St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-11-30
WEIGHING CLEVELAND.
Jay Hawker," of the Cincinnati
Enquirer" Sees the Next
President,
And, After a Good Square Look at
Him, Gives the Public His
Impressions.
He Thinks the Governor will StubbOrnl,
Insist on Being President
Himself
[speeial Teleernm 70 thc Globe. |

a correspondent ol tue enquirer ana re
publican, as most of the correspondents Of
that milk and water Democratic sheet are has
been 10 see Gov. Cleveland, and is now bet
ter able 10 appreciate the true greatness of
the president-elect. He says:
j w-nt with Senator Voorhees, and Hon. R.
j. Bright to see Gov. Cleveland. / was not
invited to interview him nor to advise him as
To the policy of his administration, and did
neither. l had formed impressions
Of him during the canvass, and
wanted to learn how far those impressions
would be sustained by personal contact. l
did not go there as one of his worshipers.
On the contrary, / was under many appre-
tensions that he had not shown sufficient
mental and political stature to carry him
through the great trial Of q change IN admin
istratiou Of the executive power in the coun-
try. was prepared and expected to meet
heavy, stolid, stubborn man, who had honest
intentions and desire to carry them out as
far as he could see to do it. More than this
did not expect. When came away had
been captured and carted into camp and
released on my parole. My disappointment
was of the most agreeable nature.
No picture or photograph that have seen
does Mr.. Cleveland justice, because the ex-
preston of his face, that index to the ge-
NAL side of his character, is wanting. He
has fine, blue eye which lights up with his
other features in conversation, but always so
quiet that you see at once that the bolster
Gus element is wanting in his character
Nor is there particle Of arrogance in his
manner of speech. 1t would only be nat
ural for any man, even after life of polit-
cal triumph and honors, to allow
an out-cropping of vanity at some
point, but, with my biased feelings
against him, I failed to detect a
single trace Oft. Had not known who he was
would have pronounced him quiet, I'M
assuming great man, whose greatness had
been overlooked by the scrambiing politicians
who were ambitious to sit in places of honor.
In the ordinary meaning of the term i would
say he is not politician, for he knows moth
ing of political methods, and l somehow feel
that he would have been stronger in the eau
vass without a committee than he was with
it. But, under his modest demeanOr Of frank
manner, there is observable a firmness of
character which will not allow any
person or circumstance 10 override his
convictions OF duty, and when that quality
is added to his great quantity of common
sense and his patience in listening il is evil
dent that but few men living are so well
equipped as he for the campaign upon which
he is entering 1t is evident to any observer
that Mr.. Cleveland appreciates the magni-
tude of his task, and that with his methods
he will be equal to it.
The question of patronage is the one
which meets him at the threshold, and, while
it incidentally becomes a feature of his pol
icy, there will be a demand that 1t he dis
posed of before he can move in any
direction, and It is equally evident that he
knows that legal distractions in his way will
prevent anything like an immediate general
compliance with that demand He is not
the man to be driven to override any Law
and is too good lawyer to be misled as To
the meaning of any statute The Repubu-
cans have so interviewer their legislation on
the subject Of appointments that without the
friendly cooperation of the senate the pres
ident is badly handicapped. The
tenure OF Office law protects
the commissioned officers while the
civil service act does the same for
the non-eommissioned class, who hold places
through its certificates. The president can
fill vacancies when the time for which the
appointment was made has expired, or for
cause, which must be satisfactory to the SON
ate, if that body chooses to make the inouirv.
In fact, a cabinet officer cannot be appointed
without the consent of the senate. and so
nearly is that body identified with the execu-
tive by virtue of the laws that no president
can afford to quarrel with its majority when
he could be held to be in fault
and as the civil service law makes
it a felony to remove the nom
commissioned officials except for cause. the
department and bureau officials are "a mucb
handicapped by il as the president is by the
tenure of Office law. Allowing that Mr.. Cleve-
land desires that the Offices be held by Dem
ocrats, it is apparent to everyone who viii
stop to think that it will be out of his
power to make changes very rapidly, and
that when he has done all of that the great
majority Of the pleasant little offices are be-
yond his reach. This fact was well known
to the department employees, and was the
reason why they refused to make campaign
contributions and that refusal very materially
aided in the election of Mr.. Cleveland.
Another fact is evidently well understood
by Mr.. Cleveland, and that is that the cleo
ton figures show that the Democratic party
lacks nearly half million of popular ma
jority, and that its narrow victory in the late
election was due more to hatred of Blaine
than to love of or confidence in the Demo-
cratic party, and certainly every one must
admit that the deciding vote was given to
Mr.. Cleveland rather than to his party.
Therefore, while Mr.. Cleveland is trying to
give the country an honest administration
he is bound to so temper it that Democratic
control will not end with his term
of Office. It is hardly possible
that Mr.. Cleveland viii be able to satisfy the
party machine, for he has not done so as
governor of New York, and that very failure
made him president. While he has grown
stronger, the machine element of bis party il
weaker than it was two years ago. For in
lance, where the tariff was made a distinct
issue in important states the Democracy have
been losers, but Mr.. Cleveland gained be-
cause his conservative manner made the
belief that no matter what his personal views
might be he would consult the interest of
the people before taking any step which
would affect the general prosperity.
Iu 1862 the Democrats practically carriad