The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-05-22

presented to its attention by-the sdsis4s gation from Massachusetts. Hard to Forgive Cfcvesana. F Of course there tB one man wzl0B3 election would be absolutely certaind but the opposition to his nomination i2 so strong as to make 1t imposaiblat The men now prominent in the uan-g agement of the party have nearly alN risen to prominence denouncing hini and of course that makes 1t almost im-d possible for them now to accept hInzl as candidate If the opposition waaI based on anything he had satd of thexn} 1t might be overcome, but 1t would bel almost superhuman if these gentlemen forgave Mir. Cleveland the harsh thing8 they have said of him. It is very eaad to forgive my neighbor anything ha may have said of me. but almost iua-l possible to forgive him the thifgz N have said about him Of course. i3 must be admitted that the existence od this opposition to Mir. Cleveland in hiM own party to some extent tmpeacheR his capacity for leadership.
 Mr. Cleveland served two terms aa President After the first he left thal White House with his party unani-; mously and enthusiastically attached to him. After the second he left tho White House with his party infjams<z
 
 imtty. I served in Congress durfn@ half of each administration and enJoy- ed more or less intimacy with all itsl members. especially during the frsel half of the second term.
 Cleveland as an Obstacle. From my observations. I should san that Mr. Cleyeland's greatest quaiitHl Is not as a leader. but as an obstacle4i If there were now a prospect that &hei party should obtain possession of Oo3hl houses of Congress-. should not fawoM8 his nomination myself. because him neoal ond term showed that he does not posS sess the qualities of encouraging mana to cooperate with him in afdrmatfvaa measures of legislation. and this quat-5 fty is the very essence of leadership &ni a man charged with the first place lnl representative government. This inability to control or lead his asso-i ciates does not show any moral defect Indeed. 1t may be the result of hiR vtrtues-but without it he cannot Ieasia a political party. He may be too goods for leadership, but he is not leader.
 During Mir. Cleveland's second tersnI the tariff issue, which. if he did nod create he certainly succeeded in bEduas@1 ing to the front, was almost hopalesslN discredited by the divisions and dib-d sensions which overlook his partYl These are what a leader would hava1 avoided. His failure to avert thetal left his second administration a sourcol of defeat and disaster to his party.
 During his first term, however. the Senate was Republican. Mir CIevs4 lands function then was to arrest HenvJ atorial aggression and defeat SenatoE-l ial usurption. There his success waS decisive--I may say extraordinaryl There his part was not to make mem 40 Nvakra H. him. but to prevent them from doin@ mischievous things in spite of hinl1 His part was that of an obstacle. ana he played 1t admirably. This year there is no prospect of carrying the Senate. No policy distinctively Dem-a ocratic can be inauguarted. but vicious Republican policies can be checked suppressed. stamped out forever.
 The qualities most necessary in al Democratic President now are essen-} tfally the qualities of an obstacle-s sturdy. uncompromising honesty that that cannot tolerate fraud even whenl fraud is subservient adulatory or use-l fut--a cleanness of thought displRyingi itself always in clean political actsj an atmosphere of Democratic simplic-l ity and eandor which Mir. Cleveland always generates wherever he goea,i and which, entering the Executivel Mansion now, would be like letting thei air and the sunlight of heaven into al room superheated and overchargcd with dangerous atmospheric quan- cities
 Mir Cieveland's greatest available ity, however, consists in the certainty of his success. which would afford c very favorable opportunity of putting Southern man on the ticket Untii Southern man Is successful at Nae tional election, we cannot consider the war as settled. reconciliation complete, peace fully established.
 The people, having taken the first step in electing a resident of the old secession States to the Vice Presidency. would easily repeat the experiment on larger scale. and the election of a Southern man to the Presidency would follow, naturally, inevitably and agree- ably. Whoever may be nominated ftS is to be hoped that the result of su- perior importance may follow