The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1889-03-09
HE Is A DEnoCRAT.
President Cleveland Drops Into an Inter
estfng Talk With Newspaper, Man. 4

| True Principles oftAe Democratic Par.
ty Essentisl to the Country's Well.
nA Deiug.-TartE Reforn q Necessity
That 10 Well Founded and sure to
Prevail SOONER or Later.-The Race
Problem. "i -"
New York, Feb. ee.-In compiiance1
with request Of James Gordon Benz
nett, President Cleveland yesterday
gave . long interview to correspond
snt of tile Herald. A q result of the
interview, the correspondent telegraphs
the following to the Herald: So s7
81 have had a long, and need not
add, very interesting talk with Presi-
dent Cleveland this morning. 1t was
really talk, for Mr.. Cleveland objects
to . formal interview. He preferred to
about the various topics which involve
the rational welfare, and then give me
free pen With which to describe both
what I saw and heard. Me-. Cleveland
referred to the last four years and then
declared his hope that the Republican
party, on its accession to power, would
pursue no course that could in any way
rehabilitate the sectional animosities
which have been dying out. was
anxious to know what he would say of
the future prospects Of the Republic.
I, therefore, led tine conversation to
subjects bearing upon this question.
He spoke with the utmost fraDkness.
He said: ..ra r...-e ..r. s,.,. 4.
II ann Democrat, with all that the
word implies. am, moreover, an in
tense Democrat, in that believe the
true principles Of the Democratic party
are essential to the well-being of this
country" --rt
'sDuring the war;" he added, ",he
Republican party had supreme and un-
questioned control of public policy.
No one will question the service it rem
dered at thst time, but the rank and
file OF the army was composed largely
Of Democrats. The Generals who
won renown were also, many of them,
Democrats. While there were among
the Republicans . small number of
hotheads who found fault with tue
Lincoln Administration, and among the
Democrats an equal amount Of fossils
| whose timidity was q national misfor-
! tune, the great bulk of the people from
East to West, without respect to party
affiliations, were solidly patriotic and
ready for any necessary amount OF
sacrifice for the preservation of our in
stitutions. 1t is folly to claim that the
war was fought by either Republicans
or Democrats; it was fought by the
American citizens of the North.
ssBut it is plain, he said, with great
seriousness, sstEat under Republican
Administrations there has been given
n i'm ofs,o n m
opolies, trusts and combines. Immense
fortunes have been accumulated, un-
known in the days of our fathers.
They are popularity of post-bellum
times, and the control which they ar
bitrarily exercise over the cost of
existence is direct menance to the
welfare of the workingmen and Of our
farmers"
On my suggesting the race question in
the South, Mr.. Cleveland naturally hesi-
tated before answering, because, as he
said, it 10 the most delicate subject
now before the people.
'sThe South has partially recovered
from the effects of the war, and for
twenty years or more has been putting
all it, energies into the soil and
into manufactures. 1t has risen
from condition approaching
ruin to q degree of financial enterprise
which renders it in some industries
sharp competitor with the North. The
sudden and marvellous recovery of the
South in industrial interests is o fact in
which the whole nation may well take
pride. And this feeling of pride would
be universal if the professions so often
made of complete reconciliation and q
desire to join in a hearty united effort
to work out our destiny as nation
were sincere.
ssThe new relations between the
whites and the negroes at the South
are gradually arranging themselves. 1t
must, however, be work of time and
Of long time-before an entirely salts
factory result can be reached"
While Mr.. Cleveland believes that
manifest wrongs, either to whites or
blacks, should not be tolerated, he has
by no means lost confidence in the fair
minded average public opinion 10 do
the best which the circumstances allow.
They know the situation in all its bear
iings, and to distrust their ability TO deal
with it is TO distrust their sincerity and
fairness. When 1 suggested some
question as to the difference between
the incoming and the outgoing Admin.
istration Mr.. Cleveland was quick
With an answer. Evidently he is in NJ
wise disturbed by the fortunes of polit
ical warfare which have beaten him