some Republican votes which were cast for Blaine in 1884; whether enough of the latter to cover the deficiency caused by the Labor movement, is questionable. But if the Republicans nominated, instead of Blaine, some fair man, you would have only a part of the Independent vote—consisting of the most decided anti-tariff men. In the first case, Blaine being now the weakest man the Republicans have, your success would perhaps be barely possible; in the latter case, your defeat might be looked upon as certain, and I venture to say that while Blaine's nomination would seem inevitable, if the Convention were held to-morrow, the number of Republicans who are afraid of it is constantly growing and not at all unlikely to control the Convention in 1888.
It being clear that you can save your party only by enabling it to draw a large number of votes from its opponents; and that this can be done only by a strong reform policy commanding general confidence, it seems no exaggeration to say that your action in the Benton-Stone case is the worst blow the Democratic party has received since 1884. It as been received with jubilant shouts by your worst enemies, such as the Sun, who wish not only to defeat but to disgrace you. It has encouraged the spoilsmen in your party as they have scarcely ever been encouraged before, for it has made them confident that they can subdue the strongest President if they only try hard enough. And surely they will try more than they ever did. Neither will they be deterred by what you say about reform, in your message. On the contrary, they find there another encouragement. They find the advanced positions tacitly abandoned, and the cause of administrative reform driven back into the last line of defense within the narrow entrenchment of the civil service law,—and even that entrenchment in spots by no means impregnable. They see no longer an advancing,
