Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1888-09-21
AN HISTORICAL PARALLEL.
MARTIN VAN BUREN, AND GROVER
CLEVELAND.
Letter from the Rev. Dr. Edward Everett
Haie-1he Old Combination to the
Fore Again-Time for Another Pop
ular Uprising against Sectional
Domination.
TO me Editor of the Tribune:

cal campaign, with the advantage of a
succts III name rs a ralying cry. TO us
old people, the recollection of the old
name aud the old campaign is good
omen.
In is4O, the president and the coterie
around him at Washington were as sure
that he would be re elected as that he
would live to the election days. days" :
for, in those times, the election took place
on several different days in November
And there never was man more disap
pointed or surprised than the president
was when he found that he had not I'M
derstood the people. He was a New York
politician, and the most adroit of his time.
OF craftsmanship, in the large American
sense, he never showed any idea. from the
beginning to the end of his career But
ne understood perfectly how to manage
conventions, and even how to manipulate
States. BY this sort of management he
had stepped forward adroitiy and quietly,
from polut to point, and he found himself
In the White House. Now, man can
get along very well in the White House
for many years without doing anything.
A mere cipher can get along In the White
House. and can secure his reelection, if
he will only let the people alone to do
what they want to do. But this particu-
lar president could not resist interfering
with the business machinery of his time
He made the mistake Ct the whole
Southern SCHOOL, in thinking that men
of business are in some sort low crowd
and not much to be attended to. The
conse quenCe WAS that the whole people,
the People with large p, were entirely
disgusted with him and his, and put him
out in the election of 1910. His strength
had been the old strength of the demo-
cratic line, from the day when Jefferson
was elected TO the day when James Blu
chanan was turned out That is to say,
1t was the union of a solid South, or a
South nearly solid, with the State of New
York, which is for this reason called the
empire State" All that was needed to
secure this combination was that you
should have northern man with South |
arn principles to be at the head of the |
ticket. such man was Martin Van |
Buren,, or James Buchanan, or Franklin |
Pierce; and this comhination-a very
simple One-elected them all, in each case |
country.
All the above has been written of Mar
tin Van buren,. Now, whoever will take
the pains TO read it again, and put in
"Gterer Cleveland" as the president spo-
ken Of, will find it is just as true of him
IS 1t Was of Little Matly" as the adroit |
New York politician was called in that |
CANVASS. Inc combination Whlch chose |
GROVER CleVelanu 10 tne presidency Was
again tne combination oil the sOlld south
WIN Inc STATE OF New YORK These
Southern gentlemen, such as meet, for
Instance, on commencement day at Colum
Ola coieee IN SCUM CHrolila' ana deter
mine tor the year what the politics OF
SouIh Caroilna ana OF the United states
snail o., nave, after little surprise
panSp1 lV tbp 1lDnlpaS Of 1851 -tS |
con en- ca klnuly TO take the Jpo OF gov,
ernlhH the couGtry again. Taey looked
9rohbu 10 ma Northern man with |
i5out hern principles i'll New YORK, and
they lonnd BIN. tie was every whit as
adrolt politician as MARTIN Van buren,
de ShUWs hs wei as Mr.. Van buren,
hne", "ao are tne directors IN each par
tlcuIar y aIt, anu now Uhey are 10 ne sol,
aced. A. Mr.. CurtiS ana the o,ner civil |
SeIsct reform Leaders Gay. so klndly' ne
4no"a ~ "naI oIate IL Is desirable TO
iaYof ctVll service reform, ana ne Also
KNOWS IN wat states IL would not DO to
Iay0t u
LAKE. Mr.. Van Buren, too, he has tried
MS hand at interfering with the business
arrangements OF The country, one really |
scarcely Knows why. He has not
had tIms enough TO bring on such COT
ppi'icn ~ that or 1887 was, nor has he had
Gne oo;equlous majority which Mr.. van
Buren, ntd in ooth houses or Congress,
Olit 'F At2 nan 'ilie ShouSH " 0no" " itI
ne wanted 10 do,
He lnakes, therefore, very exact paral-
lei VITA ihe politician who was a. the
bead OF the government from 1887 to 1871.
He was chosen by the same combination
as Wsil as he could he has done the same
thing; indeed, he is very much the same
sort OF man. He is undoubtedly much
more obstinate than Martin Van Buren,,
whom nobody ever accused OF obstlnacy
but yon have about him the same annoy
ance which you always have when you
have = pre sident who seems really ignor
ant OF he history of the country, and in
different o its larger interests-to what
might caN its vital affairs. Thus the
whole message Of this year Is argued on a
simple dollar and cent footing, as if
money getting were the only object of a
man or OF nation.
Now, II has always proved rather diff.
cult to rouse the working people OF the
country to frequent changes in national
affairs. Men of business. because they
are men of business, do not go to caucuses