The Forrest City times., 1892-02-12
nL.INE NOT A cANpIparE.

cndlfnlan or the Republican National committee, in which he declines to al- low his name to go before the Minne- apolis convention as candidate for the presidency. Following is the full text of the letter: 'I am not candi- date for the presidency, and my name will not go before the Republican Ma tional convention for the nomination. I make this announcement in due sea son. To those who have tendared me their support owe sincere thanks, and am most grateful for their confidence. They will, l am sure, make an earnest effort in the approaching contest, which is rendered especially important by reason of the industrial and financial policies of the government being at stake. The popular decision on these issues is of great moment and will be of far reaching consequence" There are part of the Maine statesman. He is sagacious enough to realize that the Republican party has very slight chance of success in the coming elec- tion, and he does not desire to brave the humiliation of second defeat for the high office which has been the ob- ject of his lifelong ambition. It is not at all likely MT. Blaine would have declined if his far-seeing judgment had not whispered the impossibility of at taining the prize. Again. it is re- ported Mir. Blaine's health is extremely l preearious. 1t is an open secret that l very little of the diplomatic eorrespon- l dence attributed to his pen really em- anated from him. Notwithstanding l the strenuous efforts of his family and I friends to conceal the fact, it is known I that the secretary is very sick man, who is utterly unable to shoulder the work of presidential campaign. Further, Mir. Blaine realizes that his candidacy would involve campaign 1 of personalities from which he may well shrink. The manner in which his name and, worse stlll, the name of his wife were dragged into the last cam paign is enough to deter him from haz- arding repetition. Mr. Blaine was entirely to blame for this, and the poetical justice of the result is obvious.
 He was approached by members of his party who laid before him their plans of attack upon the personal character | and conduct of Mr. Cleveland, and he must have known--there is no doubt of his knowledge-that the grounds of these attacks Hera unteuable, based upon fabrics of falsehood from begin hing to end. Mir. Blaine could have prevented this by a word, but he re- fused to utter that word. On the con trary, he approved of this ghoulish means of warfare, and the battle opened upon these lines. The initia- tive was taken by the republicans and Mir. Blaine and his henchmcn chuckled with delight as one foul islander after another was hurled against his oppon- eut. But Mir. Blaine's past life was found to have been not blameless, and the most cruel stories were circulated concerning his wife. Ths aarimony in- creased as the campaign advanced, and Mr. Blaine was submerged in torrent of islander and vituperatiou which he himself had invoked. That the stories were exaggerated there is no doubt; but he could not stand upunder ven tilation of his personal record, and in large measure he is indebted to this for his for his fOIm defeat. That he has since acknowledged his error-we might say crime-and repented of it in the bitterness of his heart does not condone his offense or mitigate the evil which he inflicted upon the defenseless females Of his family. However much the leaders of the democracy might deprecate this means of warfare and endeavor to eliminate these stories from the canvass, MT. Blaine realizes that they would be revived, and he re- fuses to subject himself and family to the humiliation of a repetition. Per haps this fact, more than any other, influenced him to indite the letter pub lished above. He knows he could have secured the nomination for the asking, or even without asking, but considera- tion for the private character of his family prompted him to abandon the contest. This lesson should be taken to heart by all public men.
 As the opposition to MT. Hill ih- creases, the democracy naturally ap- breaches closer to MT. Cleveland. Now that the most formidable factor of the opposition has been removed, demo- crats will become even more confident of success. As we have taken occasion to suggest in previous issue, Cleye- land is the logical candidate of his party. Should the complications in New York increase to the extent of rendering 1t impolitic to select a standard-bearer from that state, the party will likely go to the West for candidate, in which case Governor Boies of Iowa becomes the most interesting figure. Boies and Russell would be winning ticket. MT. David Bennett Hill, we repeat, IS not to be considered.