The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1892-01-06
A Strong POrtraiture.

One man dominates the whole po'iti-
cal situation from the outlook of New
Years morning, 1892 Do we need
say it is not Grover Cleveland? No;
not since the election of Mr.. Crisp as
speaker has that impressive figure been
visible above the horizons rim. A few
weeks ago the sky line was all aglow
with him. Many earnest and sincere
persons stood on their heads and sig
nitied their alteration by waving their
kicking ends in the air. He seemed to
be in the Orient. He was not. They
were standing on their heads. He was
in the Occident. He has set. And
dates the horizon and dominates the
political armament. Is he recognized?
If not, let Us introduce him.
Mr.. David b. Hill is of Emira, in
the state of New York; bachelor; a
trihe bald; cool and calculating in his
methods; Industrious, persistent, ag-
gressive, undstinguished by any of the
vices of good fellowship that pass tor
half-virtues with the thoughtless, I'M
encountered by scruples of any sort, a
man who knows men and knows how
to use them, democrat whose whole
political creed is summed up in the
idea and the duty of success at any
price, and whose ultimate purpose is to
make democratic success the means of
promoting the ambition of David b..
! Hill. AT the time, some twenty years
ago, when another eminent democrat,
his prototype, was where he is now, the
dominant figure in his party, David b.
Hill was just entering political life.
He was a member of the assembly. He
learned his first lessons in politics of
William M. Tweed. He was his de-
voted follower. He answered to his
call, did his bidding, and in the legisla-
ture served him faithfully. He grew
up in that school. His comparative
obscurity saved him from the general
disaster which overlook Tweed and his
more conspicuous accomplices. Like
most of the allies of the gang in the
interior towns, he kept quiet for time
until the storm blew over, but never
relaxed his hold on the party in his
locality, never let his interest or his
ambition flag. So one time, in hurry
burly following hot contest for the
nomination for governor, he stumbled
into the second place and became
lieut. ma ex-governor. His chief lost his
head; got an idea that so far as he did
not make himself the mugwumps made
him, and so waxed fat and kicked.
And David watched him all the time.
Watched him and felt round for his
fifth rib while he embraced him, saying,
{" Art thou in health, my brother2''
His chief became president of the
United States and he became governor.
When the time was ripe he opened
his campaign against the man who had
broken party traditions and gone off
with the mugwumps, by the simple an
nouncement, " am democrat" He
had studied the conditions and chosen
his time. His audience was electrified
and he at once famous. But the peo'
pie laughed when the attempt was
made TO set him up as rival of Grover
Cleveland. They said it was ridicu-
lous. So Kinglake says Louis Napo-
leon was laughed at and considered
ridiculous by the people of Paris, until
one December morning they woke up
and saw blood in the streets. He
ceased to be ridiculous then. Mr..
David b. Hill has been somewhat busy