The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-11-14
NOT WITHOUT HONOR,

Political prophecies have not met
with so general confirmation by
events as to establish such fore
casts in public confidence, or to
give to any seer a reputation for
power to peer into the future, Espe-
cially is this true Of that kind Of pro-
phetic statement that passes under the
name of Claims" so vigorously put
forth by party managers during cam
paigns and insisted upon, sometimes,
with a diminuendo movement, after
election, occasionally expiring in a
wall of fraud" Persons assuming
this prophetic role may, for the purpose
of BawI."
But when the self-appointed pilots Of
political parties make departures from
the courses laid down on their charts
of principles, especially when the new
course runs over banks on which others
have sailed to their wreck, it is not
SO difficult to make a forecast of the
result, although there be exceptional
circumstances that seem to promise a
successful and safe voyage. Then is
it that the warnings of the clearer
eyed, jeered and f1outed by the self
constituted helmsmen and unheeded by
the mass take on, after the event,
the force and character Of prophecy.
We have had a notable instance of this.
which, in view of the future of the
Democratic party, it is we'll to make
note of at this time.
When it became evident early in 1895
that there was concerted movement
being made by the expediency element
among the politicians of the party to
accept the shibboleth of the Populists
SO as to unity the opposition to Re-
publicanism, even if it involved the
abandonment of the charted course of
the party and voyage over shadows
over which no party or nation had ever
made safe passage, President Cleve-
land, in a letter to Gov. Stone, of Mis-
sssippi, under date Of April 26, wrote:
IF we should be forced away from our
traditional doctrine of sound money,
our old antagonists will take the field
which we abandon, and neither the
evils of reckless Democrats nor reck-
less Republicans will avail to stay
their easy march to power This is as
plain as anything can be-"
In May, on the 18th, William L. Will
son sent out his note of warning in a
letter to Mr. Gamble, Of West Vir-
ginia, in aid of the effort to prevent
silver delegation being sent from that
state. Said he: IF free silver is not a
real danger to the country it is a
menace to the Democratic party, for if
by any misfortune the party should
espouse this cause it's future is doomed
- 1t will voluntarily surrender
not only the Northeast, dissolving
party connection with the Democrats
of New York, New Jersey and Con
necticut, who have three times turned
the scale in the election of Democratic
stituencies in New England and the
middle states, who have furnished sc
many votes since the war to save the
South from proscriptiYe legislation
and with those of the middle West
but doubtless with part OF the border
states of the South. The great states
of Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio
and Michigan, three Of which we car
ried in 1892, as also Iowa and Mime
sofa, would vote by tens Of thousands
hmm f1cs Of
us.'' - -
When the governing three per cents
of our party begin to consider what
course the old ship shall take when il
comes out Of dry dock. repaired and
renovated. IT viii be wise for them itc