The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1897-03-12

individuals Mr.. Cleveland was an OBJ
seufe attorney. Hia career at the bar
had been 80 unsuccessful that be ac-
cepted the nomination Of sheriff Of
his county and esteemed il . promo
ton. His election a. sheriff gave him
q Ioe&I pull and from sheriff he be-
eame n1ayos Of Buffalo. The munich
pal rnIszovernmento Oakley Hall and
Boss Tweed in New York city had
permeated more or less generally all
the muniei paIitiss throughout the en-
pfre state. Il was an era o. big steal
ing. The viee-pFesident Of the Uni
ted States was accused Of accepting
briF,es and psriureI himself ia vain TO
escape exposure. The press Of the
country was aros1sing the public G0n-
science tothe enornftIes Of the eoFrup-
tons that were pegHneating the puEllc
life. Tweed had been convicted and
his eonfe6ierates were being pursued.
The word "reforn" was taking shape
a. the 'sshibboIeth" to political dis
tinetgofs. IL was at this moment that
Grover Cleveland stepped into the
mayors office. Official corruption,
which vas rankIy epidemic at Wash
fngton and rotten ~ New York, had
reached Buffalo and the members Of
the city council, most of whom were
fepnblLeans and hostile to the new
mayor. we're making attempts to raid
the treasury and t'y vetoIng come Of
the bids for cleaning aud paving street,
aud printing ordinances, broaght Mr..
Cleveland into state prominence; and,
as a large faction Of the republican
party, headed by Henry Ward Beech
er, George William Curtis, editor Of
Harper's Weekly, aud others, were
disgruntied over the nomination oi
Charles J. Folger, who, a. a cabinet
officer, had meddled In state affair
headed ''hurrah" movement in favor
of Cleveland and obtained for him the
nomination tor governor and secured
his election by phenorninaIIy over
wheIming vote.
ThIsmade Cleveland s'mngwump.'
His election for governor by odds 70
large naturally brought bin into nat
iOnaI prominence, and he secured the
presidential nomination in 1884 and
was elected.
He had smooth sailing. He en-
cosIntered 40 adverse winds. During
his whole term Of Office there was O
calm and nnrufied sea. All the peo-
pie believed that change was salu
tary. He found willing congress- and
a treasury that was ''burdened'' with
"surpIasr almost to the point d
bursting, and 'what to do with it?'
was the overshadowing question thai
agitated the public mind. Il was
''nigger luck" for Cleveland.
He addressed himself beroicaliy tt
getting rid Of the SURPLUS" as did
Harrison after him, but the condition
Of the treasury az Cleveland left it
when he surrendered his office last
week to Mckinley, was a demonstra.
ton beyond peradyenture that Har
rison was not in it even a little bit.
In his second race for the presidency
Cleveland, against the advice o.
friends, more adroit and skilled politi
clans than himself, staked the whole
issues Of the campaign on the tariff,
and lost.
Here Grover Cleveland's real public
life begins. Up to this time he had
won a. one playing in a lottery.
''Bravejy risking all and losing ALI
IN his east Of the die in 1883, his
friends threw around it a tinge Of ro-
nance and heFoism which secured fol
him the nomination 1892.
It wac unfortunate Tor the country
that he was not elected in 1855 because
then we should have gotten rid Of him
earlier and the scandals which dis
graced his last administration, would
have been avoided.
The tariff die'' gave him the nom
ination yet he never once attempted
TO make it prominent after his second
election and finally abandoned it al
together.
He failed even in an endeavtr
to wrest the public lands from
railroads and nonresident aliens a.
promised in the platform, but in the
last hours Of his administration grant
ed to the Perrine heirs, Of whom his
wife was one, twenty thousand acres
Of land in this state which had been
in the peaeeable possession of actual
settlers for a period Of fifty years.
With a promise fresh upon his lips
to enforce the antitrust laws, he
made Richard Olney, the paid attor-
ney for trusts, his attorney general,
and nowhere, more than under the
inviting shadows Of the White House,
could the trusts find perfect shelter,
security and protection.
For his betrayal of the antitrust
measures in the democratic platform,
which he swore to carry out, Mr..
Cleveland promoted Mr. Oiney from
attorney general to secretary Of state,
and pus in his place as attorney gen.
eral one whose loyalty to trusts was
notorious.
In the Hawaiian matter, as the
World pertinently says, he offended
the national sentiment.
His order to haul down the Amer
lean flag and his attempt to use the
bayonets Of our marines to restore a
prepOsterous queen to an overturned
throne were acts distinctly hostile to
American ideas.
If there is one act Of his adm MIS-
tration admittedly more offensive to
iuOrOuud daDn0crats than another IL