The weekly intelligencer., 1892-04-02

Ii Grover Cleveland was god ant
made of any better stuff than we com
mon mortals, the case might be differ
ent. II he had been born of kinglN
parentage, and was hedged in by the pop
py-cock of royal divinity, and we, tn,
people, were nought but his vassals,
then 1t might be altogether proper fol
his masters of horse to go around
cracking their whips and saying .syou
must. But Mr.. Cleveland is neither q
god nor a prince of the blood. He is
better than either, because he is plain
American citizen. At the same time he
is no better intellectually, morally OF
physically, than thousands, of others of
his countrymen, however much and de-
votedly he is worshipped by some OF
them.
And while we are att we might as
well strip away some of the curtains
his obsequious worshippers have hung
between the sanctum sanctorum of his
greatness and the people.
He was not the father of the tariff
reform issue, and is no more the em-
bodiment Of that issue than thousands
OF democrats, each of whom has done
as much and more to bring and keep
that issue to the front. The conflict
between q tariff for revenue and one
for protection begun many years before
Mr.. Cleveland was born, and viii con-
tinue as long as we have a custom
house.
He is not the author of civil service
reform. 1t would not be to his credit
il he were.
He is not the only man who is en-.
dowed with the courage of his con
victions, !" nor is he the only one who
is brave and honest Such men are very
abundant. The stars that glitter in the
armament are not more numerous thar
men who can form opinions and stub.
bornly adhere TO them. Several men
right here in Lafayette county have
more courage of their convictions than
they know what to do with.
Not for anything would we delract
an iota from Mr.. Cleveland s worth and
services; but, measuring hlm by every
standard Of manhood. we fail to find
him any more honest, any more capa-
BILE, any more worthy than scores and
hundreds of his fellow citizens.
Democrats and democratic papers,
especially those of the iptolerant kind
go about making up the manifest of the
coming campaign in a most unreason-
ing manner, and talk as if all they
have to do is to suppress, no means
how, all democratic opposition to
Cleveland, nominate him, hire brass
band, spout about tariff reform few
weeks, and then wait for the election,
to win most sweeping victory.
The party was never IN greater peril
than it is right now.
The attitude of the northeastern
wing OF the party on the silver ques-
tion; the determination of democrats
in states that have not cast a democrat
ic electoral vote for thirty years, OF
never, to make the issue and nominate
Cleveland or bolt the ticket; the great
mistake of basing party action on the
success of 1890, are weaknesses that
are sure to lead TO disaster If persisted
in.
The campaign of 1890 was fought
under peculiar circumstances. The
surprise of the yictors at the result was
not greater than that OF tlye defeated
This indicates that forces were set in
motion then for which neither party
was responsible.
But let the reader recall the events
Let us see If that victory was not gain
ed by other causes than party man
agement. The Mckinley bill went in
TO effect about the time OF the election
The effects of the bill being unknown
democratic speakers took occasion t,
/ guess that prices of all necessitie
! would go up, and they guessed lon;
and loud. The merchants took ad
vantage of the coming of the new bill
10 try and unload their surplus store
and advertised most literally and ex
lteDsively that the new tariff bill woul
compel them to advance prices on al
goods from Is to so per cent, and tina
people who wanted goods at the oil
rates must call early. Result--a pani
la widespread disgust at republical
Legislation. Doubtless, on electioj
day a few republicans voted the demo
cratic ticket, but thousands refused t,