8 The Conservative *
TIIK CI-KVKLANJD-DANA FKUI ) .
Iii the Philadelphia Saturday Evening
Post , Colonel A. K. McOlure gives an
interesting bit of history concerning the
origin of the feud between Graver
Cleveland -and Charles A. Dana , which
was very bitter , especially on the part of
f * the latter , throughout both administra
tions of President Cleveland. Mr. Mc
Olure says :
"Charles A. Dana , then editor of the
\ New York Sun , became estranged from
Mr. Cleveland the year before the presi
* * : dential election of 1884. He had earnest
ly supported Cleveland for governor in
1882 , but when a movement was made
by Mr. Manning , to organize the state
for Cleveland in 1884 Dana was im
placable in his opposition. I met him
several times before Cleveland was
nominated and he always discussed the
question with an unusual degree of
acrimony.
KoKlniiiiig of the Quarrel.
"Soon after Cleveland's nomination I
was spending a few days at Saratoga
and was watching Dana's paper with
much interest , for he was very much
disgruntled. He did not at first declare
himself aggressively against Cleveland's
election , but one morning at Saratoga
in taking up the Sun I found one of
Dana's terrible deliverances against
Cleveland that left no possible chance
for a reconciliation. I telegraphed to
Mr. Dana and asked him to meet me at
his office at 3 o'clock that afternoon and
called there on my way home. Mr.
Dana had gone too far to recede , but I
tried to temper his bitterness , as I thought
it would do great harm , not only to
Cleveland , but to his own newspaper as
* < * ' well , then one of the most prosperous in
33 ! ne country.
"Mr. Dana was petulant and violent
in his expressions against Cleveland and
said that ho had decided to support
General Butler.
"Charles A. Dana was the ablest
editor ever developed by American
journalism. Horace Greeley was more
pungent and telling in his political
articles and Henry Watterson is more
brilliant , but Charles A. Dana was the
4 , strongest editorial writer this country
has ever produced.
A Political Recommendation Slighted.
"It was not until I met Cleveland at
Albany , soon after his election , that ]
learned the cause of the estrangement
between Cleveland and Dana , and the
statement given by Mr. Cleveland was
subsequently confirmed by Mr. Dana.
Dana had very earnestly supported
Cleveland's nomination and election for
governor in 1882 , and after the election
he wrote a personal letter to Cleveland
asking the appointment of a friend to
the position of adjutant general. Oleve
land received that letter as he received
thousands of other letters recommending
appointments , instead of recognizing the
claim Mr. Dana had upon him for the
courtesy of an answer. Beecher had a
candidate for the same position , and
Cleveland gave it to Beeoher'a man
vithout any explanation whatever to
Dana , who felt that he had been dis
courteously treated by Cleveland.
A Social Affront.
"Mr. Dana gave no open sign of his
disappointment , but some time after
Cleveland's inauguration when it be
came known that Dana felt grieved at
he governor , some mutual friends inter
vened and proposed to Cleveland that
le should invite Dana to join with some
acquaintances to dine at the executive
mansion. To this Cleveland readily
assented. Dana was informed that
Cleveland would tender such an invita-
ion if it would be accepted , and he
jromptly assented. Cleveland then be
came involved in the pressing duties of
ihe legislature and allowed the session
: o close without extending the promised
and expected invitation to Dana. Mr.
Cleveland told me that he was entirely
: o blame for neglect in both instances ,
as Dana would doubtless have been
satisfied if he had courteously informed
lim of his convictions which required
aim to appoint another for adjutant
general ; and he had no excuse to offer
out that of neglect for not inviting
Dana to dinner.
Proclaims Cleveland's Election.
"Dana naturally assumed that Cleve
land had given him deliberate affront ,
and Cleveland could make no satisfac
tory explanation. As governor and as
president ho was first of all devoted to
his official duties , which he discharged
with rare fidelity , and he gave little
time even to the common courtesies
which most governors and presidents
would recognize as justly belonging to
their friends. Efforts ( 'were made to
conciliate Dana , [ but he never would
discuss the question. When Cleveland's
election was announced , and the repub
licans were disposed to dispute the vote
of New York , Dana came out boldly and
declared that Cleveland was elected and
that no violent measure should be toler
ated to deprive him of the honor con
ferred upon him. "
' 'American drinks
. . .
INSULAR , . .
IRRIGATION , served here. „ A
sign reading thus
the Cougregationalist says , "sometimes
in three or four languages , offensively
stares the tourist in the face before he
leaves the ship in oriental seaports and
the places which bear these signs are
usually the most unsavory houses which
respectable natives avoid. The inunda
tiou of Manila by these saloons is the
worst feature of our entrance into the
Philippines. It is the more regrettable
because the city is under martial law
and these places could be closed by the
order of General Otis. It is a poor plea
too , that the natives ought to be allowec
heir liberty to drink what they please
and that to irritate them by such regu-
ations would bo impolitic. We have
een enough of eastern cities and of our
own cities where army camps are j
ocated to know that American soldiers
are the chief patrons of the places where
distilled liquors are sold. The natives
do not want them and the better classes
do not patronize them. For the honor
of the natives , the credit of the govern
ment and the discipline of the army , it
s imperative that the saloons of Manila
should be closed. "
THE CONSERVATIVE fears that its pious
fellow laborer is not altogether well
. _ , , posted. Perhaps
A Pious Push. f . . . , . ,
in his zeal for the
things of Heaven , he has omitted to get
all the news in regard to earthly affairs.
He should be informed , therefore , that
General Otis is busily occupied in civil-
zing and Ohristianizing the uncultured ;
ilanila people and should not be inter
rupted. It is to be regretted that this
method of floating in enlightenment
and Christianity on a current of mixed
drinks fails to please our friend , just as
it is a matter of equal regret that the
.ntroduction of "the blessings of Ameri
can liberty" by the medium of martial
aw and armed occupation has failed to
please many others of our fellow citi
zens , but we must accept a good many
queer dispensations in these days when
Providence so "unexpectedly throws
Asiatic islands in our lap. "
It is quite true that the reports of
occasional travelerswho give but a few
. , , days or even weeks
„ „
Reticence of the
Department. to a country , are
not to be accepted
as conclusive proof of the actual condi
tions existing there. For this reason we
have not been hasty in crediting the
stories of carousal that have floated over
the Pacific from the far Philippines , but
have preferred to judge , our country's
self-sacrificing beneficence in Ohristian
izing the Orient , by the best of cold
figures ; to gauge its evangelical work /
those "silent sullen "
among people" by
the statistics of its export trade. The
practical application of this test is at
tended by difficulties , due , in part , to a
noteworthy reticence in the national
treasury department. A table in its
"Monthly Summary of Commerce and
Finance , " for last November , page 1867 ,
professing to give the exports to those
islands "by articles , " names items ad
ding up to only one-ninth of the total
for the fiscal year , 1898-99 , the other
eight-ninths , $356,226 , being lumped as
"other articles ! " So remarkable an
export tabulation has not been made
before to my knowledge. For a parallel ,
we should have to imagine the census
officials carefully separating the New
England states , giving the figures for
each , and lumping the rest of the coun
try under one head as "all other states. "
Nor have the treasury reports anywhere
supplied the information here withheld.