Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1894-06-14
A SHORN SA1SON.

Weekly in one of those queer
articles which only the Mugwump
mind can originate. 1t comedies
that Mr.. Cleveland is no longer a
leader of his party, but rather
captive, no longer great deliverer,
but himself, like Samson of old, in
bonds under Philistian yoke. The
writer says he has ceased to be an
oppressive factor in the political
situation. In short, his wild
team" has got away from him and
is now cavorting and prancing and
smashing things at its own sweet
will.
The Mugwump peculiarities of
the article consist in it's insisting
that Mr.. Cleveland is still at heart
an earnest reformer; that his
motives are now and always have
been of the purest and noblest
kind; that during his former term
he was the leader of his party, and
conducted it bravely along the
steep and thorny path of political
virtue; and that his present failure
is merely due to an error Of
judgment in employing means to
carry out his lofty and benehcent
purposes. Then, we are told, he
disregarded the politicians and
appealed to public opinion. The
politicians hated him then but
feared him, because they found
that his appeals to the people were
successful. The heavy and doleful
change has come because he has
dropped his former system Of
threatening the politicians who
opposed him with the wrath of the
people, and has tried the plan Of
"appealing to the politicians in the
old-fashioned politicians way, by
placating them with consulates,
and bringing them into line with
marshalships." Of course such a
pure man as he could not skillfully
use instrumentalities of that kind,
and he has failed, and now the
politicians are running things and
'despise him."
A Mugwump may feel it incum-
bent on him to ease his conscience
by writing this sort of bosh about
Mr.. Cleveland, but it is too late to
impose upon the public with it.
The Cleveland of the Mugwump
imagination was a barren
ideality." There was never any
real parsonage of that kind. The
real Cleveland was the same eight
years ago as now, fat accident,
limited in understanding, but with
a certain amount Of cunning such
as might be expected in man
who had been successful in
Democratic county politics. He
had caught on to the fact that the
people loved platitudes about
reform and opprobrious epithets
applied to "capitalistic greed" and
monopolies, and he worked that
vein diligently with the aid of
advice from practical politicians of
his party. 1t made the Mug
wumps happy, and his own party
knew how to discount his profess
sions. That his first administration
was materially different from his
present one in respect to the use of
patronage is not true. How many
consulates, how many marshalships
were there in 1883 that had not
been filed by the appointment Of
| Democrats upon the recommends
ton Of Democratic politicians?
The heads of postmasters executed
for political purposes dropped as
rapidly when Stevenson welded
the ak during Cleveland's first term
as they have fallen during his
present term. The real change
which has taken place is not in
Mr.. Cleveland but in the political
situation. During his first term
the Democratic party was not in
power; a Republican senate stood
between the people and the blight
OF Democratic ascendancy in
national legislation and admin1stra-
ton. Now that barrier is swept