Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-01-04
To Form a New Party That Might Be
Led by Cleveland, Either.
DEMOCRACY Is GOOD ENOUGH,
So 1t Doesn't Fail TO Allow Them to Name
the Candidate.
POLITICAL MEETING OF IMPORTANCE
rsPEc1AL TELEGRAM TO THE DIsrArcH.l

thev will sav: Get thee behind me,
Satan" and will hang onto Grover Cleve-
lands coattails as lorg as he remains in the
Presidential race. The Massachusetts Re
form Club met to-day to consider the sub
iect of the new political party. which has
been dubbed the Columbian party" and
its relations TO Mugwumpery in politics.
Mr. James Means was the tempter who
sought to lead the Mugwumps astrsy. As
long as ne Landed Grover Cleveland the
Mugwumps listened with. rapt attention,
and applauded every suggestion as to his
fitness for the Presidential nomination. but,
as soon as Mr.. Means suggested the remote
possibility of dropping Grover TO make
wav for a man who might better unite the
deserters from the Democratic and Repub-
lcan parties, there was scowl of disap-
provaL
The Mugwumps Still for Grover.
The meeting was one of vast Importance
TO outside politicians, for it indicates, in
measure, the stand TO be taken by the Mug
wumps in the coming Presidential contest.
Mr.. Means told the Mugwumps present
that the new party could be formed right
awav, and that they were the ones who
should form the nucleus The party
should have for its platform honest money,
a low tariff and the abolition of the spolls
system.
After recounting the dangers which
threatened the country under the rule OF
either of the present parties, Mr. Means
said:
think that nearly all OF us were glad in
81 and s. and would be glad in 81 to vote
for Grover Cleveland, hut CleVelandism and
= distinct tOlnuS
has been very fully proved by the very re-
cent inexorabe logic of events. OF the first
-CIevelandism-we. the members of the
new party, want as much as we can get OF
the second-Democracy-w have become
so distrustful that we want to leave it to
blow its own horn. Perhaps some OF you
are saying to yourselves that Cleveland
would not accept the nomination OF the new
party. True, very true. OF course, he would
not accept the nomination OF little strug-
CLING band OF men such as we OF the new
PARTY now are. But, fellow MCgwumps, You
have it in your power to revolutioniZe the
politics of the country.
A New Party to Back Cleveland.
Ifyou will join this party and work with
st in the months to come, if you will work
until the month Of May you will then have
built up a party which will give Grover
Cleveland the support he needs, and whose
nomination he will be thankful to accept,
knowing that he will have party behind
him which will hold up his hands and not
try to drag him down. ] base that assertion
upon my belief in Cleveland as a patriot
and statesman-first, last and every time.
know how strong the Cleveland feeling
is in this club, and i thought that YOU would
approve what I have said of him. l now
wish to say something which some OF You
Will not approve. In saving this, L don
commit anyone but myself. ] want it dis
tinctlv understood that mean every word
that / have said in praise of Cleveland, but
principles are of vastly greater importance
Ahar N NJ / Gh n
ATTEMPT has been made to form new party
simply to elevate an individual, the spec
tacle would be ridiculous. If the new party
should pin all its faith to one man, its life
would not be worth living.
If in the very near future we find that our
advocacy OF Cleveland brings only dissatls-
fed Democra t. under Our banner it Will be
necessary to pause. If the name of Cleve-
land keeps those who have been Republic
ans from joining us, the only thing we can
do will be to ask competent dissatisfied Re
publicans to give us their advice
All Have to Live and Learn.
Ibelieve that the Republicans will come
to the support OF Cleveland but we cannot
tell Vet: we have to live and learn. If we
hold our convention a week or two before the
others are held, and if we Mugwumps claim
Grover Cleveland as our man-as well we
may. for we made him President-and if we
support this man who has not been sup
ported, believe that we can carry the next
national election.
Gentlemen, the campaign of 1892 has
already begun. Now, / have just word to
say to the honest money Democrats who are
holding office. Most OF them are men OF
integrity and ability, and yet they do not
have half n chance to be themselves because
they are weighed by the same f1endish party
pressure which Cleveland knew, and at
presentit is pressure which mortsds cannot
Withstand. Wouldn't common sense seem
70 dictate that the best thing man can do
under such pressure is to stand from under
nd lnf he "
Now a word or two to the voters who are
faint-hearted. What is il to throw away
vote, or to vote in the air" as it is some
times called? Isn't it to vote with a party
You don I believe in? If the American peo-
pie are satisfied year after year with a
choice between two evils, never asking for
nything better, they arc sure to have evil
as the result of their choice, are they not?
Loyal to the Old Parties.
What does loyalty to an old party mean?
Doesn't it mean that voters surrender their
rights as private citizens into the hands of
the political managers? Can our statesmen
be expected to trouble themselves about the
general welfare OF the public if the voters
ssy to them: 40 as you please: we are loyal
to our old parties?"
Some of the faint-hearted say, "You cannot
work reform; the political evils which we
see are simply the manifestations of human
nature, and that is something you cannot
change" To such / would reply: "PerhaDs
you can't change human nature, but in order
to work reform il is not necessary to change
it, The trouble with politics now is that the
worst elements of human nature arc at the
top, and the task which we have taken upon
ourselves is to make what has been called
an iridescent dream a reality, by taking
hold of bad men and dragging them down
from their high positions and putting them
where they belong.
After Mr. Means had finished speaking
there was an interesting discussion Of what
he had been talking about, and in this dis
cussiOn the Mugwumps stated their views
without hesitancy. Mr. Winsly Warren
said:
Not Time for New Party.
The reason / don't believe in a new party
bility that there will be a new party given
US next July by the nomination of Grover
Cleveland. / know that if they nominate
Grover Cleveland they will have to give
him platform that he can stand upon, and
with him know we are safe on tariff re-
form and coinage. We can compel the
Democratic party to nominate Grover
Cleveland or nominate someone else at their
peril. We ought to have a conference at
New York or somewhere else of all men
who believe in Grover Cleveland.
Mr. T. A Claflin said:
Unless the Democratic narty shows itself
sincerely desirous of tariff reform, We shall
infiict a defeat upon it in the next election.
The question i not whether we are going to
be too much Democratic but whether We
are going TO he Demo cratic at all. If we
organize new party we may diminish in
stead of increase our importance. II we
form new party we shall seem to be very
few in numbers. But If we act indepepdent-
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