Milford chronicle., 1948-11-12
LITTLE MUDsLINGING DURING CAMPAIGN


There was very little personal mudsling-
ing in the 1913 presidential campaign, and
practically none of the undercOVer rllrnOr
movements which are designed to persuade
the electorate that this candidate or that was
morally, mentally, or physically unfit for Of
fce Most of the critical digs were of a gen.
eral nature-aS, for instance, Mr.. TrumanS
description of the 80th Congress as one of
the worst in history, and Mr.. DeWeys allie
cations that the present Administration was
incapable of doing an efficient Job. Thus,
judged by political precedents, the campaign
was unusually clean, and no one of impOr-
tance attempted to make either of the prin-
clpal candidates appear to be crook of the
first water.
good many voters, perhaps, will look
back with nostalgia regret on campaigns in
which invective gave color and life to the
proceedings, reprehensible as these weapons
may be in principle. And to find the cam
palgns which were most enlivened in this
fashion, we must look back quite distance.
In the October issue of the American Mer-
curry, Robert Bendiner presents an amusing
and instructive brief account of "Mudsling-
ing In National Elections" which indicates
how tremendously the times have changed in
the matter OF political manners and weapons.
Even Washington was not spared from
the vitriOl. On the First Presidents retire
ment, newspaper observed that eff ever a
nation has been debauched by a man, the
American nation has been debauched by
Washington" And, while he was in office.
an opposition cartoon was published which
showed the Father of His Country being led
to the guill0tine. s. -z--
Jefferson, sainted as he is in these davs.
also came III for his share of attack. The
then president of Yale warned the country
SOlemnly that the JefferSOnian doctrine was
designed to make "Our wives and daughters
the victims of legal prostitution" He was
also accused, through a published tract. of
being man of very loose morals
The opposition really turned on the blow
torches when Andrew Jackson ran. Due to
a legal mlX-up, the General had married his
second wife before she was fully divorced
from her first husband, and a second cere-
mOny had been necessary An example of
the use his political enemies made of this in
cldent is found in this sentence: "Ought a
convicted adulteress and her paramOur hus-
Dand TO be placed in the highest offices of
this free and Christian land?"
In modern times, Grover Cleveland whom
running against Blaine, was given the most
savage treatment. Evidence was dug up to
the effect that he was possibly the father of
an llegltlmate child. This was PLAYED to the
nit Dy the Republicans, in the hope that the
voters would become convinced that he was
an utter libertine. AS the New York Sun
put it, I'VE do not believe the American
people will knowingly elect to the presidency
a coarse debauchee who will bring his har-
lots with him to Washington and hire lodg
1ngS Tor them convenient to the White
House" However, Cleveland's great recorJ
OF prObity and public service-coupIed with
the fact that Blaine had very dubious Con
gressiOnal background sufficient to off
set this. Yet it was very close-a switch Of
few hundred votes in New York would