The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1888-02-15
BLAINFS WITHDRAWAL.

Mr.. Blaine's letter, written from
Florence to the Chairman of the Repub-
lican National Committee, announcing
that his name would not be presented to
the next Republican National Conven-
ton is evidently sincere. There can be
no secondary movement possible to re-
cover the ground he has lost. His
reasons, he says, for this decision are
entirely personal and he intimates for
more than a year past he has been de-
termined that he would not be candi-
date for President this year.
Whether Mr.. Blaine will vet be forced
upon the field by his party remains to be
seen. He does not exactly say '.Your
candidate will not be- nor can he pre-
vent some jealous Blainites from pre-
senting his name. But thousands who
expected the Blaine boom to swell, who
thought to split their throats with cheers
for the Plumed Knight, will turn to the
next most available man, in their esti-
nation. and that man is Sherman.
The two men, except in political sem
timents, agree in almost nothing. In
character they are the antipodes of each
other. Blaine is known as ssthe mag
netic statesman" Sherman as 1.-The ice
berg" Cold and calculating, he has
never shown that human interest in men
as he met them that has won so many
to Blaine. That cordial interest the man
of Maine has shown in every man that
has been introduced to him, that warmth
of feeling that persuaded for the minute
the most skeptical that Blaine must be
a man of most unselfish affection for the
human race is entirely lacking in Sher-
man. Blaine sought to pose as typical
American, as the Man of the New
World, the friend of every republic on
the Western Hemisphere. His scheme
for a close commercial union among
the people of North and South America
appealed to the imagination. Sherman's
imagination seems never to soar beyond
the success of the Radical wing of the
Republican party. He is narrower than
his great rival in the party. But both
depended upon the old-time hatred of
the South and the fear of free trade en-
croachments on the protective tariff to
keep their party in the ascendency.
The New York Tribune says of Blaines
letter:
A letter from Mr.. Blaine published
this morning withdraws his name $50
far as it is in his power to do SOY from
the consideration of Republicans for the
nomination in their approaching National
Convention. This letter is no surprise
to those friends of his who have known
how reluctant he has been from the out
set to give the sanction even of silence
to such consideration. 1t is the simple
fact that Mr.. Blaine was almost dra-
gooned by his friends into the candidates.
of 1850 and 1884, and that he has con-
stantly assured them that he would not
be put in the position of even seeming
to seek a nomination again. 1t has long
been evident that nothing but his own
positive action could prevent a renomi-
nation this year, and so he has finally
felt forced to say to the public what he
has been saying in private. We regret
the decision profoundly, since we have
believed that he would command more
votes in the doubtful States than any
other Republican yet proposed. But
various candidates, all excellent men
and deserving well of the Republican
party are actively in the field; and the
next few weeks may be expected to pre-
sent some unusually lively politics. May
the best man winl
Will Senator Sherman gain all the
Blaine votes? 1t is doubtful. In public
Mr.. Blaine gives no intimation to his
followers of his own preference among
the other candidates for the Republican
nomination. It is well known that the
followers Of Blaine have proven almost