Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-03-09
CLEVELAND IN BUFFALO.
How lie Came to BIO Elected Mayor
Personal characteristics.


hhUUiO CORfaeTCiuts IuFtft Il
At Washington to-day the Hon. Grover
Cleveland, OF Buffalo, was duly lnaugu-
rated President of the United States. lie
is the twenty-fifth President, and the
second citizen of Buffalo who has at
tanned that great office, the first one being
the late Willard Fillmore, who became
President on the death Of President
TAYLOR, in 1850
Only three years ago the new President
was Mayor OF Buffalo. ana on March 4,
1882, he would have said ''impossible"
and ridiculous" to any one who WOULD
have predicted to him the event OF to-day
The circumstances of his public career
and his wonderful political fortune are
well known; but a few little reminls-
cences incidentally bearing on his ad-
vancement, may not be outof place.
1t is a well-knOwn fact that in the fall
of 1881 the local Democracy were all at
sea in regard to a candidate for Mayor
Mr.. Cleveland was busy in his law prac-
tice, and was regarded as out OF politics
so far as being a candidate for any office
was concerned In the Hancock Presi-
dental campaign be took very little part,
and only made one or two speeches. One
afternoon, just before the CITY COnVen-
ton, Lawyer Cleveland, who had been
busy in court all day, entered the restau-
rant of his friend, Michael Doll. At one OF
the tables sat group OF Democratic
politicians discussing the Mayoralty
question. AS Mr. Cleveland entered
one of them exclaimed, There's
the man we want" and he was
invited to join the circle. On sitting
down it was suggested to him that he be-
come the Democratic candidate for Mayor.
Mr.. Cleveland laughed the idea to scOrn.
''What do l want to be Mayor for!" he
said. "Pye got all l can attend to, and
| besides il l wanted an Office it would not
he that of Mayor Of Buffalo, The con-
| ference broke Up, satisfied that Mr.. CleYe-
| land could not be induced to run. Then
came the celebrated ''Star-Chamber'' City
| Convention, at Tiy0li Hall, engineered by
| the late James G.. MuldOOn, who was
| Chairman of the CITY Committee. Ad-
mis- sion could only lie had by ticket, and
! the Commercial that afternoon headed
| its report OF the convention "Mul-
| doOn's" Picnic, name which always
stuck to it. Mr., Cleveland was unan-
| imously nominated for Mayor and n COM
mittee of three was appointed to see if he
| would accept. If not they were in
| structed to offer the nomination 10 Alder
man George W. Partridge. In order to
facilitate MIR. Cleyeland's acceptance
| John c. Sheehln, who had been renOm-
| mated by reclamation for ComptrOl er,Was
withdrawn and Timothy j. MahOney sub
| stituted. 1t was about o'clock in the
afternoon when Mr., Cleveland appeared
in the convention and made short
| speech, in which he said that he accepted
| the nomination with reluctance, but
would do so because he was a Democrat,
and as such could not fail to respond to
| the call of his party.
The famous veto of the notwithstanding
contract swindle," as it was called, Mon.
| day, June 26, 1882, did more than any,
| thing else to make Mr, CleVelands repu-
| tatiOn as Mayor, but as a matter of fact,
! its effect was entirely discounted by the
| Aldermen, who, as was said at the time,
| nearly tumbled over one another In their
| haste to rcScind their action in the matter
| before the Mayors veto came in. This
they succeeded in doing, but the veto was
| alterward read and ordered received and
| filed. Its effect, of course, had been en-
tirely fOrestalled. On TIE morning Of
! the day it was sent in reporter
| OF the Commercial called on Mayor CleVe-
! land to ask for an advance copy OF the
| expected veto, to print in the third ed!-
ton. "Well," said the Mayor, owe got a
| veto prepared, and l think II pretty
! stiff Onp, but 1 don't want to give 1t to
| you because | am afraid they won't re-
| ceiVe it. 1t makes man sick" he con-
| tinued. "tO think CT their action, and L
! have used some plain language" The
| reporter SUI geSted that the COuncIl was
| bound to receive an official oOmmUnlca-
| ton from the Mayor, and after some per-
! suasiOn His HOnOr's soruples about allow
| ing an advance copy to be taken were over
| come, on the pledge, however, that if the
document was not read it should not
be printed.
We say that Mr.. Cleveland was always
very clever to the newspaper men, in CIV
| ing out his public documents, all OF
| which he wrote himself. after cOnsulta-
ton with his clerk, the Hon. Harmon S.
| Cutting. We notice a dispatch from
| Washington says that he intends to de-
claim his inaugural address from memory.
| This is characteristic, and it IS an old
| habit with him to write out ard memo
riZe what he has to say. He did so at the
meeting of the bar called to take action on
| the death of his friend, Oscar Folsom,
| when he made touching and beautiful
| speech, II was thought to be imprOmptu,
| but the reporters knew otherwise, as
| they already had the manuscript, word
for word, as he delivered it, When as
! Mayor he was called upon to deliver the
address at the laying of the cornerstone
| of the new Young Mems Christian Asso-
| citation building, on Mohawk street, a re-
| porter of the Commercial approached him
| to obtain pledge Of the manuscript after
| the address was delivered. "Oh, here 1t
] is; you can take it now" said the Mayor.
! II wrote it out, but l know it by heart"
| 1t was the same way with his speech at
| the semicentennial anniversary OF the
| city held July g. 1882, and alaO with his
| speech at the dedication of the Fitch In
| stitute.