Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-08-17
A Party Leaders Responsibility Ac-
cording to Silver Democrats.
RESPECTS PAID TO Mr.. CLEVELAND
The Kind of Candidates Wanted
for Next Year.
HOW TO WIN SUCCES S

The democratic silver leaders at their
meeting here this week paid their respects
with much freedom to President Cleveland,
and out of the many things said was to be
evolved a pretty clear idea Of their opinion
Of party duty and party leaders respon-
sibility. They agreed, to man, in ascrfb-
ing the whole of the democracy's present
embarrassing plight to Mr.. Cleveland's in
dependent action on questions respecting
which, If they are right, he should have
been in very large measure controlled
by the party's well-accepted promises and
undeniable record. And then, as was fur
ther charged, not content with antagoniz-
ing his party on several important ques-
tions, he went further and made an open
alliance with the common enemy, and on
the silver question OF erthrew his party in
Congress with the aid of the enemy.
The Lesson Drawn.
OF course there was lesson drawn from
all ~this-a lesson to be applied in choosing
the national leader next year. The party
must never again, these gentlemen con-
tended, follow any man whose democracy
is not Thoroughbred. 1t must insist on
future on candidates who will feel them
selves committed to and bound by plain
reading of the arty's platforms and pro-
fessons
The next triumph. If another triumph is
to be achieved at the polls, must be genu-
Inc in every way. Better not another tri-
umph than one involving the party in such
chickering's and the country in such doubt
as have existed for the past two years.
Better wait, If for some years, until per-
fect agreement has been reached on all
vital questions, and a leader secured who
will in the fullest sense be the party's rep
resentative In Office. Never again, it was
most emphatically asserted, should the de-
the presidency capable, If installed in that
Office. of using a minority majority-a Goa
Htion of few democrats and the van
quished repubifcans-to substitute his own
VIEWS although well known in advance, for
the views of a large majority of his own
party, equally well known in advance.
How to Win Success.
But the silver democrats do not believe
there need be any delay at all. They insist
that another triumph awaits the party next
year, ard that nothing will contribute more
to making that triumph absolutely certain
than for the party to prepare to make it
absolutely genuine.
The prescription is simple. The party
must nominate man of whom nobody will
declare or believe that he is better than
his party. He should. of course. be a
man of experience in public affairs, in the
thorough confidence Of all his party asso-
ciates and willing to surround himself with
sense be party hack but he should have
served the party long and faithfully. and
In this way have grown to respect and al
ways to obey his party's history and ira
dtioiis. i:s should, in a word, be firm
believer in the party, proud cf TIE
party, and as democrat willing to
promote at all times and above all
things the rule of the majority. Then
when this man has been decided upon put
him on platform whose meaning will be
as clear as his own character is consistent,
country will ratify the action at the polls
What Next Years Candidate Must he.
AS severely as they arraigned him, some
of these silve. nan mar were willing to concede
that Mr.. Cleveland ought not to be tried by
a rule as strict as would justly apply to a
democrat who had come to the presidency
under circumstances they define for next
years race. The parry, both in 1884 and
in 1892, accepted him with a full knowl-
edge of his environment and obligations.
His personality was permitted both times to
supersede and overshadow the party's plat
form He was permitted to appeal definitely
to an independent element for support, and
Upon that appeal he received that support.
His success, therefore. was not distinctly a
democratic success, but success carrying
a first mortgage to the mugwumps, who
compose the bulk of his democratic support
on the financial question. But what the
silver democrats now urge is that the
party's next presidential candidate shall
not incur any obligations outside of the
party, but shall, on every question, be the
party's loyal and accepted representative
and In office the partys servant to COM
maDd