| Show COMMUNICATED A PARALLEL Few who will study the political history of our country from 1795 to 1805 but will notepoints of resemblance between then and now No matter what views the intelligent in-telligent wellinformed citizen may entertain en-tertain in regard to larties and systems of government few if any will deny to Thomas Jefferson a place up and abreast with the foremost men of the past present pre-sent or indeed of any century A careful reading and comparison will convince the I J1 i fFj i c fj r unprejudiced of a resemblance between I the surroundings and to some extent at least a resemblance between the present occupant of the Presidential chair and the great Apostle of Democracy At first sight the comparison may impress the I reader especially the party prejudiced reader as absbrd but please remember that it is possible for men to be as great II in the present as in the past and remember remem-ber further that the average level of mankind I man-kind is being every day raised and it takes more ability now to place any one man head and shoulders above his fellows I than a while back The age is gone oer when a man may in all things be j all It will be remembered too that II j men and not a few second only to Mr I Jefferson in his time when he took office expressed grave apprehension And the smallerbrained and more narrowmind ed and the assuming monopolists of gentility gen-tility made no secret of their contempt j and lack of confidencenot only in his I ability but honesty and patriotism Is I there not a parallel here Has not history his-tory repeated itself In the few months that Mr Cleveland has occupied the I position of President he has been as fortunate fort-unate and successful is disarming captious and unfair criticism and forcing the respect re-spect of fairminded men as was Mr Jefferson It has been the vulgar practice to accuse ac-cuse the latter of ultra partisanship and hasty and radical changes Such was not the case notwithstanding the outgoing out-going Administration under so sensible and great a man as John Adams acted in a way to provoke indeed to justify retaliation but Jefferson cool farseeing and selfreliant did not retaliate to any considerable extent nor near to the extent ex-tent he has been accused Mark here I the resemblance Dire and dreadful calamities were predicted by the Federalists Feder-alists upon his ascent to power the prophecies were not fulfilled It will be admitted that like feelings and like forebodings fore-bodings marked the advent of the present pres-ent Executive and it will he furthor admitted ad-mitted that there is as little prospect of the unfavorable p ophecies being fulfilled in the latter as in the former case At the beginning of his Administration Mr Jeffrrson inaugurated a system of rigid economy peaceful and wise administration administra-tion which so won upon the nation that one after one the States fell into line of support New Hampshire and Massachusetts Massachu-setts only being held by the opposition after the most extraordinary exertions fhe indications point to a like result in the near future Under the Father of Democracy by consummate skill and wise statesmanship was acquired a vast I domnin of territory unequaled perhaps in uniform fertility It looks now as I though the present Administration had set itself the commendable task of protecting I pro-tecting this reserve of wealth from the further unlawful encroachments of the I recent past and securing it instead for I the benefit of the individual citizen citizenXX XX |
