The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-03-19
SPLENDID ThIBUlE
 PAID BY TAFT 10
 GROVER CLEVELAND
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1.)

sympathy with his reform views as well as those elements without such a sym pathy who were anxious to secure party power At the end of his first term he was renominated, but was beaten by Gen. eral Harrison in a close vote. By that time the politicians of the old school in the democratic party had drawn away from him and had no desire to continue his leadership. But so strong a hold had he upon the affections and confidence of the rank and file of his party and so sure were they that he was stronger than the party in an electoral contest that he was nominated in the national convention against the desires of most state leaders and, in the election which followed he led his party to the greatest victory in history.
 Tariff for Revenue.
 In this campaign Mr Cleveland stood for an affirmative idea, that of a re- auction of the tariff, so as to make it a tariff for revenue. He attacked the pro- tective theory and system. He stood for something aggressive and affirmative. It was in accordance with the ancient tradi- tions of the party.
 T do not need to enter into discus sion of that issue. but comment on it only as illustrating MT. Gleveland's char
 
 tive, He was courageous. He believed in parties. He believed in party policies and he believed in consistency in regard to them, and he did not believe in trim ming down a policy to catch the votes of those who really did not agree with it. The first time MT. Cleveland was in pow CT he was opposed by a republican Sen ate. This gave little opportunity for any radical change by executing the previous n0ltelcS aAf jet. ff..,, it did offer opportunity by Mir Cleve- land to point to the country the fact that our government is a government of three distinct branches, the executive, the legislative and the Judicial and that the executive has a sphere which the legis- lative branch has no right to invade.
 Executive Usurpatlon.
 We hear much in these days of the usurpation of legislation by the executive branch As long as the legislative branch has the power of the purse the danger of executive usurpation is imag- inatiye. The real danger arises from the disposition of the legislative branch to assume that 1t has the omnipotence of parliament and may completely control the discretion conferred upon the execu- tive by the constitution. The country Is under obligation to MT. Cleveland for having pointed out in his controversy with the republican Senate some of the limitations that there are in the constitu- tion upon attempted legislative action to resist executive discretion. In the end Mir Cleveland won in his controversy with the Senate. Whether he might have done so had both the House and Senate been against him is matter of doubt. The history of Andrew Johnson's controversy with Congress shows how far partisan legislature may be induced to go into an unconstitutional attempt to cut down executive power. The limit of legislative restriction of legislation action is a diff ficult line to define. Anyone who attempts to do more than to pass on single in stances as they arise may find himself in great difficulty, but as such instances are considered and decided the limits are gradually being defined. We owe to MT. Cleveland and his courage in dealing with the Senate of the United States the es- tablishment of some useful precedents
 Clevelands Second Term.
 Tn MT. Cleyelands second term there was a large majority of his party in the House and working majority in the Senate. so that the whole responsibility of government fell upon democrats, with MT. Cleveland at their head. The signifi- canoe of his second administration centers about three issues. The first was the tariff, the second free silver and the third the suppression of lawlessness directed against federal authority by use of the process of federal courts and by federal troops. The same influences in his own party which had sought to defeat him for nomination in his third canvass he found entrenched in the Senate so strong ly as to be able to defeat the declared policy of his party in favor of tariff for revenue and he refused to sign the leo. l..& IA l-- come law after denouncing it as the result of perfidity and dishonor. This was doubtless the greatest disappointment of his political life, for 1t destroyed the op- portunity to test the wisdom of the party policy advocated by him and declared in the party platform, while the business depression which existed before and after it's passage furnished ammunition to his political opponents, who did not hesitate to argue that the prospect of a revenue tariff on the one hand and the passage of the actual Gorman-Wilson bill on the other hand paralyzed the industries of the country.
 Party Disloyalty.
 Whatever one's view on the tariff whether he be a protectionist or free trader, he cannot but have the deepest sympathy with MT. Cleveland in his deep indignation at the party disloyalty which
  House and gave us the nondescript bill which became the law.
 But there was rising in the demo- cratic party at the time, especially in the western and southern parts of the coun- try, desire for economic remedies which should cure everything in our business any body polite. This was the movement in favor of the free coinage of silver The republican party and some of it's leaders in the west and south had not been free from weakness in this respect, and the law for the monthly purchase of $2,0O0 900 of silver hung like stone around the neck of the country. Mir Cleveland used all the authority that he could command as the executive to bring about a repeal Of this law and he finally succeeded The deep gratitude of the country Is due to him for this result. Without 1t disaster would have come. Without the credit of the country could not have been sus- tained, and there would have been blot on our financial escutcheon. But when MT. Cleveland succeeded In, securing the repeal Of the Sherman act itNseemed as If his control over the party with respect to the monetary issues had been exhaust ed. His party became hopelessly divided