Page:The Presidents of the United States, 1789-1914, v. III.djvu/300

250 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS citizenship and the public welfare, are unwise and vexatious. The commerce of a nation to a great extent determines its supremacy. Cheap and easy transportation should therefore be liberally fos tered. Within the limits of the constitution, the general government should so improve and protect its natural water-ways as will enable the producers of the country to reach a profitable market. . . . If I should be called to the chief magistracy of the nation by the suffrages of my fellow-citizens, I will assume the duties of that high office with a sol emn determination to dedicate every effort to the country s good, and with a humble reliance upon the favor and support of the Supreme Being, who I believe will always bless honest human endeavor in the conscientious discharge of public duty." The canvass that followed was more remarkable for the discussion of the personal characters and qualifications of the candidates than for the promi nent presentation of political issues. In the elec tion (November 4) four candidates were in the field, viz. : Grover Cleveland, of New York, demo cratic; James G. Elaine, of Maine, republican; Benjamin F. Butler, of Massachusetts, labor and greenback; John P. St. John, of Kansas, prohibi tion. The total popular vote was 10,067,610, di vided as follows: Cleveland, 4,874,986; Blaine, 4,851,981; Butler, 175,370; St. John, 150,369; blank, defective, and scattering, 14,904. Of the