Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1892-10-11
GENERAL sICKLRS.
His Position I'm This Campaign-why
He Said what He Did About CIcve.

His Position I'm This Campaiyn-why
He Said what He Did About CIcye-
land.
There has been good deal of talk about
General Daniel (. Sickles' speech to the
Third army corps in Washington. A New
York Sun reporter interviewed the GEN
eral the other day, and among other things
General Sickles said:
"For the first time In my life find nv
self sort of Mugwump. look down
with serene indifference upon political
parties and partisan contension. 1t is a
peculiar experience for me. No, shall
not 90 on the stump for either candidate
did SO with Governor Hill for Mr.. Cleve-
land in 1888, and out reward was to be &C
cused of knitting the ticket. L am afraid
that Senator Hill will be similarly rewarded
for his msgnsnimous action in again going
on the platform for Mr.. Cleveland went
out through the State with Governor Hill
in 1888 at his request. He had found
some trouble to handle the old soldiers,
aud he thought / could assist
in keeping them in line. / found them all
glad enough to see me wherever we went,
but they could not be shaken from their
determination to vote for Harrison. They
ssid: we are glad to see you, General,
but you mustn't ask us to vots for Cleve-
land Reasoning with them as Democrats
would not change them They said that
the tariff arguments offered them didn't
amount to anything; that the Democrats
told them that under the Mills bill they
would save S25 a year in cheap clothing,
&C., while the Republicans told them that
they would get higher wages under a
protective tariff and save S25. They
were sure of that S25, NO matter what
the result was, but what the old soldier
wanted was his pension besides, and that
amounted to about S144 year. They ar
gued that a comrade like General Harri-
son, who was in sympathy with them,
would do what he could to give them their
pensions, while President Cleveland, they
said, had a record of vetoing more pen
sions than all his predecessors combined.
They expected nothing from him. The
Democratic old soldiers could not be
budged. and l told Governor Hill that /
was of no use in the canvass and might as
well come home. He urged me to remain
with him and did, but 1 confined myself
to talk on the general issues There
was nothing in the soldier record of Mr..
Cleveland which could sdvauce, and /
let my presence as an old soldier with more
or less of decent record on public plat
form supporting Mr.. Cleveland's re-elec-
tion stand as the only argument to demo
cratic veterans to remain true to the ticket.
1t was my experience in that campaign
which led me TO endorse Bourke Cockran's
statement at Cnicego that there are %, 900
democratic soldiers in New York who will
not support Mr.. Cleveland.
"The accusation against Governor Hill
that he knitted Cleveland in 1888 was sbso-
lutely false. He devoted more than two
thirds of his speeches to national issues,
and so neglected his own canvass for gov
ernor that l demonstrated with him and
suggested that he might with reason spend
more time advancing his own interests.
He replied that 1t was not necessary, as the
Republican candidate, Warner Miller, was
not attacking his administration and had
only advanced the high license issue, which
the governor had thoroughly disposed Of
when he showed that Democratic New
York was the only county in the
State where the maximum license
was collected, while in Republican
counties, and in Mr.. Miller's own
especially, the license fee wss almost uni
formly $50, when, if the republicans had
not been hypocrites. they would have fixed
it at $3.50. Mr. Miller could not and did
not answer this argument, and there was
nothing for the governor to do but to ad-
vance national Issues, and this he did.
IL
strong advocacy of President Clsvelsnd's
reelection in 1893, Cleveland would have
been defeated in this state by $4,000 plu-
rality."
General SIckles went ou to say that there
was also strong opposition to Mr. Cleve-
land in 1888 among the old line democrats
because of his mugwump alliances. They
wanted straight patty man.
This year." he raid, There are three
elements of oPposition-ths old soldiers
who were against him in 1888. the old-line
democrats who We're also opposed to him
the same year, and Governor Hills friends;
for no matter if Governor Hill has mag
unanimously come to the support of Mr..
Cleveland, there are some of his friends
who will and do say: Let Governor Hill
do what he plesses. We cannot forgive ="
The general again described himself as a
mugwump bird who will simply gaze on
the present contest.