North Park union., 1901-03-29
Sc Reward.


Ex-Presldent Cleveland has written
another letter-this time to the Cres-
cent Democratic Club of Baltimore
in which he gives expression to his
yearning desire to have the democratic
party "return' to what he regards as
true democracy and correct principles.
If this was his first utterance of the
kind it might be attributed to trans
tory impulse, but he has said the
same thing so often as to indicate
that fixed and constant longing
possesses him. The letter reads:
"My Dear Sir-Your invitation to
attend a meeting OF the Crescent
Democratic Club in celebration Of its
twenty ninth anniversary reaches me
as / am leaving home for SO long an
absence, that it will prevent my par
ticipation in this interesting work.
"All the political signs OF the
times indicate most impressively the
necessity of increased activity and
ageressivcness in the ranks Of Dem
ocracy. There were days when DEM
ocratic principles, advocated in Dem
ocratic fashion, gave guarantee of
Democratic supremacy-or at least
strength and influence in our nation s
counscls.
"Why Should there not be a return
of those days?
"The answer to this question is not
found in less applicability than form
crly Of Democratic doctrine toprescnt
conditions. On the contrary, there
never was time when they were
more needed to cure evils which al
Ilict our body polite, and there never
vas 4 time when our countrymen
would lie more willing to accept Dem
ocracy as. they once knew it as Il
safeguard against existing and threat
ened ills. rF
IL am convinced, however, that il
our party is to gain its old prestige
and become again strong and Wig
orous organization, feared by its enc
mics and inspiring the active devo-
ton of its iauk and file, it must first,
of all things, itself become truly,
honestly and consistently democratic.
Your very truly,
GROVER CLEVELAND.
Princeton, N. j."
His advice is so general and indef-
ini.e as to be utterly useless. All
democrats believe that democratic
principles should be applied to pres
ent problems, but rs the Kansas City
platform applies democratic princi-
Piles to present problems why use the
words return and "old?". Mr..
Cleveland and his political associates
1c long on ambiguous and high
sounding phrases, bat short on defini-
.tions; they are oracular only in the
sense that their words can be con.
strued to mean anything or nothing.
'e If Mr.. Clevelands recent admoni.
ton had been spoken instead of writ.
ten, it might have been explained by
wink or by a gesture suggesting
that he himself was the embodiment
OF the principles to which the party
should return, bat when the words
appear in cold type they require
key. 500
The president has twice referred to
the crank and file" recently, ao if he
would associate himself with those
who are accused of separating the.
common people from the uncommon
ones. Since The Commoner circu-
lates almost exclusively among the
'rank and tile,' it seems proper that
this paper should give tue distin-
guished ex-deniocrat an opportunity
to suggest plans and specifications
for n democratic structure Which
wodld be commodtous enough to a.
ford q place Of refuge for him and at
the same time allow standing room
~ ,real democrats n.