Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-07-05
NEW YORk'S ESTIMATE OF CLEVE-
LAND.

The rate at which familiarity may
breed contempt when the subject of it is
proven to be unworthy of confidence is
strikingly displayed in the public career
of Grover Cleveland. The following
table shows the Cleveland maiorities
given by the city of Buffalo and the
state of New York in the years 1882 and
ard 1884. The excess, whether plurality
or majority, is here classed as majority.
The majorities are all for Cleveland ex-
cept that of Buffalo in 1884, which was
against him. In 1882 Cleveland was a
candidate for Governor and in 1884 for
president.
Buffalos Cleveland majority .......... 5i5o .fO53
New York's Cleveland majority. 1851 1903
Against Cleveland
These figures tell a significant and
startling tale. In 1882 Mr.. Cleveland
was comparatively unknown to either
New York state or Buffalo. 1t is true that
he had served a term as sheriff of the
county of which Buffalo is the principal
city, and that, in the year named, he was
mayor of that place. So far as re-
CARDS his fitness or capacity, however,
for exalted political position he was an
absolutely unknown man. The upheaval
in politics produced by the fractional
fight among the Republicans in the state
of New York had given Cleveland his
opportunity for advancement. As a rep
resentative of so-called ''reform"
movement he was chosen mayor of Buff
falo; and while standing for the same
idea Daniel Manning secured his nomi-
nation for governor. His election to the
governorship was as triumphant as was
his previous elevation to the mayoralty
A glance at the figures will tell the
story of the regard with which Mr..
Cleveland was held in 1882 and 1884 by
those who knew him best. The city Of
Buffalo, which gave him a majority of
5,752 in 1882. gave a majority of 1903
against him in 1884. In 1882 the state Of
New York rolled up majority of 1872, S54
for him, but all which it gave him two
years afterward was just LOTT. The
reason for this great change in attitude
toward Mr.. Cleveland can readily be
pointed out. 1t is this: The people had
found him out. They had learned, by a
costly and humiliation experience, that
he was both morally and mentally unfit
for the governorship; that he was AFRO
giant, cold-blooded, selfish and repellant
in his dealings with those which official
life had thrown him in contact with,
and that he lacked both the ability and
the inclination to observe any of the
pledges which he had made to people.
The experience which the state of
New York had between 1882 and 1884
has been repeated on a larger scale by
the nation in the interval which has
elapsed since the latter year. The peo-
pie of the country, too. have discovered
that Cleveland, as reformer,i is hollow
and pretentious sham. who has violated
his promises, debauched the civil SER
vice, insulted and Inundated the strick-
en- and worthy soldiers Of the republic.
and injected an element of coarseness,
vulgarity and sordidness into every de-
partment of the executive branch of the
government. 1t was an accident only
which prevented the closing of Mr.
Cleveland's political career at the cleo
ton of four years ago. But by no law
of averages, pernutations or probabili-
ties ever formulated in mathematics is
such an accident likely to be repeated
within the next 100 years.-GlobeDem-
ocrat.