The Yellowstone journal. [volume] (Miles City, Mont.) 1893-1901, 1894-02-21
Wednesday, February p. 1894.
4 GREAT

Mr.. Henry Watterson's remarks while
in st. Paul. that if Mr.. Cleveland's sec
ond term had only been his first there
would have been no danger Of a second.
is one Of those bright and daring gener-
%alities. for which he has become famous.
And il is literally and absolutely true.
Indeed. we do not know of any parallel
for such a change IL the general estima
ton Of any public man as that which
has Mr.. Cleveland for it's object. As it
is no mere freak of popular caprice. but
is well justified and fortified by facts. it
indicates either a total misapprehension
OF Mr.. Cleveland's character. lasting
through many years. in which he was
exposed to constant criticism, or to a
radical deterioration of the man himself.
We are inclined 10 the latter belief. and
TO conclude that The very circumstance
which are supposed ordinarily todevelop
all that is best n a man, independence
of party pledges and freedom from die
ta,ion secured by the certainty that his
present term ' i'll end his public service.
have combino in this case to bring to
the surface { that is least admirable in
a character ssentially commonplace and
incapable O losing sight of the personal
motive.
Certain il is that Mr.. Cleveland's un
popularity today. both within his party
and without. is simply monumental.
This was not true prior to his last cleo
tion as president. He made many enc
mics during his first term. but in not a
few cases il was true. as Gen. Bragg put
it. that the people like him all the better
for that. Even where they disapproved
Of him. they had faith in his obedience
TO duty as he saw it. in his courage and
in a reasonable amount of disinterested
ness. 1t was this belief on their part.
induced by his general policy during his
first term of Office. that compelled the
democratic party to nominate him
against its will. and that secured his
election where any other democrat would
have failed. But the Cleveland who has
been president for nearly a year is "A
man who has put every admirable trait
behind him. who stands practically alone
today. whose enemies are open and bitter
in both parties and whose only public
advocates are the few men who still
stand by him either for personal reasons
OF because they still conceive that duty
TO their party still demands it of them.
There are few men in public life so
cordially hated. Only his colossal per
sonal unpopularity could have made it
possible for a man like Hill to humiliate
him again and again in the senate.
Whenever he escaped that fate it has
beer through the courtesy of his polIti-
cal opponents. From the Hawaiian pol
icy. which displays a distortion of jus
tice and an indulgence in private spleen
that would be d~iscreditable to a petty
politician. down to the matter of APP
pointments which. from the highest to
the lowest, are either a scandal or a
laughing stock. Mr.. Cleveland has
alienated friends and made il impossible
FOR even a generous enemy to believe in
him. Those whose admiration for him
was but moderate at the beginning. as
we'll as his ardent supporters. are now
ready to confess that the change in him
is great ana Observation-Disclosures
Press.