The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-06-24
GROVER CLEVELAND.

| Illuminating page IN the history VI tie
past quarter of century of the life
of this country when the time comes
for it to be written.
His rise from place of comparative
obscurity to the greatest office in the
whole world-the presidency of the
United States of America-was quite
| any man in the annals of the country.
And during the many years he held
public offices of varying degrees of i'm
portance his record has ever been that
charged in such a manner as to merit
the praise of his friends and his foes,
who were only of the political order.
Mr.. Cleveland was a native of New
York when young man and shortly
after being admitted to the bar there
he was made an assistant district at
torney of Erie county. Next he served
mayor of Buffalo. 1t was in this latter
capacity that he first began to attract
attention. He vetoed right and left
some extravagant appropriations made
the common council Of that city and In
other ways began to gain the reputa-
ton of being a great reformer. His
messages to the Buffalo council in We
toing these appropriations and de-
manding care in the expenditure OF
public money as well as other mes
sages on municipal affairs soon brought
him to the fore as one of the prominent
the reputation he made as mayor of
Buffalo he was nominated by the Dem
ocrats and elected governor of New
York state. He was not in the guber-
material chair very long before his ac-
tons in fighting political plunderers
within and without his own party gain
ed for him a national reputation.
At the conclusion of his first term Of
governor, or, rather, just after he had
been elected to a second term. the
Democrats of the nation turned to him
as their standard bearer in the contest
for the presidency of the United States
and he was successful. During his
first term of office he made all sorts
of enemies inside and outside his party
because he insisted on being president
and chief executive of the country in
fact as we'll as in name and because
he was steadfast against the assaults
Of INSCRIPTIONS political connivers. AL
though a Democrat of the most par
tisan type he was really the man who
placed the civil service of the country
on something of a firm basis. And it
was because of his shattering of the
theory that to the victors in the po-
litical game belonged the spells of
office that he was so terribly hated.
He secured a denomination at the
hands of the Democrats but was de-
feated and relegated to private life. 1t
was only after he had been retired
from office that the Democrats and
the people of the country began to re-
alize his great qualities as a public
servant and administrator. And by
the time another presidential cam
paign rolled around there was an in
sistent demand that he again be given
the Democratic nomination. This was
done and he was again elected. 1t
gave him the unique distinction in the
history of the country of having twice
been elected to the presidency with a
term intervening. His second term was
one of even more brilliant achieve
ments than his first. 1t was made
by his ultimatum to Eng
land concerning her apparent designs
one Venezuela which nearly precipi-
tated a war between this country and |
Great Britain. Until this act Mr.. |
president with little or no backbone in
his handling of international affairs.
But his swift, certain and firm decision
in this matter was a little too strong
even for the dyed-in-the-wool jingoes
of this land and they gaped with
open mouths at what they termed his
"audacity." Audacity it really was
for the United States was hardly pre-
pared for any sort of a war at the
time. But it showed the true Ameri-
can spirit of Mr.. Cleveland and did
more than any other thing to estab-
lish his reputation throughout the old
world as we'll as the new as one
of the forceful rulers OF the times.
Since his retirement to private life
Mr.. Cleveland has conducted himself
with a wonderful dignity. He has con-
fined his activities to articles and