Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-09-13
Two Ways Suggested.

make public declaration of his attitude in
the premises.
Two Ways Suggested.
AS to the means, two ways are suggested.
He could be drawn cut by a letter from
some friend This friend-and there are
many democrats any one of whom, upon
hint, would be glad to perform the service
could state the case in terms of polite
fullness and pardonable interest, and ask
for a reply written SO that the public might
share it's contents. This method is often
rescrted to by public men, and is always
effective.
The other way would be for the Presi-
dent. in bis next annual message to Con-
gress, to give. in some fashion, plain in
timation that he is serving his last term as
chief magistrate. He could do this, 1t is
believed. with perfect propriety, without
assuming either that another nomination
waited him or that word from him on
the subject was considered necessary. Such
a declaration, it is pointed out, would make
his next message highly interesting docu-
ment.
Should Be No Delay.
AS to the time anti-third-term democrats
feel that If Mr.. Cleveland is to speak at ell
it ought to be done as soon as possible.
He ought not to delay the matter longer
than this year on any account. This al
lows for the opportunity of the annual
message. The argument is that the party
alone Is to be considered. Mr.. Cleveland
personally has nothing to lose by the agita-
tion of the question. He has not original ed
the agitation, nor Is it commended even by
his opponents that he is a party to any
plan for promoting It, His more enthusiast
tic admirers are its authors, and are NOV
ing in their own way their wonder TO per-
form (1avelan6 lie n oh mo he,
except by silence, nor can he call them
down by any means short of an explicit
refusal to be considered in next years
race.
But the party may suffer, unless the mat
ter is settled before the opening of the
state campaigns for delegates to the ma
tional convention. Democrats must know,
or ought to know, for whom they are work.
ing. The possibilities of the struggle should
be explicitly spread out before them. Any
doubt on SO important point as third
term project would cause confusion and
might lead to high feeling A convention
composed of men selected in such circum-
stances would not be able to perform it's
work satisfactorily.
Effect on the Party.
Then the effect on the country at large
is suggested. Would the people in ma
iority be likely to give their support to
ticket thst would appear to have been
nominated purely by Mr.. Clcveland's
favor? The republicans would charge that
the democratic standarihearer had no
positive strength; that he had accepted
only what Mr. Cleveland could not by rea-
son of precedent afford to take; that Mr..
Cleveland was the only man of positive
strength i'll the party. and so forth. This
sort of thing, while largely assertion,
would, 1t Is held. be very hard to combat.
There would be much to make it plaus-
ible. for the belief Is that until the matter
is set at rest democratic aspirants for the
presidential nomination will find it hard
to flourish in Mr. Cievelands shade.
No One-Man Party.
So that, as the anti-third-term men in
sist, Mr.. Cleveland, by putting a stop to
all talk about himself. would give the
country the proper opportunity to study
the proportions of all the other men whose
names, barring his own. are on the pub
lies list The party, they concede cannot
hope to win If it is to 90 on till the very
eve of it's national convention, appearing
to have but one man altogether suitable
to meet next years emergency. The one
man party would be voted as Objectionable
as the one-man power.