The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1900-04-21
THE CLEVELAND-D FEUD.
Colonel Mcclure Tells for the First
Time How 1t Began.

In a series of articles in the Saturday
Evening Post on "How We Make
Presidents" Colonel Alexander X. Nc
Clure, whom Lincoln called the ablest
man he ever knew and who has been
actively in national politics for a half
century, says:
Charles A. Dana, the editor of the
New York Sun, became estranged from
Mr.. Cleveland the year before the
presidential election of 1884. He had
earnestly supported Cleveland for gov
ernor in 1882, but when a movement
was made by Mr.. Manning to organize
the state for Cleveland in 1884, Dana
was implacable in his opposition. |
met him several times before Cleve-
land was nominated. and he always
discussed the question with an un-
usual degree of acrimony.
Soon after Cleveland's nomination
/ was spending a few days at Sara
toga, and was watching Dana's paper
with much interest, for he was very
much disgruntled. He did not at first
declare himself aggressively against
Clevelands election, but one morning
at Saratoga in taking up the Sun l
found one of Dana's terrible deliver
ances against Cleveland that left no
possible chance for q reconciliation. I
telegraphed to Mr.. Dana and asked
him to meet me at his Office at 8 O'clock
that afternoon, and called there on my
way home. Mr.. Dana had gone too far
to recede, but l tried to temper his
bitterness, as I thought it would do
great HARM not only to Cleveland but
to his own newspaper as well, then
one of the most prosperous in the
country.
"Mr. Dana was petulant and violent
in his expressions against Cleveland
and said that he had decided to sup
port General Butler.
Charles A. Dana was the ablcst edi-
tor ever developed by American jour-
nalism. Horace Greeley was more
pungent and telling in his political ar
ticles, and Henry Watterson Is more
brilliant, but Charles A. Dana was the
strongest editorial writer this country
has ever produced.
ut was not until I met Cleveland at
Albany, soon after his election, that
l learned the cause oe the estrange-
ment between Cleveland and Dana,
and the statement given by Mr.. Cleve-
land was subsequently confirmed by
Dana. Dana had very earnestly sup
ported Cleveland's nomination and
election for governor in 1882, ana after
the election he wrote personal letter
to Cleveland asking the appointment
of friend to the position of adjutant
general. Cleveland received that let
ter as he received thousands of other
letters recommending appointments,
instead of recognizing the clkm Mr.
Dana had upon him for the courtesy ot
an answer. Beecher had a candidate
for the same position, and Cleveland
gave it to Beechers man without any
explanation whatever to Dana, who
felt that he had been discourteously
treated by Cleveland.
Mr.. Dana gave no open sign of his
disappointment, but some time after
Cleveland's inauguration, when 1t be-
came known that Dana felt grieved at
the governor, some mutual friends in
tervened and proposed to Cleveland
that he should invite Dana to Join
with some acquaintances to dine at
the executive mansion. To this Cleve-
land readily assented. Dana was in
formed that Cleveland would tender
such an invitation IL It would be ac-
cepted, and he promptly assented.
Cleveland then became involved in the
pressing duties of the legislature and
allowed the session to close without eX-
tending the promised and expected in p.
vitation to Dana. Mr.. Cleveland told
me that he was entirely to blame for
neglect in both instances, as Dana
would doubtless have been satisfied
if he had courteously informed him of
his convictions which required him TO
appoint another for adjutant general;
and he had no excuse to offer but that
of neglect for not inviting Dana 20
dinner.
Dana naturally assumed that Cleve-
land had given him deliberate affront,
and Cleveland could make no satisfac-
tory explanation. AS governor and as
president he was first of all devoted to
hig official duties, which he discharged
with rare fidelity, and he gave little
time even to the common courtesies
which most governors and presidents
would recognize as justly belonging to
their friends. Efforts were made to
conciliate Dana, but he never would
discuss the question, When Clevelands s
election was announced and the Re-
puhlicans were disposed TO dispute the
vote of New York, Dana came out
boldly and declared that Cleveland
was elected and that no violent mea-
sure should be tolerated TO deprive
him of the honor conferred upon him."