The Irish standard., 1904-03-26
A PARALLEL, 1884 = 1904.

A PARALLEL, 1884 1904.
Present political conditions very
much resemble conditions that existed
twenty years ago. At the present
time, as then, New York man is
President of the United States by
accident Twenty years ago Chester
\. Arthur of New York was President
us result of the assassination OF
President Garfield. Theodore Roose.
welt is now President as a result of
the assassination of Mckinley. Arthur
found the Republicans of his own state
torn into factions. Conkling and Platt
were fighting it out in 1884, while
Platt and Odell are now in struggle
for supremacy in New York. While
1T is true that no one appears willing
10 dispute the nomination with Roose-
welt, it is nevertheless true that the
leaders Of his party are at heart
against him. They dislike him person
ally and many Of them distrust him.
Arthur i'll his candidacy for the NOM
nation in 1884 had to contest with
james G. Blaine, one of the greatest
figures in American politics; in this
resepct the parallel fails. The out
burst of Republican wrath against
Roosevelt in the House Of Representa-
tives a few days ago shows how easy
it would he even at this time for some
new man to seize the nomination. No
doubt the leaders have it in their
hearts to do just tile thing, but they
fear the result of such action upon
the election.
The parallel may also be extended to
Democratic politics. Then, as now, the
Democrats were out of power, and
while they were more united than they
are now, vet they were we'll nigh hope
less. They had seen Samuel J. Tilden,
Il great statesman and great leader,
defeated in 1876, or rather deprived of
the election after he hau won it. They
had made the mistake in 1880 of
AAaHSOSA VI LII
den and We're badly beaten as result.
They had been out of power for thirty
four years, and with the prospect Of
Blaine as the Republican nominee
things were anything but bright.
Then, as now, there was one command
ing figure in the sky of Democratic
success. Samuel j. Tilden had re-
ceived a majority of the popular vote
in 1876 and carried enough states to
elect him. He was the only Democrat
since the war who had done so. But
in 1884 Tilden was an old man and in
broken health. He could not be NOM
mated. 1t was evident lie would live
but a short time. To-day there is alive
one man who has twice carried the
country for the Democracy-Grover
Cleveland. He is old and while his
health is not broken, yet his nomina-
ton by the party is as impossible as
was Tilden's in 1884. Outside of Mr..
Tilden in 1884, there was no command
ing figure whose nomination was prac-
teal or available. At that time Mr..
Cleveland was governor of New York.
He was nominated to that office in
1882 as a compromise. He was elect
ed by an overwhelming majority, not
because of his great popularity, but
because the Blaine Republicans refused
to vote for judge Folger, the Republi-
can candidate. He was elected after
successive Republican victories be-
cause the other side defaulted. To him
the national Democracy turned be-
cause he had succeeded in carrying the
pivotal state of New York. He was
little known outside of Buffalo, where
he had been sheriff and mayor. He
was Il stranger to national politics.
None of the Democratic leaders knew
him. 1t is said that he had never
been to the city of Washington. To-
day the party works towards New
York and finds man much in the
same position of Grover Cleveland in
1854. That man is Judge Alton B.
Parker. He, like Cleveland, carried
the state of New York by an over
whelming vote i'll year succeeding
repeated Republican victories. His
victory also was due largely to the
default or factiOnalism of the Republi-
cans. He is Il stranger to national
politics and to national leaders. 1t is
said that no one knows where he
stands. But certainly he is as well
known as Grover Cleveland was in
1884 and he has a much larger ex-
perience in public life. Grover Cleve-
land was nominated in 1884. Alton B.
Parker will be nominated in 1904
The Democrats dem landed that the