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Show BLAINE'S EXPLANATION OF THE BURCHARD INCIDENT. The Hon. Lynde Harrison of New Haven, Conn., contributes to Leslie's "Hi3tory of the Republican Party," volume II, just published, a chapter entitled en-titled "Evolution of the Republican Party in Connecticut." Those who remember the presidential presiden-tial campaign of 1834 will find in the articule what is believed to be the fiurst published explanation of Mr. Blaine's real reason for not denying responsibility responsi-bility for the ill-timed nd unfortunate "Rum, Romanism and Rebellion" utterance ut-terance of the Rev. Mr. Burchard. Mr. Blaine personally made the explanation explana-tion to Mr. Harrison, who was one of his intimate friends. "On the Saturday after the Burchard Bur-chard speech," says Mr. Harrison, "Mr. Blaine made a trip upon a special train through Connecticut for the purpose of making speeches at Hartford, Meridan. New Haven, Bridgeport and Stamford. Stam-ford. "On that morning Mr. Blaine first realized that the Burchard remark was being used seriously against him, and he told the writer, who was with him upon the trip, that he was not paying close attention to the remarks that were made by the different clergymen who called upon him, and that when the words "Rum, Romanism and Rebellion" Rebel-lion" came from the lips of Mr. Burchard, Bur-chard, they were offensive to him and called his attention to the man and what he was saying. "His first thought was to stop him or to reply by telling him that such language was improper, distasteful and out of place in connection with a political po-litical campaign. He looked the" man over from head to foot hastily, and he said he made up his mind that the Rev. Mr. Burchard was a man of narrow and fanatical views and as p'ositive a fighter as any old Scotch Presbyterian. He thought the words had come from a man who knew no better than to use such offensive language; that probably no one but himself had paid any attention atten-tion to them and that if he rebuked him for it Mr. Burchard would immediately imme-diately desire to enter into some disagreeable dis-agreeable religious discussion with him on the subject of the Catholic church. Therefore, Mr. Blaine said, he thought it best to ignore what he had said. A dozen words of rebuke in the way James G. Blaine was capable of administering ad-ministering a rebuke, at that moment woul dhave made Mr. Blaine president of . the United States. When Mr. Blaine attempted two or three day3 afterwards af-terwards to say something on the subject sub-ject it was -too late. "A few weeks after the election of 18S4 the writer met Mr. William H. Barnum of Salisbury ,Conn. , chairman of the national Democratic committee, and he jocularly asked Mr. Barnum how much it cost him to put up the j Burchard incident. Mr. Barnum replied: re-plied: 'Well, of course, that will do as a joke, but I will tell you what we did do. We knew your people could not get together a body of several hundred clergjmen to make speeches to Mr. Blaine without the probability of there being some fool who would say something some-thing we could lake advantage of, and we sent reporters there to take down anything that was said." |