The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1897-02-26
CLEVELAND IN REVIEW
Walter Wellman's Estimate oi
the Retiring President.
HIS STRENGTH AND HIS MAKE UP.

Chief Hobby-Moving to His New Home
In Princeton.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 22. - Special IA few
more words about President Cleveland ere
he leaves the White House. and l shall
have achieved duty that have at least
endeavored to perform fairly and without
political bias. President Cleveland is in
some respects a great man. He has logic,
analysis, industry, courage, mora! sense
But his second administration has demon
strated beyond question that he lacks two
important equipments for great leader OF
parties and people. Unconsciously to him
self. he attempts to drive where leading
would answer his purpose as we'll and
much better. He is an utter stranger to
the maxim that it is easy to get people to
do what you want them to do if you only
permit them to think they are doing what
they want tC do.
Fundamentally Mr.. Cleveland is weak as
a leader because he lacks human sympathy.
He does not understand human nature.
He has mingled little with people. A GER
tain part OF his nature was stirred too late
in life, and after habits and modes OF
thought had become too well settled. If he
had more of this understanding OF and
sympathy with human nature: he would
never have quarreled with his party before
euarreling became absolutely necessary.
There are plenty of public men thorough.
ly familiar with the inside of recent poll.
tics who declare that if the president had
kept certain pledges made in his behalf,
pledges about nOnesSentialS, and had fol
lowed with conciliatory, even just, treat
ment of Democratic leaders he could have
averted the present Schism in the party.
1t is of course impossible to discern wheth.
er this be true or not. but one may easily
believe it when he remembers that If Mr.
Cleveland as leader of his party. had kept
q little more in touch with prominent
Democrats in three or four states of the
middle west had attached them to his adj
ministration instead of driving them
away. there would have been q different re-
suit at the Chicago convention.
Lack of Tact.
Admitting that it may possibly be I'M
lust to charge Mr. Cleveland's error of
policy with responsibility for the submerg-
ing of the great Democratic party by Pop
ulism. it still remains true that the senate
need not have become an antiadministra
tion body. 1t remains true that if Mr..
Cleveland had been possessed of tact rather
than of brute courage his party, which
had been returned to power on plea OF
revenue reform. would have been able to
reform the revenues instead of adopting a
makeshift with which no one was satisfied,
not even its authors or the president him
self
1t remains true that if the president had
in earlier life mingled more with the real
people of the country and absorbed sym
pathy for and understanding of life he
would not have committed the blunder of
Hawaii. nor would he have permitted his
administration to become a silent partner
in SPANS effort to hoodwink the Cuban
insurgents into a compromise without
honor. He would have been satisfied to
maintain the status quo without leaning
so plainly to the side of Spain He would
have known that when this government
goes out of its beaten path of noninterfer-
ence in the affairs of foreign nations it
must be on the side of constitutional gov
eminent and not for the perpetuation upon
American soil of an odious monarchy.
Civil Service Reform.
President Cleveland has pursued to his
hearts content his well known policy of
charging the civil service laws applica-
ton to government offices. In this it has
not been necessary to have the co-opera-
tior Of congress. No doubt the president
is supported in this policy by an enlight-
ened and progressive public opinion, but
there is a great deal of truth in the charges
made by interested persons that before is
suing these orders Mr.. Cleveland waited
till most of the offices had been taken pos
session of by his party friends. Reform in
the civil service is the one policy which
Mr.. Cleveland maintained with consistency
and with some courage throughout both
his administrations. 1t was his first hobby
as public man. He had it in Buffalo
when he was a candidate for local office
He carried it with him to Albany and later
brought it to Washington. When he first
came here, he had but one idea. He hardly
knew there was such thing as a living
tariff question in this country. But the
cause of civil service reform has made dis
tinct progress under his leadership, and
all the efforts of the spoilsmep to induce
his successor to take a backward step in
civil service reform will doubtless fail SC
firmly fixed has the policy become during
the past three administration
The second administration of Mr. C1eve-
land has been stormy one. 1t may well
be doubted if any other president in time
of peace since the days of jackson has had
so much turmoil as Mr. Cleveland has en-
dured In many important particulars the
president has shown himself man of COM
handing strength His administration has
been marked by a strange mixture of sue
cess and failure But there can be no doubt
in the mind of any unprecedented observer
that he retiros from office with an extraor
binary measure of public confidence
He is infinitely more popular with the
people than with the politicians. He has
much more support out in the states than
he has here in Washington. AS leader of
thought and public opinion he has been far
more successful than as a leader of practi-
cal legislation. Even the bond sales which
were so violently attacked by many of his
OWE party and by the thoughtless people of
all parties, are now seen to have been an
absolute necessity, forced upon him by the
financial system which he has in vain
urged congress to remedy.
Mr.. CleveIands Future.
The president, it is said by the members
of his cabinet, will live in Princeton dur
ing the winter and at Buzzard's Bay liz
summer He will practice law in New
York city as advisory counsel.
Later on, l am told, the president in
tends to travel little abroad and see some
thing of the busy world of which he has
heard so much But he abbOrs display and