Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1880-12-22
ma LESsON OF A FAILuRE

hEuNtEDAl mVhNlNNH INV ~~f asNNf
THE LESSON OF A FAIL URE
There is food for profitable reflection
in the assumed downfall oi Mr.. Kelly
late Comptroller OF New York city
He owes this sudden turn IN the tidl
of his fortune to the fact that he wonld
not avoid dangerous antagonisms, II
may be that his natural characteristics
rendered snch avoidance impossible
bat II is more likely that, had he seen
ft to try the experiment, he could
have supplemented his other great
qualities with sufficient shrewdness tc
have carried him along in his prosper
Gus career
Without any Of the advantages
which constitute tho usual stepping
stones to high positions in this coun
try, Mr. Kelly attained great power
and usefulness in our largest city. He
was not lawyer, be WAS not literally
educated, he had no wealthy or inhu
ential relations. But he had keer
intellect and an indomitable will. He
possessed, too, the advantage Of broad
political margin. Had the rival parties
in New York city beer nearly balanced
such career as that Of Mr.. kelly''
would have been impossible. With
mental force sufficient to take the
leadership of his party ina community
more populous than most of the States
OF the Union, he might have continued
to do good service for his immediate
constituents and TO advance the inter
est of the Democracy throughout The
country, had he not persisted in pro
voking the hostility OF Mr. Tilden and
Mr.. Tlden's friends. As il is, a bril-
liant, honorable and useful career is in
terrupted, if not ended.
There is no profession 10 uncertain
as that OF the politician. Its success
is so dependent on accident that al
rules are ignored, all calculations dc
fed. Given the requisite amount o.
brains, education and natural adapta
ton, and a lawyer or editor may be SURF
of success. The same holds true OF thC
doctor, the clergyman, the painter ol
the sculptor. But the highest quail
ties and the greatest advantages OF
birth and position iurnishno guarantee
of successful career in politics. Any
one Of thousand accidents against
which no possible provision can bt
made, may at any moment check the
most promising career An unguarded
word, thoughtless act, the careless
wording Of a letter, the unnecessary
wounding Of a rivals pride, may de
feat the ambition of u life, may shut
offa statesman from the goal towards
which all his efforts have tended.
What we call luck, for want Of d
better term, has more TO do with sue
cess or failure in politics than real
merit. To deserve success is not "a
attain it. To deserve failure il not a
bar to success.
The first great essential Of q man
who proposes to rise in political lite is
a constituency, not a party that will
elect him to Congress for two terms
anl then drop him in order to "givc
the other end Of the district chance,
but people who will cling to him
through evil report, as the constitu-
ents OF Giddlngs and Garfield clung to
them, as William D. Kelley's constitu
ents hold on TO him.
Suppose General Garfield had been
elected to Congress from the average
district. Where would he be to-day
In a small town, practiclng law in q
small way. But for the broad margin
of his party in bis district and the de.
votion OF his fIiends--a devotion that
could not have availed in close dis
trict-General Garfield would have
been torn down and flung aside when
the Credit Mobilier tornado burst on
the Capitol. All that he is today he
owes to the fact that the came to Con
gress from district that had large
Republican margin, too large to bf
swept away by even snch heavy tides
as swept against it in the Credit Mo
bilier and DeGolyoar days.
Had Mr.. Blaine been sent to Con
gress from a district less reliably Re
publican than the one which he sc
long and 40 ably represented or form
y district in which the two term rule
obtained, he would have disappeared
from the list of statesmen long ago.
lie, too, owes his career as much u
the accidents OF life as to his splendid
mental equipment. And but Tor q few
words uttered by Mr.. Blaine in the
House years ago, he would now be
President-elect. 1t is not likely that
either Mr.. Blaine or his friends had
any thought oi the serious consequences
that would result from that "turk ey
gobbler" speech. But the man who
will trace Mr.. Blaine's defeat to its
cause will find it in the ha;redof Conk
ling, and that hatred is based on the
terrible satire of that little speech.
But the grandest creation Of luck OIL
accident is seen in General Grant. He
has few strong qualities, not Of the
highest order He has q robust will,
confidence In himself and capacity
to hold his tongue. This is his outfit
and on this, aided by the most remark
able succession ofaccidents everknown
he has come to be regarded as The
first citizen Of this Republic. II Mr.
Kelly had initiated Grant in avoiding
hostilties, he would have escaped the
downfall that has come TO him. If Mr.
Blaine had been as careful in tho use
of speech as Grant, he might have
been President. And as ruie, the
man who would succeed 10 politics
must make up his mind to bear, in al
lence, any.amout Of vituperation. liz
cannot afford to turn aside 10 chastisC
insolence, or even TO defend himself
when grossly wronged. If he has moi
a consciousness of integrity to sustain
him, he must assume the dignity that
such consciousness imparts.- Wash
iHgton Post.