Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1889-06-20
GROWERS SENTIMENTS.
His Competency Strikes the keynote 70
the Next Campaicn.

Inc JacKSOnlan banquet rendered
MIR. Cleveland in New York was IN
tended as notice to all other Democrat
ic Presidential aspirants from Hill to
Palmer to stand aside and clear the
track for the fiat man" as the stand
ard-bearer in the next National cam
paign. Mr.. Cleveland is the only man
in the party with enough adipose and
avoirdupois for leadership. Dave Hill
port of the saloon power in New York,
but would cut a sorry figure as Ma
tional candidate. Ex-Secretary Whit
ney is loaded down with the Standard
Oil trust, and Bayard, Garland. ct al.
are not to be thought of. John NJ.
Palmer is over seventy, and if he were
twenty years younger all the service
he could render the party would be to
add few Socialists and Anarchists to
the regular Democratic vote. Cleve-
land is the only man in the Democratic
organization who can command the
solid South and have a strong enough
pull on the mugwumps of New York
to give him good chance to get the
electoral vote of the Empire State.
Paradoxical as it may seem, the spoils-
grabbing Jacksonians want as can
didate the man who can secure the
most mugwump support, and notwith-
broken Cleveland is believed to be that
man. Hence his pre-eminence in the
Democratic party. No other can, be-
fore election, SO successfully delude
mugwumps with campaign promises
of civil-service reform and afterwards
so generously safe the hunger of the
ward-workers with "spoils-" No 9TH
err leader can so successfully play with
both the red ball and the white.
Cleveland is naturally overbearing,
and as the only leader who can COM
mand the allegiance of both Bourbons
and mugwumps he can not avoid being
dictatorial. At the recent banquet he
lectured soundly the assembled Demo-
Gratis and dictatorially laid down the
conditions of party success. Trans
lated out of his ponderous and rather
vague phrases and made plain, Cleve-
lands doctrine is that the BOurbons
must hold together and up to the time
of the election promise all things to
capture the civil-service reform mug
wump vote and then coolly violate
their pledges after being elected. He
of hn
avowed haters of civil-service re-
form in short order He declared no
party could hope for success unless it
claimed to have in view the promo
ton of the public good and the adj
vancement of the welfare and prosper
ity of the country" He added sig
rifcantly: There never was a party
platform or declaration of principles
which did not profess these things and
make them the foundations of the
party creed; and any body of men
who should openly proclaim that they
were associated together for the ex-
press purpose of gaining supremacy in
the Government, with the sentiment of
distributing offices and the spoils of vic
tory among their associates, would be
treated with ridicule and scorn." This
avowal of tricky purposes is certainly
plain enough. Even though the party
has no other purpose than the seizure
of the spoils it would be suicidal to
declare that fact openly and in ad-
vance OF the election. The admoni-
ton as to what may be "openly pro-
claimed and as to the necessity of an
express purpose" which shall seem
disinterested and patriotic ought to be
sufficient to silence the photographers
until the victory is won.
But, while Mr.. Cleveland showed
the prime necessity of catering to and
deceiving the mugwumps and de-
manded that symptoms of spoils-
hunger must be suppressed, he tipped
a wink to the assembled Bourbons.
"Of course" he said, lin the su-
premacy of party there are advan-
tages to its members, and this is not
amiss." When Mr.. Cleveland and his
Secretaries chopped off the heads of
$4,000 capable and faithful Repub-
lican Office-holders and gave the
vacant posts to Democratic strikers
and wald-worke S, he furnished I'M
equale9 proof of the advantages to
members which accrue as the result
Of the supremacy Of party" In six
months Cleveland made more re-
movals from Office than all the Presi-
dents did before Jackson. No ten
Presidents put together can show
such record OF spoils grabbing as
mugwump elected Cleveland. His
official axe worked so rapidly the
strokes could hardly be counted. The
changes made for partisan reasons
during the Cleveland administration
are without precedent in this or any
other country. Yet he says to the
New York Democrats he has mo ex-
cuses or apologies" to make. What
more could they ask? He declares as
frankly as circumstances will permit,
and within the lines of political cum
ming and evasion which he an
nounces to be the conditions of sue
cess, that he has no regrets, and
would again preach civil-service re-
form for the mugwumps and seize the
spoils for the Bourbons.
Mr.. Cleveland insists that much as
they are opposed the old reform
preaching and spoils practice must
prevail. and the Democracy can not
win in any other way. Beyond ques-
tioA he thinks himself the only man
WIN can nleasa the m11nvnmns with