Show CLEVELANDS LETTER Following is the full text of the letter written by exPresident CLEVELAND which has created such a sensation throughout the land E ELLEUT ANDERSON Esq My DEAn SmI have this afternoon received your note inviting me to attend tomorrow evening even-ing a meeting called for the purpose of voicing the opposition of the business men of our city to the free coinage of silver in the United States I shall not be able to attend and address ad-dress the meeting as you request but I am glad that the business interests of New York are at last to be heard on the subject It surely cannot can-not bo necessary for me to make a formal expression ex-pression of my agreement with those who believe be-lieve that the greatest perils would be invited by the adoption of the scheme embraced in the measure now pending inCongress for an unlimited unlim-ited coinage of silver at our mints If wo have developed an unexpected capacity for the assimilation of a largely increased volume vol-ume of the currency and even if we have demonstrated dem-onstrated the usefulness of such an increase these conditions fall far short of insuring us against disaster if in the present situation we enter upon tho dangerous and reckless experiment experi-ment of free unlimited and independent silver coinage Yours very truly G ROVER CLEVELAND February 10 1691 Whether or not one agrees with Mr CLEVELANDS position in this matter those who assume that the gentleman has injured his political prospects by this letter are deceiving de-ceiving themselves hence the Republican rejoicing and the glee of those professed Democrats who do not like the exPresi dent are vain mockeries If there were doubt before as to CLEVELANDS nomination nomina-tion there can be none now and his election is more certain than ever And why it will be asked tho Democrats in Congress Con-gress who are supposed to speak the sentiments senti-ments of the party throughout the nation occupying a position directly opposite to that held by tho exPresident in the matter of silver coinage The explanation is easy enough The men who study politics and make it a profession understand that while the west is clamorous for free coinage of silver the west doesnt cast many Democratic votes in the electoral college The Democratic votes must come from the east and the south The Democratic nominee no matter who he may be nor what his attitude on public questions would not expect or hope to carry a single western state with tho possible exception ex-ception of Montana having three electoral votes All the others are Republican in national politics and most of them hopelessly hope-lessly so hence it will not count against the Democratic candidate if he shall be offensive of-fensive to this entire side of the republic The successful man must be ono who can gather strength in the east We don believe Mr CLEVELAND thought of this when he wrote the letter He is too big a man and too much of a statesman to resort to the tricks of the politician to secure his personal per-sonal advancement Besides the views which he now exmessos are those whioh ho has before expressed and he is honest and courageous enough to repeat and emphasize them at this time when a less frank and more discreet person politically would have remained silent But if Mr CLEvELAND CLEVE-LAND had been the clever and trained political worker schooled in all the arts and tricks of the professional politician he could have done nothing which would have made more certain his I nomination and election next year Ho vill go into the conventi6n with the united delegations of the New England states and all tho middle states speaking for him as with one voiceTho South is a unit for him notwithstanding its differing views on silver and will suggest no other name Tho west is proud and courageous and may undertake under-take to rebuke him but what can it do in the face of tho mighty support which he will have What can its representatives say when the fact is pointed out to them that their states ono and all are within the Republican fold and would continue thero if the greatest western Democrat and the most pronounced advocate advo-cate of free coinage were nominated They would be compelled to admit that the west can do nothing for the Democracy in 1S92 and then if they are wise as we assume they will be they will fall into line and support the man who can carry Now York and Connecticut and New Jersey and make Massachusetts and Now Hampshire and Rhode Island doubtful It is too late to undertake to educate the people of those states up to the western ideas of silve coinage The convention is too near and their opinions are too firmly fixed to be revolutionized within the time especially as all the newspapers which they read in fact all of the influential papers east of the Alleghanies are daily telling the oters that free coinage would be disastrous to tho nation and the people Four years hence there may be a different sentiment but today to-day the gold influence of the east controls the people as well as tho politicians of that section and the politicians and people of the east will name the next Democratic candidate candi-date for the Presidency and we firmly believe be-lieve that Mr CLEVELAND will be that man The nomination being made the Democracy Democ-racy will have nothing to fear even though the Democrats of the west may turn against the candidate for tho simple reason that theDemocracy has nothing iq the west and can lose nothing It cannot lose what it hasnt got and it cannot hope to gain anything any-thing this side of the Mississippi The south will be true to tho candidate no matter who he may be and the east will give an antisilver man more votes than a free coinage nominee could hope to get Western Democrats who admire CLEVELAND CLEVE-LAND may and many of them will regret that the exPresident wrote this letter but they will at once see that it makes him stronger in those places where strength counts and does not weaken him elsewhere |