Los Angeles herald., 1908-06-25
GIANT IN GENERATIONS POLITICAL LIFE PASSES AWAY

might defeat him. But he did not re-
gard himself as a martyr. His friends
seemed to imagine that Cleveland made
noble sacrafic for his country's good
when he sent in his tariff message In
1887.
Far from Dramatic
Probably nothing was further from
his view of the matter. He believed
what he said was true. and that as Q
mere incident OF the days work II
should be said. He did not dramatize
the situation by putting his personality
in 1t; to him the matter was imper-
sonal. He went into the campaign OF
1888 in a cheerful but not hopeful
frame of mind. He was happy, not In
the sense of duty well done, but with
the felicity of man who has nothing
undone to worry him. He fished and
hunted and worked, and being q
bridegroom of two years, life, as
he put it himself, was lone grand
sweet song" AS for the people
he liked to meet them, to shake hands
with them. to hear them talk and cheer,
and push and crowd about his car, Tor
he was human. and all the world was
brother to him; but the color OF Its
hair or the complexion OF its votes was
q matter of considerable Indifference TO
Grover Cleveland.
When he was defeated by Benjamin
Harrison In 1888 Cleveland may possibly
have been stung; IL he was, the world
never knew 1t, and 1t is certain that the
defeat did not crush him or even Grip
pie him. He saw that the cyclone OF
1884 had spent itself, and that he was
walking on his own feet instead or rid
ing the storm. The man OF destiny be-
came a practicing attorney in New
York. He revived his bank account
and devoted himself to his family, say
ing what he pleased In public and IN
private, doing as he pleased, living as
he pleased. He did not crafty his ene-
mics by uttering even sigh or regret
at the course of human events, ana II
he had an ambition to regain his power,
he concealed 1t. He did not play poll
tics. He put on no pompous dignity,
but he remained the rather bashful,
unassuming, reticent, hard-working
gentleman who left Bunalo Ior Albany
six years before.
When the Democratic nomination Tor
the presidency came to him in 1882, IL
may have pleased him, but 1t was not
of his connivance. Cleveland had no
sort of art In handling men, either IN
caucuses of in conventions. He can
deal with masses--he has the mathe-
matical mind-but with concrete men
and women and things he is helpless
The Democratic masses forced Cleve-
lands second nomination, because he
personified them and they trusted him
but most of the delegates who voted for
him in that convention did SO hatlng
him. They were only following instruc-
tions If he had not been nominated
on the first ballot the delegates would
have stampeded to any one rather than
vote for Cleveland after they had full
filled the letter of their instructions.
The New York state delegation signed
bitter protest against his nomination
and almost every Democratic politician
of any note was arrayed against Cleve-
land. These politicians made plat
form that Cleveland in his campaign
ignored as serenely as he would have
ignored the canals on Mars. Yet, Tor
all that, Democratic leaders in the Yves. ss
Free silver" despite the fact that II
there was one thing above another
which Grover Cleveland stood for 1t was
sound money on a gold basis.