The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-06-14
LET HIM ALONE.
From The Monteomery Advertiser
 n,t IT IoO0 I A

OCt. ll, lSU.l
 Let him alone. selhshiy he can boast
 he was the only Democratic President since the war between the States. ana vain he can hope to say that ne is the only Democrat that ever will De.-Seima Journal.
 Ah let him alone In 1884 the Democ- racy of the Union. Respondent ana almost hopeless after four defeats, turned 70 Mr. Cleveland as the only man to lead them to possible victory. The country had been almost ruined by twelve years ot Republican misrule under Grant ana Hayes. The very life Of the Republic depended on the result of that contest, and Democracy hopefully looked 10 Grover Cleveland as the political Moses to lead 1t out of the darkness and bond age of Egypt, If failure followed this enort there was lfttk left to hope for. But failure and not follow. The people of the United States had learned some thing of the man selected as the ieaaer of one of the great political parties. They knew something of his infiexible honesty' his unfiinching courage. and his oeter- mined perseverance in whatever course he had marked out as the right one. Ihey knew that if he was elected he would ad- minister the affairs of the Government as faithfully and honestly as Washing ton himself did, and that neither the fear of his enemies, nor all the powers and influences of the money power couIo swerve him from the right.
 The people were right and the people prevailed. Then for the first time in a quarter of g. century we had PresioenL l who recognized the South as a part Of the common country. The best and truest men of the South; men who had worn the grey and were proud of It, were given places of honor and trust and the Chief Executive of the Nation recognized no section or point of the compass when he came to select men to administer the affairs of government. He was in the fullest meaning of the term, the Presi- dent of the United States, and the South once more felt that 1t was not regarded in the light of dependency.
 But this very honesty and devotion 10 principle defeated him and his party in 1888. He had rigidly and sternly upheld
 the principles of the party which had | wealth and greed and monopoly com. bined to defeat him. But four years or Harrison hal its effect, and again the ] eyes of the country turned to the man mar, 1 who was able to save 1t, and they again succeeded. And again the best and truest men of the South were made sharers in the honors and duties of thoroughly na- | tional administration. Sectionalism was | again rebuked and men were selected, not for their pla,e of residence, not because | they were enemies of the South, but be- 1 cause of their fitness. and because the | head of the Government was the Presi ! dent of all the people, end of the whole
 country He was really and truly the | President of the United States and not of l the northern portion thereof only. | And what of it all? Four years ago he l found 1t impossible to support the nom | inee of the dominant wing of the party. l Because he was honest and unchanging, | and because Democracy was much more | to him than a name. he could not sup port the Chicago ticket. He has under gone no change. Democracy to him Is | Just what 1t was four, eight, or twelve
 years ago While thousands of good Democrats are willing to forego for the time their lifelong convictions in order | that they may assist in relieving the | country from the evils of Republican rule, l he Is content to remain private citi- zen in the fullest sense of the word. He keeps in the background, believing that he has earned the right to be true to his | convictions. | And for this he is abused. condemned | and misrepresented. and by none more than by the people of the South: who above all others. should respect him TOT 1 what he has done and honor him for his | refusal to change his convictions merely
 for the sake of expediency. His bitterest | enemies are among those who should be
 | the first to resent any criticisms on his present course. Instead of defending him
 | from those who are naturally his polit
 | ical enemies. these men who were onct
 the beneficiaries of his unsectional patri
 otisu now join in reviling him. It is 6
 humiliating spectacle and for very shame
 they should let him alone"