The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1893-01-28
JAMES q ELAINE.

In the death OF James ". blalus the
country loses one of its foremost citizens,
the republican party its greatest leader,
and the world Of politics a master mind.
With the exception of Henry Clay no
party leader in America has been SO
popular or has had SO devoted a following.
Other men have made greater achieve
ments in solid and enduring statesman
ship, and have left an impress on the
times in which they lived which will
be more lasting, but none in his day and
generation had SO large a body of dc
voted adherents or was SO influential in
marty councils as MI. Blaine. He was a
born leader OF men. No II came in
contact with him without being i'm
pressed with that wonderful personal
quality which was the secret of his power
over men.
The historian of to-day will find it
difficult to divest Mr.. Blame of the CLAM
our OF his personality and discuss
him as he was. The historian of the
future, looking back through the calm
light of the past, will be able to assign
him his true place among the leaders OF
the nineteenth century. 1t Is not i'm
probable that, like Henry Clay, his name
will lose something Of its lustre when
his personal influence is no longer felt
and his career is reviewed by men who
never knew him, but no record of the
time in which he lived will be true or
complete in which he does not have a
commanding place.
OF his lasting fame as q party leader
there can be no doubt. Here he was
truly great. AS a writer of political
history and of state papers he held a
foremost place among men of his gener-
alton. AS a diplomatist he was adroit
and clever rather han profound. The
difficulties which he was called upon to
adjust were not of the gravest or of the
first order of Importance, and we doubt
if, on the whole history will accord him
high rank IN this field.
Was Mr.. Blaine a statesman? His
admirers with n acclaim will say
"Yes." Yet history will search in vain
the records of the time in which Mr.
Blaine was in public life to find one
great question of public policy or act o.
legislation with which his name was
identified. Not one OF the great measures
of WAT time or Of the reconstruction err
was of his authorship. He had little t.
do with shaping financial legislation
These subjects were taken in hand
discussed and framed into laws b,
others, and Mr.. Blaine's part in thoi
enactment was a minor one. In fact h
was not in hearty accord with his part
on many of these questions. He wa
moro liberal and further sighted thai
the party leaders in congress when h
was q member of hat body, and a
events proved, a better politician tina
any OF them, He was the first to see th
danger in a force bill, and il was chief
through his efforts that the first attemp
iii that line was defeated--a thing 70
which he was never forgiven by tn
radical men Of the republican party.
He again showed his perspicacity as
politician when he attempted to save hi
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