent resumption of specie pay ments had necessarily borne heavily upon the debtor and laboring classes. Persons who had contracted bills upon
the basis of a depreciated currency were now obliged to pay both principal and interest in the equivalent of gold, at the same time that wages were being
reduced to meet the new currency stand ard. These extraneous factors influencing
the public preferences, coupled with none too good feeling within the party itself, daily made the result more and
more doubtful.
The candidate and his
“Two per cent was levied in New York toward the general campaign fund besides that demanded by ward bosses.
