He  has  shown  that  one  good  thing  to  do  with  them  is  to
invite  them  to  all  banquets;  and  in  this  connection  the
question  occurs  to  me — why  not  run  them  again?"

Although  this  idea  now  began  to  be  widely  discussed,
Mr.  Cleveland  himself  rather  discouraged  than  wel-
comed it.  Living  in  the  metropolis  of  the  nation,  close
to  the  most  powerful  of  all  Democratic  machines,  he
rarely  met  its  leaders,  and  never  cultivated  them.  His
mind  was  upon  the  people,  and  his  appeals  were  to  public
opinion  through  infrequent  addresses  and  personal  letters.
He  sought  to  influence  public  opinion,  not  to  use  it.  He
was  willing  to  serve  the  nation  should  the  nation  call,  but
was  determined  not  to  "consent  to  be  the  candidate  unless
on  a  basis  of  honest  principle."  He  would  not  accept
leadership  at  the  hands  of  machine  men.
