The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-01-27

One can readily conjecture that, as
the wires brought to Senator Arthur
Pue German the news that a Republi-
can had been elected by the Maryland
legislature as his successor, his mem
DRY ran over the political history Of
his party for the last seven years, and
the question rose in his mind whether
his efforts then begun to down CIeve-
land" and elevate himself have paid.
Possibly not, for men are given more
to finding causes for disaster outside
than in themselves. Mr.. German and
his associates succeeded in downing
Cleve.ard. but they and their party
lie In the debris of the wreck thew
caused. \ brief review of their work
and its effects is not untimely when
the second Republican ever sent to the
senate from the state of Maryland is
chosen to take the place of Mr.. Cor
man.
When President Cleveland in his
message of 1887, gave to his party a
greater cause than even he then sus-
out of the party took alarm. German
represented it in the senate, as Ran
dali did in the house. German refus-
ed assistance in the campaign Of 1888,
and his influence was cast against the
party. When the currents indicated
that the party rose from that defeat
stronger, more earnest than ever, and.
when they indicated that the rank and
file looked to Mr.. Cleveland to again
lead the cause, German and his fell
lows set to work to down Cleveland"
in the coming convention. The first
move was to defeat Mills, who stood,
in his candidacy for speaker, as the
leader Of the movement that was to
lead the Democratic party back to the
advocacy of a trade made as free Of
taxation as the necessities of revenue
would allow. Crisp was elected speaker.
and in his headquarters the jubilation
was not because he was elected. but
because it was taken to mean the over
throw of Cleveland The next move was
made by Crisp when, in the same ses-
sion. he sidetracked the tariff and gave
silver the main track. not for silver's
sake, but because Cleveland and tariff
reform were Identical The summer
saw the senatorial party making it's
transcontinentaI tour, consulting with
leading Democrats as to the means
that might be used to prevent CIeve-
lands nomination in 1892. German in
spired the tour, and it's work was d.
rected against his nomination.
Defeated in the national convention.
these traitors TO party principle set
themselves to work to defeat the con-
summation of all the party had fought
for and won in the election of 1892.
Two conditions favored them, the con-
servatism of Mr.. Cley Glands letter Of
acceptance, taken as a reputation of
the Chicago plank, and the panic that
was the elimination of commercial
and legislative causes. When it was
too late Mr.. Cleveland saw the mistake
he had made in counseling moderate
in tariff revision. The departure from
the policy decreed by the national as
sembly, made by the house bill, put
into the hands of the Gormanites an
excuse for increasing the quantity of
protection in the bill when it reached
the senate, until it became so anti
Democratic that even Andrew Car
negie advised his fellow Republicans
that it was satisfactory and that it
might and should receive their support.
The letters of the president to Mr..
Catchings and Mr.. Wilson show that,
when it was too late, he realized the
gravity of the blunder of consulting
eXpediency instead of principle.
In whatever measure the defeats that
followed were due to the panic, no one
who felt the discoura cement, the dis
heartenment of the rank and file of
the party and saw the abandonment
in disgust Of the Republicans who
had been won to free or freer trade.
but knows that the larger and more
potent cause that brought disaster was
the failure Of the partys representa-
tives in congress to make redemption
of the promise made at Chicago, and
that that failure was mainly due to
Mr. German and the five Judas Is
CARROTS" of the senate who purposeIy
mangled the house bill to down Cleve-