The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1884-08-13
VIII Cleveland Be Retired!

for the statement that Abram ). Hewitt
will come out and oppose Cleveland's con-
tinuance as candidate. This may or
may not be true; but no man can well
deny the significance of so much talk as
is now floating, on this question of q
possible retirement. II this should actual
ly occur, it would be something unprece-
dented in the history Of the country
Many candidate for the presidency has
suffered under the mortifying disclosure
of flaws in his record, which stood out in
startling ugliness which subjected to the
merciless microscopes of the opposition
and the unsparing illumination Of hot
campaign. But no candidate has been so
completely wilted that he had to give up
the race, hide in the woods, and allow a
worthier man to assume his place. This
is what strong undercurrent of pure
American sentiment is now demanding in
the case Of Cleveland.
The gods are numerously on record as
having punished mortals by promptly
granting them their wishes. The "Phari-
sees" have vociierously demanded that
the personal worthiness of the candidates
should be made and kept the paramount
issue in this campaign. They chose their
issue, and circumstances are holding them
to it with the grim irony of fate. They
have themselves fallen into the pit which
they dug for another. The man whom
they represented as leprous and tattooed
remains healthy and clean, while their
own spotless candidate has gone to the
thick woods OF the AdirondacKs TO hide
his confusion and avoid the storm Of
contempt and indignation which is rising
above the political horizon.
And only few short weeks ago we
were informed that with Blaine as
candidate the Republicans must wage
dispiriting, defensive campaign, with
inevitable, overwhelming defeat staring
them in the facel OF all the queer cam
paigns this is the queerest, and that of
1872 is nowhere in comparison. The es
sential facts of the Cleveland scandal are
now admitted by such authoritative or
gans as the New York Evening Post the
New York and Boston Heralds, etc. But
even with their reformed version Of the
story il will be impossible for them to
make the good people of the country re-
gard it as "a mere peccadillo." The
people who were so extremely anxious
to run this campaign on "moral" and not
on political" grounds are finding it too
late to switch off on the other track.
II is not the scandal which disturbs the
average Democratic statesman, however,
but II is the wide disafIection of the labor
vote, which now promises to bury the
Democratic candidates under a perfect
avalanche. The New York Trades
Assembly which meets at Utica on Mon
day next will hear from its committee a
report on the labor legislation of the past
winter, which will be unsparing in It's
denunciation of Cleveland. All classes
of laboring men, without regard to ma
tionality or occupation, seem to share the
determined feeling of hostility to Cleve-
land. Theodore Roosevelt is said to be
now preparing a speech which will COM
pletely annihilate the claim that Cleve.
land Is a reformer. Roosevelt will give
circumstantial history of the reform
legislation of last winter, and will show
that Mr.. Cleveland played the part Of
selfish politician, continually suggesting
changes in the proposed bills (before their
Introductory which would suit his own
schemes or those Of his friends. The
last foothold is slipping from under the
Buffalo statesman's feet.
There is of course little ground for
belief that Cleveland will be retired. A
remarkable letter demanding II, was
printed in the New York Sun the other
day, and that Is reason for thinking that
Mr.. Dana sympathized and that the idea
was born with him and took the shape of
correspondence simply as feelr The
suggestion was that Mr.. Tilden be substi.
tuted. The New York Star CTammany
organ thinks that the substitution would
have "a marvellous effect" But the
Democratic press in general repudiates
the idea, and the obvious difficulties in
the way OF swapping horses while cross
ing stream" are more apparent to the un-
derstanding Of experienced politicians
than to simple Democratic voters, of
whom thousands are longing for candi-
date OF different stripe. As we have
already said, the mere fact that the posi-
bility Of such change is in every mind,
is significant because it implies dissatis
faction 30 profound and widespread as 10
be the presage Of certain defeat la