The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-11-14

cation, and Hills stumping tours in
1880 in Ohio and Indiana have COM
mended him to the good opinion OF the
Democracy of that section. Hills ora
ton at the unwilling OF the Grady monu-
ment at Atlanta won him golden
opinions all over the South, which does
not forget that Hill had two brothers in
tile Confederate army and was as bitter an
opponent of Lincoin's war policy as Cleye-
land himself. So far as Hill is concerned
he IS easily master of the situation in New
York state, for both the Country Democracy
and Tammany have always given HIM a
united support. With the Country Democ-
racy at his back be could win even against
combination of New York and Kings
county for Flower
Hill win retire from the Office of COVER
nor in January, 1892, within fifty or sixty
days of the time when the Democratic
state convention will meet to elect dele
gates to the Democratic national conven-
ton. As practical politician he
Is able, INSCRIPTIONS, energetic,
adroit and popular. He has never
fully committed himself to the
Cieyeland-Mills tariff policy, and there
fore stands well with the Tilden-Randall
moderate Democratic protectionists. In
1883 Hill frankly told the South at Atlanta
that the negro problem could only be
solved by approaching it in the spirit of
justice and humanity as opposed to that
of race hate and color prejudice. Hill was
astute enough to perceive that Cleveland
lost the North largely by his obsequious
trucking to the South at every opportun-
ity; he knows that the North can nomi-
nate him, and that once named by New
York the South would support him, while
If he were named by the South as their
creature he would be more likely to lose
the doubtful states of the North. AS be-
tween Cleveland and Hill the Western
Democracy would prefer Hill. The Paci-
fic coast Democracy is strongly anti
Cleveland. and Maryland and West Vir-
ginia do not favor him.
The only sure support of Cleveland
would be the late Southern Confederacy,
with Massachusetts and Connecticut,
where the Mugwumps are strong and con-
tinue to worship their wooden idol of 1884
and 1883. The South does not like Cleve-
lands hostility to free silver coinage; but
it knows that he can be trusted TO be its
obsequious tool, as no other Northern
Democrat can be trusted; it trusts him
because he was, like Franklin Pierce, an
ingrained, hide-bound, pro-slavery dough-
face before the war and a copperhead dur
ing the war; it does not admire either his
character, his manners or his intellect, but
it knows that he will be as plastic as wax
in the hands of the South. But the
South will never insist upon her preference
for Cleveland if New York names Hill.
Il is Hills first great opportunity,
and likely to be his last if he does not
seize it. Can any candid observer doubt
that Governor Hill will, if possible, secure
the New York delegation to the Demo-
cratic national convention in 1892, or that
securing it he will be nominated? He is a
shrewd. cool, cunning, resolute. courage
Gus, pertinacious, astute, indomitable, in
suitably ambitious politician; he has been
careful not to commit himself as radically
against free silver as Cleveland and to get
the presidential nomination Hill, while
too able and intelligent a man to believe
sincerely in either free trade or free silver,
would swallow free trade, free silver or
any other form of lunacy that the nomin-
ating convention may frame into their
platform. The best minds in the Repub-
lican party deem David b. Hill the most
formidable Democratic candidate likely to
be selected in 1892. since he would be dam
gerously likely to carry the doubtful states
against any Republican save James G.
Blaine.