The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1892-05-30
HARRISON THE STRONGEST CANDIDATE.

CAatOtNu Cit llNttlSOh I'LL I'LL u
of clear thinking and apt expression in
extempOraneOus oratory, once reminded
a nominating convention, which was
wild with enthusiasm, that it twas not
In the heat of june conventions, but at
the ballot boxes of the Republic, in the
quiet of November. after the silence of
deliberate judgment, that the question
of who should be President was settled"
Nothing could be better adapted than
such a reminder as this to bring a frenzy
of convention enthusiasm down to con-
temptation of the cold fact that. after
all, it is the people who decide elections,
and that they are never stampeded. A
nominating convention may lose its
head, but the people never do. 1t is i'm
possible to stampede twelve million
voters.
1t will be the duty of the Minneapolis
convention to project itself into the
future and to imagine, as clearly as pos
sible, what the situation will be after it
has made its nominations and adjourned,
after the campaign has fairly opened,
after first impressions have been sue
ceeded by later ones, after the mid
summer heat has passed, after the cool
days of October and the frosty nights of
early November have come, after the
people have considered the situation for
five long months in their Offices and
places of business, or their farms and
by their firesides, and are ready, ut last,
to declare their verdict at the polls. If
the convention does this it will see the
necessity of making a nomination that
will stand the test of time and of scruti-
ny, the test Of quiet reflection and
severe judgment. This means, in the
opinion of the Journal, that it will see
the wisdom and necessity of renominat-
ing President Harrison.
Discarding entirely the spirit of hero
worship and the sentiment of blind
loyalty to the fortunes of any a the
Journal believes that President Harri-
son is stronger with the people than any
other man in the Republican party. and
stronger than n nan the Democrats
can put up against him. Leaving aside
all other considerations, such as the
obligation of consistency to nominate
the head of an administration which
everybody is praising. the obligation of
gratitude to a man who led the party to
success in one election and has made
success in another possible, the
obligation of civil service to re-
ward one good term with another
-1ooun, fhoea o~I oil afhar ann
siderations aside, the Journal believes
that mere desire for Republican success
should compel the denomination of Pres
ident Harrison. His nomination more
than any other that can be made will
make the campaign On the part of Re-
publicans an aggressive one. With him
for a leader they will not have to waste
any time or strength in protecting their
rear. There is nothing in him or his
career that requires defense. From the
moment his nomination is made the
party will know where it stands and
what it's line of battle is to be. He Is q
candidate for all kinds of weather. He
is essentially a growing man. From the
day of his nomination i'm 1888 he has
grown upon the people. and he will con-
tinue to do so as long as he remains in
public life. His personality dominated
the campaign of 1888 and led
it to a triumphant issue, although
he was a comparative stranger to the
country. Can any sane man doubt that
the same thing would occur with added
nn,nhoo n nv that hn ic On urall Ernyupq
With any other candidate there would
either be old charges and scandals to
meet or new ground to be explored;
with Harrison there is nothing of the
kind. The people know his strong
points, and if he has any weak ones
they know them also. They took him
once on trust, and they are ready to
take him again on knowledge. He
passed through the fiery furnace of one
campaign and came out without ever
the smell of fire on his garments. He
| has been weighed in the scales of one
administration and found t. be not
wanting. If he was invulnerable four
years ago he Is adamant now. In
1883 he beat all previous records of
Republican candidates, and there is rea-
son to believe that in 1892 he would beat
his own. His nomination would elimi-
ate personalities from the campaign
| and lift it at once into the higher at
mosphere of a contest of policies and
principles.
1t stands to reason that such a candi-
date, a "tOwer Of strength that stands
f~our-square to all the winds that blow"
would grow upon the people from the
day of his nomination to the day of the
election. A President of the United
States is not to be elected by an out
burst of enthusiasm, nor even by a sue
cession of such outbursts. Gong-beat-
ing is not nearly as effective a factor in
political campaigns as some people i'm
agine. Noise is superficial. 1.-THE shall
lows murmur, but the deeps are dumb"
1t is mot in the heat of June cOnven-
tions, but at the ballot boxes of the Re-
public, in the quiet of November, after
the silence of deliberate Judgment. that
| the question of who shall be President
is settled"
THE sECOND-TBRM SPOOK.
The opposition to a second presiden-