Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-12-29
THE WAY OF THE MACHINE PoLITI.
CLAM

Evidently peace has not been ratified
between Mr.. Hill and Mr.. Cleveland. 1t
was on the wheel of rumor month ago
that it had all been settled, and that Mr..
Hill was TO take the Senatorial bird in the
hand while Mr.. Cleveland would seek the
Presidential bird in the bush.
Mr.. Hill has evidently not ratified the
compromise, if, indeed, It ever existed
outside the realm of speculation. In 1884
MIR. Cleveland wrote letter to A. ].
Warner hostile to the position of the sill
yer men, and especially opposed to the
idea OF free coinage. That letter has been
club, the blows of which Mr.. Clevelands
friends have been warding off ever since,
though upon the free coinage doctrine
they might well have stood upon ground
with him. The friends of the ex-Presi-
dent who desire his denomination have
lately been at pains to give out that he
has changed his views. 1t will be re-
called, for instance, that Senator Vest was
one of these, he telling how angry Mr..
Cleveland became, once upon time, be-
cause Secretary Manning sent letter to
Congress taking position against the
silver dollar. But Mr.. Cleveland has not
confirmed the narrative
Mr.. Hill evidently thinks that all this
indicates that the silver men are being
placated by Mr.. Cleveland's promoters.
Thereupon he jumps in with vigor and
announces that he is for free coinage
under proper international ratio" The
speech in which he made this declaration,
delivered about election time, is now hav-
ing wide circulation in the silver States
and the West, Mr.. Hilps friends scatter
ing the pamphlet with great freedom and
earnestly soliciting the people to read it.
At the same time the anti-Cleveland
papers are, as if moved by common i'm
pulse, resurrecting the Warner letter and
laying the lash upon Mr.. Cleveland's
broad back sharply.
From all of which it is clear that Gov
ernor Hill proposes to be candidate be-
fore the Democratic Presidential Conven-
ton, and that he intends to play every
card that comes to his hard to that end.
1t will impress thinking men, however,
that it is all "game;;" that it is wanting
in sincerity; that even Mr.. Hills friends
will not have the hardihood to claim for
the maneuver anything more than sharp
politics.
The matter strongly illustrates the
readiness of the machine politician, of
which Mr.. Hill is recognized as fine ex-
ample, to trim his sails to favoring breezes,
and it goes long way, also, in exhibiting
the hollowness of political scheming. Mr..
Hill is a political accident, recognized
boss-ring machine politician; one of the
kind who ''goes in to win," with little re-
gard to methods or means. Mr.. Cleye-
land, on the other hand, is in contrast to
him as a man of convictions. He believed
what he wrote to Mr.. Warner, and he has
not yet, by pen or word of mouth, with
drawn his expression. When opposing
Mr.. Cleveland most, we have never had
occasion to doubt his sincerity. Even in
the celebrated rushing of the Restriction
Act to passage he was sincere, though the
action, shared IN by both political parties
equally, was undignifed and not in line
with good faith with China. If these two
citizens are the chief candidates before the
Democracy in 1892 for Presidential nomi-
nation, and that party bllnders in choos-
ing, it will simply give point to the saying
that it can be depended upon to make a
mistake at the right time-for its OPP
ponents.