_Question_. What do you think of Mr. Cleveland's Cabinet?
_Answer_. It is a very good Cabinet. Some objections have been
made to Mr. Lamar, but I think he is one of the very best. He is
a man of ability, of unquestioned integrity, and is well informed
on national affairs. Ever since he delivered his eulogy on the
life and services of Sumner, I have had great respect for Mr. Lamar.
He is far beyond most of his constituents, and has done much to
destroy the provincial prejudices of Mississippi. He will without
doubt make an excellent Secretary of the Interior. The South has
no better representative man, and I believe his appointment will,
in a little while, be satisfactory to the whole country. Bayard
stands high in his party, and will certainly do as well as his
immediate predecessor. Nothing could be better than the change in
the Department of Justice. Garland is an able lawyer, has been an
influential Senator and will, in my judgment, make an excellent
Attorney-General. The rest of the Cabinet I know little about,
but from what I hear I believe they are men of ability and that
they will discharge their duties well. Mr. Vilas has a great
reputation in Wisconsin, and is one of the best and most forcible
speakers in the country.
_Question_. Will Mr. Cleveland, in your opinion, carry out the
civil service reform he professes to favor?
_Answer_. I have no reason to suspect even that he will not. He
has promised to execute the law, and the promise is in words that
do not admit of two interpretations. Of course he is sincere. He
knows that this course will save him a world of trouble, and he
knows that it makes no difference about the politics of a copyist.
All the offices of importance will in all probability be filled by
Democrats. The President will not put himself in the power of his
opponents. If he is to be held responsible for the administration
he must be permitted to choose his own assistants. This is too
plain to talk about. Let us give Mr. Cleveland a fair show--and
let us expect success instead of failure. I admit that many
Presidents have violated their promises. There seems to be something
in the atmosphere of Washington that breeds promise and prevents
performance. I suppose it is some kind of political malarial
microbe. I hope that some political Pasteur will, one of these
days, discover the real disease so that candidates can be vaccinated
during the campaign. Until them, presidential promises will be
liable to a discount.
_Question_. Is the Republican party dead?
_Answer_. My belief is that the next President will be a Republican,
and that both houses will be Republican in 1889. Mr. Blaine was
defeated by an accident--by the slip of another man's tongue. But
it matters little what party is in power if the Government is
administered upon correct principles, and if the Democracy adopt
the views of the Republicans and carry out Republican measures, it
may be that they can keep in power--otherwise--otherwise. If the
Democrats carry out real Democratic measures, then their defeat is
certain.
_Question_. Do you think that the era of good feeling between the
North and the South has set in with the appointment of ex-rebels
to the Cabinet?
_Answer_. The war is over. The South failed. The Nation succeeded.
We should stop talking about South and North. We are one people,
and whether we agree or disagree one destiny awaits us. We cannot
divide. We must live together. We must trust each other. Confidence
begets confidence. The whole country was responsible for slavery.
Slavery was rebellion. Slavery is dead--so is rebellion. Liberty
has united the country and there is more real union, national
sentiment to-day, North and South, than ever before.
_Question_. It is hinted that Mr. Tilden is really the power behind
the throne. Do you think so?
_Answer_. I guess nobody has taken the hint. Of course Mr. Tilden
has retired from politics. The probability is that many Democrats
ask his advice, and some rely on his judgment. He is regarded as
a piece of ancient wisdom--a phenomenal persistence of the Jeffersonian
type--the connecting link with the framers, founders and fathers.
The power behind the throne is the power that the present occupant
supposes will determine who the next occupant shall be.
_Question_. With the introduction of the Democracy into power,
what radical changes will take place in the Government, and what
will be the result?
_Answer_. If the President carries out his inaugural promises
there will be no radical changes, and if he does not there will be
a very radical change at the next presidential election. The
inaugural is a very good Republican document. There is nothing in
it calculated to excite alarm. There is no dangerous policy
suggested--no conceited vagaries--nothing but a plain statement of
the situation and the duty of the Chief Magistrate as understood
by the President. I think that the inaugural surprised the Democrats
and the Republicans both, and if the President carries out the
program he has laid down he will surprise and pacify a large majority
of the American people.
--_Mail and Express_, New York, March 10, 1885.