Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1895-08-02
Cleveland and a Third Term.
New York Tribune.)

"Your candidate l cannot be.-G c"
Such in substance and tenor, according
to The Washington POST will be the
message that President Cleveland is to
publish to the Democratic party Sin pro
per season." The announcement in 1.-The
Post" that . President Cleveland will not,
under any circumstances, be candidate
for a third term, and also that he would
not accept denomination even should
one be rendered him by the next Demo-
cratic national convention" Is simply
preliminary" to be sure, but 1t is declared
to be absolutely authentic" 1t is not
always safe to impute motives, and yet we
cannot help feeling that this important
preliminary announcement" at this time
was inspired by humane desire to allay
and soften the anxiety Of certain eminent
''sound money" Democrats, each of whom
cherlshes more or less secretly, the hope
that he could carry off the presidential
nomination unless the IMAM of destiny"
should enter the lists.
The writer in THE Post )" who speaks
by ''ample authority" undertakes to dis
pei the uncertainty in regard to another
matter which has caused all wouldbe
Democratic candidates for the nomina-
ton, whether Cuckoos or antiadminis-
tration men, a good many anxious days
and sleepless nights. 1t appears that
President Cleveland will not only not con-
stitute any man his political residuary
legatee" but "while he will continue to
take deep and patriotic interest in the
welfare of the government and his party,
he will no longer be an active factor in
politics" This intelligence ought to be
at least as cheering and satisfactory to
German and Brice and Morrison as it is
to Carlisle and Campbell and Olney and
Don Dickinson, or even to Senator
willie" Villas. And yet there are two
statements in the article published In
The Post" which may tend to raise
doubts in the minds of some of the per-
sons most deeply interested regarding Its
absolute accuracy One of these Is that
President Cleveland "has discussed the
question" that is, the third term CUES
tion-''very freely with those associated
with him by official and personal rela-
tions, and these conversations indicate
that his mind is thoroughly settled.
Now, we submit that this statement will
seem improbable, not to say incredible,
to Secretary Carlisle, who so recently de.
clared: GAS close as l am to the Presi.
dent, he has never referred to that sub
ject In my presence" The other state
ment Is startling one, and exceedingly
important If true, for 1t not only implies
but asserts that President Cleveland
changed his mind once, and 1t naturally
and logically follows that he may do so
again. at may not be generally known"
says the writer in 1.-The Post" that he
was on the point of writing similar
letter three years ago At that time, how
ever, his withdrawal from the list of
presidential possibilities would have
played SO completely into the hands of the
faction in his state opposed to him, and
would have so embarrassed his friends,
Secretary Carlisle and Colonel Morrison
and all the rest, it may be fairly assumed
would pay high premium to be insured
against a contingency that would compel
Mr.. Cleveland again to yield his convic
tions," and fight for denomination in
order to thwart the plans of an opposing
faction of his party in "his own state"
and save his Cuckoo friends from "em-
On the whole, the preliminary an
nouncement that he Will not be a candi- |
date under any circumstances, although
based upon information that lis abso-
lutely authentic" and upon ample au-
thority,' will not appear to be conclu-
sive and satisfactory to the eminent
Democrats whose names have already been
and we seriously doubt |
whether the promi,ed letter from Presi- !
dent Cleveland himself will wholly re-
assure them. Some Of them-like Colonel
Morrison and Secretary Carlisle-are
Democratic veterans, who still remember
Horatio Seymour and the Democratic
national convention of 1868. Mr.. Sey-
mour yielded his convictions, " 1t may be
remembered, at the end of somewhat
dramatic scene such rs probably will lot
be witnessed in the Democratic national
convention of 1896, but 1t is by no means
IA IL I,~l H.