The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-03-04
The Outgoing President.

of duty to the end, in sp to of phys
ical agony and at the risk almost of
his life, is typical of his entire career
as President. The four years which
he has spent in the White House
must in general have been years of
deep mental anguish. The terrible
burden of decIuing on the course to
pursue in the most critical situations
oppressive and agonizing by the GER
tainty that whatever he might resolve
upon would be the subject of miscon-
s~truction and Misrepresentation. In
spite of the natural pains and penal
ties of the exalted position to which
mis- country called him; in spite of the
added fortunes of m~alignity, Grover
Cleveland has never failed nor flinched
in doing the duty which his wisdom
and his con C ence imposed upon him.
President Cleveland goes out of
office today condemned by ninety-five
per cent. of all the newspapers in the
country. Notwithstanding this, he
carries with him the respect and
esteem of nine out of ten of all his
fellow citizens, aud the warm-hearted
affection of almost an equal number.
In other words, the present occasion
is one on which the American press
shamelessly and 1agrantly %misrepre-
sents public opinion.
Tt might we'll be added that to a
large sxtent the people love and re-
we're the outgoing President for just
precisely the acts for which the news
papers assail him. The journalism of
the day has to a large extent gone
mad with sensationalism. The Presi-
dent has steadfastly refused to crafty
its lust of excitement, and thence
arises the irremediable breach be-
tween him and the majority of the
publications of the day.
But it will only take a brief review
of the papers which are arrayed on
this side or that to show that the
President has the support of all
that is healthy in journalism,
just as he has the backing of
the best eleme ats, in thought and
morals, of the citizenship. He has
probably with him all the papers for
whose praise he cares.
When the history of the last four
years is written in the calm of the his
toric perspective, the record will say
that the administration of President
Cleveland was hardly marked by a
single error of judgemnt and not by
one offence against morals or patriot
ism. From the day when he killed
the infamous Hawaiian grab down to
that on which he reestablished the
Monroe Doctrine, and from that again
to the last moment in which he
maintained the peace of the
country with Spain, his foreign policy
has been Enthusiastically Amer
lean, at once conservative and
courageous, temperate and hon
orable. His domestic policy has
been equally wise. and if the country
has suffered during his term, it has
been on account of the acts of his
enemies both in his own and the Re-
publican party. and not through any
feature of his policy. He has at all
times done all that lay in his power
to uphold the credit of the country.
He has given US a tariff under which
our export trade has miraculously in
creased. and which would have fur
nished sufficient revenue but for the
insane increases in expenditures for
which Congress is responsible. He
compelled the stoppage OF silver
coinage, thus keeping the country
upon a gold basis. He saved the
credit of the nation by taking on
himself the odium which the foolish
directed against tho great loans by
which the gold reserve was main
tanned. His was the influence,
TOO, which inspired patriotic Demo
Gratis in the last election to stand
against the revolutionary tendencies
Of me who abused the name OF their
party.
Among the minor acts, for which
the people owe him gratitude, the
President has extended the civil ser
wee regulations to almost all the Of