St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-03-30
A MAN OF COMMON SENSE.
How "the Man Of Destiny" Sur
prised the People of Washing

How "the Man Of Destiny" Sur
prised the People of Washing
ton.
When Mr.. Cleveland went to Wash
fDgton after his election to the presi-
dency in 1854 he became an object of
great interest to the people of that city
more of an object of interest than any
other president for years. He was COM
paratively unknown to the politicians
and officials there, and his title Of "a
man of destiny" had preceded him.
Man of destiny he may have been, but
he was certainly man of sound COM
mon sense. He arrived at the White
house with full and complete realiza-
ton of the gravity of the problems that
were before him, and in the light OF
subsequent events it is apparent that
he said to himself: swell, here's four
years of hard work. The best thing to
do is to tackle it Immediately"
He was informed as to how other
presidents did their work. Some of
their methods appealed 10 him, and he
adopted them. But it seems to have
been his notion that he was on duty all
the time. He examined documents, he
prepared state papers, he received visit
ors, lie entertained, he presided at cabl-
net meetings. 1t was only when bed
time came that the affairs of the coun-
try we're thrown off his mind. And yet
he did not OverWork himself. His polSe
was admirable. He was interested in
everything that came before him. Bored
sometimes, perhaps, but not often. A
man with an active, well-balanced brain,
who is president of the United States,
does not suffer seriously from ennui.
The first impression that those who
had never met him got when they
called upon him was that his sincerity
was absolute, and that. when he told
them that he was pleased to meet them,
he meant it. The expression on his
face was that of manly uprightness.
He talked clearly and readily aud forci-
bly,. He was always logical. He stated
beliefs and then explained his reasons
for them.
The political history of his admins
tration and the pleasant story of his
marriage to a beautiful and brilliant
woman are familiar to every American
mali and woman. He sometimes an
tagonized the leaders of his party; but
he always had the best of reasons for
his attitude. He followed his convic-
tons. Nothing could swerve him but
absolute PROOF mat lie was wrong, WHICH
was hard.to produce.
For the personal assaults that were
made upon him by his political oppo
nents he cared very little and gave very
little attention to them. He knew that
the statements that were made were
untrue. and he said once that he be-
lieved they were made IN q ''Pickwick-
ian' sense. Some of the speeches that
we're made in the senate shocked him
somewhat, for he went to Washington
with the idea that the senate of the
United States was made up OF dellbera-
tive and dignitied statesmen, which
reputation was hardly borne out by the
speeches of some of the senators. But
if they could stand it he could. 1t struck
him as rather humorous, however, that
not a few of these senators who attacked
him had no hesitation about asking him
to do certain things for their constltu-
ents-not only requested it, but insisted
upon it.