The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-02-13
HOW HISTORY rs DISTORTED.
Samples CuIIed from "a sketch of Ex-
President Cleveland.
st. Louis Globe-Democrat.

st. Louis Globe-Democrat.
The writer of an article on Grover Cleve-
land in of the current magazines
the same writer who was recently scourged
by some of the leading papers of the coun-
try for some of his slurs on Thomas
G. Platt-is getting Democratic praise for
his picture of the ex-Presdent. That
writer says, for example, in referring
to the election Of Cleveland for Governor
in 1882. that ''the revolt against Repub
lican rule was brutal, unplanned-a bar
barrie yawp of disgust" Anybody who
knew anything about that canvass could
have told that writer that it was the
Conkling- Blaine fight in New York, and
not any revolt against Republican rule,
for there was no such revolt, that gave
Cleveland his $4,000 lead over Folger for
Governor in 1882. Cleveland got only
500 more votes in New York in that year
than Hancock polled in that State two
years earlier, while Folger's vote was
213,O00 short of that received by Gar
field in the canvass two years prior. The
factional fight simply kept these Repub-
licans away from the polls.
According to that writer, an anti-Re-
publican tornado broke out in 1884, and
hurled him (Cleveland) into the White
House" The dimensions of this tornado"
can be pretty accurately gagged by the
1,047 plurality for Cleveland in New York,
out of an aggregate of J. 200, 900 votes in the
State and that State decided the election in
the whole country. A change of 900 votes
from the Democratic to the Republican
side in the State of New York in that year
would have elected Blaine. The Burch-
ard imbecility, the he, St John Prohibi.
the Conkling section of the Repub
licans in interior New York, and any
one of the many other things which could
me cited would undoubtedly account for
more than this 600 votes. The assertion
that Cleveland reduced revenues and
saved taxes" is pretty effectively answered
by CleVeland's party perfidy and party
revenue and tax reduction measure, which
he cOntemptuously refused to sign, allow
ing it to go on the statute book by the ex-
piration OF the time limit. Moreover, he
increased the Understanding debt to the
extent of 1852, 900 900 in his second term, in
period OF profound peace, by sales Of
bonds for gold TO protect the treasury re-
Even in the particulars in which Cleve-
land was right that writer is hopelessly
aStray. He says that when Cleveland in
1885 "ascended the platform to make his
inaugural address, not fifty men in the
world could have guessed what position
he would take on any pending problem"
This was ten days after tho President-elect
had written that letter to A. J. Warner,
of Ohio, in which he pointed out that the
only way to save the country from the
ruin which silver coinage threatened to in
hict upon 1t was to stop the coinage of
silver. Many Of Cleveland's addresses in
the campaign of 1884 showed that he was
against further silver coinage That War
ner letter ten days before he took office
showed that he would hit silver as soon
as he could reach it and hit it Just as
hard blow he could deal. There were
not fifty newspaper readers in the United
States on the day OF Clevelands first in
auguration who had the slightest doubt
as to his exact position on the silver ques-
ton, one of the two most important is
sues of the day. This is one of the ways
in which istory is distorted by writer's who
attempt to deal with it while lacking a
knowledge of historys elementary facts