The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-05-09
Letters to the Editor.
Cleveland the Man for the Hour.

Cleveland the Man for the Hour.
 Editor The Advertiser:
 As l have been expecting for long
 while the ball has commenced "a rolling,
 and If l am not much mistaken, 1t will | continue to roll till like the stone referred
 to by Daniel, Chap. fl, 34-35. 1t will break | the Images of bad statesmenship. into l chaff of the summer threshing floors. and
 the wind shall carry them away. and no | place shall be found for them and the | stone which smote them, shall fill the
 whole United States. for four years When l use the word ball" l mean | the Cleveland ball-a feeling. sentiment,
 an honest impulse behind a great man, pushing him before 1t, every ponderous enemy of true Democracy and the genuine | rights of the people.
 At one time, I questioned in my mind | the propriety of MT. Cleveland's candi- | dacy for third term upon the idea of | third termism, with whatever of reasona- | ble objections might attach to 1t. hut hav- | ing given the subject some further con sideration, because of the country's need | of very great man, I have reached different conclusion 1 have heard of but two objections and these urged only by few against MT. Cleveland's candi- dacy, and they are his failure to support MT. Bryan and third termism
 If understand the matter accurately MT. Bryan supported General Weaver
  twice since that time, we have supported Mr. Bryan for the presidency. So it would seem that objection should cut but little figure. Under some circumstances. the other might be considered of greater moment.
 When the War of the Revolution termi- mated, there were many genuine patriots in the country, who favored a stronger form of government. than that which was adopted and If General Washington, a great man. and a great military cheif- tain. had been elected to third term, 1t would probably have strengthened the sentiment in favor of a more centralized and stronger form of government and might thus have strangled in It's infancy the young and promising republic. Many patriots, especially of the Jefferson school, fearing this, would have opposed Washington for third term, much as the youth of the republic, and the yet unsettled condition of the country, was not without, at least, some foundation. The great father of his country, Wash ington, settled the question by declining third term. an act, which under similar circumstances, should be considered as a precedent not to be disregarded; but the circumstances surrounding the present, are not of similar character. and indeed could not be as we shall present see.
 General Grant, great military chief tain, served two terms as President, and then. after hob-nobbing with royalty all over Europe, came back to this coun- try, and while the embers of the great est war of modern times, were still hot and smoking, became a candidate, SUD- ported largely-almost unanimously by his lieutenants in the war not long past, and these things, together with the fact that the General took kindly to the blan- dishments of the kings and queens, and the great ones of the old country, alarm ed the people of his own party. and they defeated him for the nomination., and so settled the question for that time. These two occasions were the only ones until the present, which ever caused g seri- ous discussion of the question of ie third term.
 If conditions were similar, or any wise similar, MT. Cleveland's candidacy would not be seriously considered by any great | number of persons but conditions are not similar. The people of. this country | never objected to a third term because Of opposition to the services of a good and able man, but because, under pecu- liar circumstances. they feared the vault | ing ambition of men. might lead to a dis regard of those genuine principles of re- publicanism. which are the mainstay of | the greatest country in the world This country has been at peace, saw | ing one little skirmish, for more than | forty years, the principles of the repub- | licanism are we'll rooted and grounded l In the hearts of its citizens, and the only 1 | policy, finance, taxation and the like, | none of which seriously jeopardizes the l existence of our form of government. Add to these things. the fact that MT | Cleveland has never been a military man | that his following is made up largely of | the common people of the country, whose
 only ambition is for good of government | that he is man of great ability, of solid | character, of unquestioned moral cour- | age and patriotism. and man possess ing all essential qualifications for a | great President and we have right be-
 fore our eyes. the man and the occasion | which needs him. A man, too, who
 knows no section. and who was as gen.
 erous to the people of the South during | his Presidency as to those of any sec
 tion. A man of such acknowledged pop
 ularity as to make it nearly certain that
 he will sweep the country, as he did in | 1884 and 1892.
 Will we take him. or will we for
 any reason, turn our backs upon him
 and seek for another, who. though a
 good man. may not be known to possess 1 that robust courage which inspires con- | 6dence in all classes, and in all sections l My confidence in the good sense of the l people in such that I feel they will not
 throw away the great opportunity which
 they may now grasp, and use to the dis
 comforture and overthrow of the party
 headed by MT. Roosevelt.
 J. M. Carmichael.