no great or stirring event, was
for the most part wise and conservative, but James G. Blaine had by this
time secured complete control of the party, and Arthur had no chance for
the nomination for President. He died of apoplexy within two years of
his retirement.

* * * * *

The Republican party had been supreme in the national government for a
quarter of a century, and there seemed no reason to doubt that Blaine,
its candidate in the campaign of 1884, would at last realize his
consuming ambition to be elected President. He had an immense personal
prestige, he had outlived the taint of corruption attached to him during
the administration of Grant, and he had for years been preparing and
strengthening himself for this contest. So he entered it confidently.

But a new issue had arisen--that of the protective tariff, which,
originally a war revenue measure, had been formally adopted as a
principle of Republicanism, which was hailed by its adherents as a new
and brilliant economic device for enriching everybody at nobody's
expense, and which had really enriched a few at the expense of the many.
The Democrats, with considerable hesitation and ambiguity, pronounced
against it, arraigned the Republican party for corruption, and named as
their nominee Grover Cleveland, of New York.

Cleveland was born in New Jersey in 1837, the son of a clergyman whose
early death threw him upon his own resources. He started west in search
of employment, stopped at Buffalo, and afterwards made it his home. He
studied law while working as a clerk and copyist, was admitted to the
bar in 1859, and in the late seventies was elected mayor of Buffalo on a
reform ticket. Almost at once, the country's eyes were fastened upon
him. Elected as a reform mayor, he continued to be one after his
induction into office. He actually seemed to think that the promises and
pledges made by him during his campaign were still binding upon him, and
astounded the politicians by proceeding to carry those promises out. So
scathing were the veto messages he sent in, one after another, to a
corrupt council, that they awakened admiration and respect even among
his opponents. The messages, written in the plainest of plain English,
aroused the people of the city to the way in which they had been robbed
by dishonest officials, they rallied behind him, and his reputation was
made. In 1882, his party wanted a reform candidate for governor, and
t