The Presidential Candidates

During the past week there has been a clearing up of the outlook as to a republican presidential candidate. Secretary Blaine's withdrawal removes the strongest republican from the race, and undoubtedly means the renomination of Harrison. There are a score of dates, including Alger, of Michigan, but Harrison has a long lead. The democratie outlook is not so dear.. Candidates are numerous, j hut generally aim to be darle horses. j There are two leading candidates, Cleveland and Hill. Cleveland is a candidate, not in a personal sense, but as the embodiment of 1 cratic principies. Ilill is pushing, for the nomination with all the i tuteness of the best politician of the country. Cleveland is to-day the most popular man in the United States. He is the people's candidate. Thepeople admire him. for his sturdy honesty, his sound principies, his courageousness, his backbone, hisstatesmanship. They admire him all the more'because he is not a politician in the narrow sense of the term. The politicians have a warm spot in their hearts for Hill because heis a poliitcian. Politicians care too much for the loaves and fishes of office, and too little for the principies. The people are not after loaves and fishes of office. They want the best government. They admire Cleveland as the representative of sound principies in government. Who cast. the votes? Hill is an able man as well as an adroit politician, and the politicians of New York are for him. But he has overstepped the mark in calling the New York convention for February 22, with the undeniable purpose of securing the New York delegation for himself. The New York World, which has always been a strong supporter of Governor Hill, denouhces his action in strong terms, and the other leading democratie papers of the state also denounce the "freeze-out" convention. The New York delegation may be for Hill, but the country at large will recognize the fact that it will be a convention manipulated by Hill in person, and more a politician's convention than a convention of democratie voters. Outside of the state of New York, there "is no man who can poli so tnany votes as Grover Cleveland. In Michigan, Cleveland can obtain three or four; more electoral votes than Hill can, and he can carry states that Hill cannot. How Is' it with New York? In iSSfi Cleveland was beaten in New York by 14, 377 votes, and so lost the presidency, although he had a majority 96,658 in the country. The same year Hifi carried New York by 19,000. The people of the country have believed, no matter whether rightfully or not, that to save Hill, the Hill men sold out the presidency. This year no state ticket Wil) be elected. If Cleveland is nominated this year, and defeated in New York, after Hill's freeze out convention, Hill will be held to a strict accountability for it. Tf Cleveland is nominated it is to Hill's personal interest to see that his friends work their best for him. Cleveland can serve as president but four more years. Then Hill may have a chance with the other democrats of the country. But let Cleveland run well in the rest of the country and be defeated in New York, and Hill's day as a a national democratie leader is over for all time. In other words the democrats of the country may justly look to Hill to prove his oft repeated assertion "I am a democrat," and we believe with Cleveland as the nomihee Hill will prove it. Let the democrats of the country look the question squarely in the face. The people in New York as in other states are for Cleveland. Politicians vote with their party. The people are more given to independent voting. Grover Cleveland, if nominated for president, will be triumphantly elec-ted. Let him be our nominee.