St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-02-08
MIR. BLA1NE,s WITHDRAWAL.

1t is not now betraying secret to say
that Mr.. BLAINE's letter of withdrawal,
which the GLOBE publishes this morn
ing. brings no surprising information to
those who have enjoyed his acquaInt-
ance during the past year. The only
thing unexpected about it is that it
should have come thus early. The Cos
sip from Washington which appears
daily i'll the newspapers is OF public
character. CLEANED in the hotel corridors
and the Hobbies OF the capitol. This has
been full for a long while of conjectures
as TO the secretary of states inten-
tons. But the announcements. made by
men in official life to their intimate
friends or in the privileged environs of
the social circle, by we'll understood
ana faithfully observed custom. do not
find their way into the press, no matter
how freely and openly they are ex-
pressed. In such situations Mr.. BLAINE
has for some time declared with the ut
most franknesS that his name would not
be presented to the Minneapolis conven-
ton, land those who have known him best
have had confidence in his sincerity.
The great outside world, which never
comes in contact with such sources of
intelligence, has not until today been
appraised of these facts, but has been
fed on doubts and uncertainty. The
veil, however. is at last removed, and
the most picturesque figure on the con-
temporary political stage is disclosed to
the public gaze, finally and firmly re-
fuSlng the high honOrS which his party
would be only too glad to confer upon
him.
Mr.. BLAINE's motives in taking this
remarkable step cannot be completely
analysed, because they are probably
even in his own mind complex. con-
fused and manifold. He is only now
just past SiXty-tWo, an age which must
be counted young, considering the ex-
traordlnary vital power he has until re-
cent years possessed. His faculties,
from all accounts, are entirely unim-
paired. and his mental development still
unarrested. Until the present time, he
has always had to meet violent, and
even outSpoken foes in the ranks of his
natural allies; but today he is without
a peer among the Republicans of
the nation, and, should he say the word,
could lead his party united as it never
has been during the course of its ex-
istelce. 1t must also be admitted that,
whether with or without reason, his po-
Sltion before the country at large at this
hour is stronger than it has ever been
before. The fierce enmitieS Of earlier
years appear to be subdued, and the
violence of hostile feeling and crit
iciSm which his name used to excite is
at any rate smouldering, if not entirely
Quenched. He has been popularity
numbered among the intensely am
bilious men of the country's history,
and has been supposed to che IRISH the
same keen anxiety TO be president which
once possessed DANIEL WEBSTER or
HENRY CLAY, with whom he has been
so often compared. Had he at any pre-
vious opportunity declined to run for
the goal of his desires. it might have been
explained as an evidence of a crafty
capacity to wait which often achieves
the best results under such circum-
stances. But he must recognize his
own position at this time, and must APP
preciate the fact that his refusal now
means his final and permanent with
drawal from the list of presidential pos
sibilities. A decision so conclusive and
unappealable, and SO inconsistent with
the prevailing conception Of his charac-
ter, is enough to completely battle the
world in its search for an adequate ex-
PLANTATION, and to leave this among
times unSolyed problems, about which
students will ever guess and debate.