Omaha daily bee., 1908-06-25
GROVER CLEVELAND

/ Cleveland they have lost one Of their
most distinguished citizens If not theiI
first citizen in private life. Since
1897 he had grown steadily in the es-
TEEN and confidence of his country
men until they recognized his man.
virtues and abilities that were misun-
derstood or m~isconstrued during his
tempestuous political career extending
over a quarter of a century and came
TO know him az a strong, virile, manly
American man of the highest and best
type. In their sense of personal af-
Fiction at his death Americans gener-
ally will be glad to think that life was
good to Mr.. Cleveland in allowing him
to live to have the years vindicate him
and his countrymen eager to pay him
the high, deep-meed Of reverential es-
TEEN.
When Senator Lodge stated in the
Chicago convention the other day that
President Roosevelt was the most
abused and best loved man in the
United States he unwittingly painted
the picture of President Cleveland at
the time Of his retirement from public
life. His political career was a stormy
one from the start. From the position
Of office boy in a Buffalo law Office he
became assistant prosecuting attorney,
then sheriff, then governor Of his state
and a quick elevation to the presi-
dency of the nation. In every public
position he held he was aggressive and
~antagonized his party leaders and as
sociates. He quarreled with his party
leaders during his first term as presi-
dent and was nominated for a ~re-elec-
ton in face of the protests of a very
considerable faction of democracy.
After suffering defeat for reelection
in 1888 he was the choice of the dem
ocrats of the country for a third nom
nous opposition of the New York dem
ocrats and of the democrats who had
populistic tendencies. His election
followed and his second term, marked
W IA ONChNo VII Ia Sc Oh Nv DobOE
Of national history, closed with him
at outs with his party on almost every
issue before the people.
Time has demonstrated that Mr..
Cleveland's quarrels with his party
leaders was due to the fact that he
was bigger than his party and many
years in advance of IL in matters that
vitality concerned the whole people.
Essentially honest, and arriving at
conclusions by a laborious process, he
was doggedly persistent and courage
Gus in maintaining his conviction, al
lowing no thought of policy or future
results to sway him from the perfor-
nance of his duty as he saw 1t. Abb
solutely Indifferent to the warnings of
his friends or the assaults of his enc
mics, he followed what he considered
to be the right course, regardless of
personal results. In his first term he
made a bold hgbt for a reduction of
the tariff, his party refusing to agree
with him on many of the radical meas
ures he urged. He vetoed more bills
than n other president and never
hesitated to sacrifice party expediency
to the furtherance of Legislation which
he conceived to be right. In his sec
ond term he called a special session for
the repeal of the Sherman silver pur-
chasing act and made the first real
step toward the establishment of the
gold standard, a work which was
finally concluded by a republican con-
gress. He taught England, in his
Venezuelan message in December,
1895, that the Monroe doctrine means
something, and in that message intro
duced America into the list of world
powers.
In the closing years of his first term
his relations with congress became so
embittered that he did not hesitate to
show his contempt for that branch of
the government, with the result that
he retired from office perhaps tbs most
unpopular man in the party, so far as
the politicians were concerned. Time,
however, taught the whble people to
respect and honor him and he will
/, have a place in history among our
great presidents, although not as the
greatest.