The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer., 1891-06-14


ness he must carry the implements of the
game about with him wherever he goes.
Quite a number of Democratic Senator's
have of late openly declared against Mr.
Cleveland a Presidential candidate for
1892 These gentlemen, as rule, profess to
have no personal feeling against the ex-Presi-
dent, but base their opposition to him on
party expediency. They say his silver letter
has seriously impaired his popularity in the
South, and that some of the Southern States
could hardly be carried for him in view of the
opposition he has expressed to the free coin
age of silver. These Senators may be sincere
in the reasons they give for antagonizing Mr..
Cleveland. They may deprecate his nomina-
ton only because they believe the best inter
ests OF the party require a new leader
for 1892. But it is to be feared
people generally who are moderately ia
miliar with the history of Mr. Cleveland's
administration and the attitude toward it of
most of these Senators will be inclined to
doubt that their opposition proceeds solely
from considerations of the good of the whole
party. These Senators are mostly politicians
of the old school. While they talk reform in
public, they despise those who earnestly at
tempt to put it in practice, and look on men
who believe that the affairs of the Govern
ment can be and ought to be run on rigid
business basis as fools or cranks. With Mr..
Ingalls,, they believe the publication of politics
to be an iridescent dream, and have no use
for the Official who, in the phrase of the spoils-
men, will not stake care of his friends' In
other words, they believe that men who bestir
themselves from purely selfish motives to Sc
cure the election of certain man to office,
should be permitted by that man to use him
as they desire, regardless of his own sense of
duty to the public and the solemn oath he
took. Mr.. Cleveland, as the regular candidate
of his party for Governor of New York and
President of the United States had the zeal
GUS support of practical politicians, who
worked for his election, not through any re-
gard for him or for the public good, but be-
cause they expected to be 'staken care Off
when Mr.. Cleveland got into Office. But Mr.
Cleveland happened to be man with a strong
sense of his public duty and made repeated
pledges before election that he would do all in
his power to improve the character of the pub
lie service That he endeavored to be true to
his convictions and his pledges few far-minded
men will deny. The bitter personal hatred
which he. won from the spoilsmen of his own
party because of his efforts in this direction
is added proof that he did not yield to them
These men have pursued him ever since he
left the White House, and, as far as they dare
without uncoVering their true motives, they
are now trying to weaken the hold which he OBJ
tanned on the great Democratic masses through
his sterling honesty of purpose, his magnificent
courage, and his fidelity to sound principles
of government. 1t would not do to say that
all the opposition to Mr.. Cleveland arises
from this cause or comes from the men al
luded to. There are no doubt many good
Democrats who believe the party would have
better chance of success under new leader
in 1892 but they do not find it necessary in
arguing in support of their position to belittle
and decry Mr.. Cleveland, nor do they make
threats or seek to stir up strife within
the party in order to carry their point. They
do not deny that Mr.. Cleveland represents the
leading issues before the country-taritf re-
form, and more careful and economic ad-
ministration of the Government in all its de-
partments. They do not endeavor to force to
the front the silver question, on which the
party is divided, and which at best is of far
less Importance than the other great issues
named aboYel The men who do these
things place their personal feelings and
their private political fortunes above the
good of the party and of the country, and are
at heart ready for anything 10 beat Cleveland.