The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-08-07


and to the endl They wanted him and nobody
else We can well believe what we are told,
that the nomination at Chicago was not the
work of politicians-of the machine, Tor the
machine was all against him, but an expression
of the will Of the people--a spontaneous tribute
to his overwhelming popularity. This mani
festation of public feeling we have reason to be-
Iieve, was as much of a surprise to Mr.. Blaine as
it was to anybody Only few weeks before we
heard from his own lips that he was entirely out
of politics He was absorbed IN writing his
History of Twenty Years in Congress" and
never expected to enter public life again. Of
this he did not speak with any bitterness, as if
he was a disappointed man; but asa man who
had finished one chapter of his life and was now
entered on another, into which he carried the
same ardoP as into the first, and in which. if
there was less of excitement, there was, per
haps a higher and more Intellectual enjoyment.
He had found literature itssown great reward
OF course, his enemies viii say that this was
pretense; that all the while he was engaged in
very deep scheme for the nomination Well,
he must have been very deep, indeed, to be
able to conspire so secretly that nobody could
discover it and yet SO effectively as to carry by
storm the hearts of millions ofspeople. For this
manifestation Of popular feeling there must be
reason. There is Ao~effect Without a cause,
and for a great effect there must be great cause
Where there is such unbouhded popularity, this
reason must be in thesinan himself. OF no man
is this more true than of Mr.. Blaine He is a
born leader of men. Wherever he is he comes
to the front by the natural power that is in him
Those who saw him in the-Speaker's chair in the
House of Representatives.; saw how com
pletely he ruled that Sometimes stormy body.
He held it in his hand s,completely as ever did
Henry Clay s--
Even his enemies are forced to concede his
great ability and. therefore direct their attacks
against his character. We are not ignorant of
the imputations upon his integrity, to which
some whom we hold IN high respect attach a
grave importance. Nor would we put aside
such charges lightly, as unworthy of attention,
We cannot be too sensitive to the character OF
our public men, and would not belittle anything
of serious import. But really, when a man has
been so conspicuous for quarter of a century,
mark for all eyes and all tongues, and the only
thing, or the chief thing that can be brought
against him is a sentence or two picked out of
private letters written fifteen years ago, it does
seem as If his assailants were hard pressed for
material. If all the private correspondence of
our public men were thus to be serutnized by
sharp and unfriendly eyes, how many righteous
men would there be left in our American Israel I
But we do not care to argue this matter, be-
cause we have ashorter way to satisfy ourselves.
Our opinion of Mr.. Blaine may be worth moth
ing nor the opinion of those who have met him
only in the society of Washington But surely
there was one man who ought to have known him
through and through-who was with him twenty
years in Congress- at the very time that all these
charges were Investigated, and who thought so
little of them that they did not impair his re-
Spect or his confidence in the highest degree. On
the contrary, when this man, General Garfield.
was elected President of the United States, he
chose Mr. Blaine as his confidential adviser He
called him to the first place in his Cabinet thus
giving the highest possible proof of
his unshaken trust. If General Garfield
had any doubt of his integrity. he was guilty
of great wrong to his country in placing him
in a position Of such responsibility. His action
speaks louder than words. He did not distrust
Mr.. Blaine He had not only admiration for his
splendid abilities, but the warmest personal re-
gard for the man. Those who have seen them
together could not help seeing that the tie which
friendship, but AZ strong personal attachment
hichimplied an absolute mutual trust and con-
fidence Could any testimony further go2 This
single fact is enough to answer thousand
sneers and suspicious To all the attacks upon
Blaine his friends have one short, but sufficient
answer. What was good enough for President
Garfield is good enough for us