The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1904-06-28
CHI 1flessenaer.
TWO RECORD

This is an era Of record breaking re-
garding nominations for the presidency.
Messrs. Cleveland and Roosevelt are
the record breakers.
Never in the history of our country
had a man who had been rejected at
the polls as candidate for president
been again taken up by his party and
made its nominee when the democrats
nominated Mr.. Cleveland in 1892. Up to
that time the defeat of a man for the
Office of president was supposed to
sound his death kneH politically. In
1924 Andrew Jackson was a candidate.
but though he received he. largest
number of electoral votes of the four
candidates he did not receive a major
ity and the election was thrown into the
house of representatives. and there
John Quincy Adams was elected. jack
son was the nominee Of his party four
and eight years later and was elected
both times. Up to that time the system
of national conventions for nominating
candidates had not been adopted. We
were then in the transition stage be-
tween the former plan OF nomination
by congressional caucus and the later
system Of candidates chosen by COM
mon consent Of the party leaders or by
an expression of the choice OF the peo-
pie through their party representatives
in the legislature. 1t is also true that
Harrison was voted for for president in
1896 and elected in 1910. but that was
also before the parties had adopted the
plan Of meeting in convention and
choosing a candidate for president who
should represent the entire party. In
1886 there were four whig candidates in
the field against Van Buren,.
These two instances are the only ones
in the history Of our country which
come any where lear forming excep-
tons to the rule that no party nomi-
rates for president a man who has been
defeated for the election. Neither of
them was similar to Mr.. Cleveland's
case. He is the only man who has
ever been nominated for the office by
his party, has been defeated in the
electoral college and again nominated
by his party.
Mr.. Roosevelt has broken another rec
ord. He is the only man who ever has,
after being elected vice president and
succeeding to the presidency by the
death during his term of office of the
president. been nominated 10y his party
to succeed himself as president. Since
the formation of our government we
have had five vice presidents to become
president because of the death of the
chief executive, but up to this time all
Of them were forced to give way to
some other person as their successor in
the White house.
Should the democrats by any posi-
BILE turn in party sentiment at their
convention next month nominate Mr..
Cleveland for president, it would make
this a remarkable political contest.
Each side would have as it's standard
bearer a man who had filled the office
Of president under peculiar conditions
and was through his nomination the
breaker of the political records of the
country.
Mr.. ~Cleveland's nomination would
break anothe record-that of nominal
ing a man for president after he had
held the office for two terms.
This was a record that even General
Grant, with all his popularity, could
not break.
We do not look for Mr.. Cleveland's
nomination. We consider it almost an
impossibility for him 10 secure it, or
rather for those who think him the
strongest man before the people that
the democrats could nominate 10 secure
it for him.
We were originally for Mr.. Cleveland
because we thought that he would poll
a larger vote than any man the demo-
Gratis could nominate. But long ago
We came to the conclusion that
his nomination was impossible
and then The Messenger gave
it's allegiance to Judge Parker
not choosing him as a makeshift, as
some papers and politicians have
charged those who gave him their sup
port, but because we considered him
the strongest man the democrats could
unite on to place before the public as
their candidate. With the party united
on Cleveland We believe it could
sweep the country. He is out Of the
question now. The next best man is
Judge Parker. With him as their can
didate we think h party be sue
cessful. 1t certainly cannot hope for
success with a nominee representing the
Bryan ideas of democracy. 1t is folly
for any one to suppose that it can.