Without  multiplying  examples,  it  is  plain  that  the  public
man  who  reaches  this  high  office  after  such  training  must,  of
necessity,  leave  behind  him,  upon  his  retirement,  a  great  body
of  writings  and  speeches.  The  genius  of  our  institutions  both
permits  and  makes  necessary  the  expression  of  opinion,  by  a
public  man,  on  a  great  variety  of  topics.  It  is  only  natural,
however,  that  many  of  the  early  speeches  of  men  thus  trained
should  have  little  enduring  value.  In  the  inception  of  such
service,  entered  upon  in  comparative  youth  and  before  the
character  is  fully  formed,  speeches  are  made  upon  nearly  every
measure  that  may  be  introduced.  These  may  contribute
something  to  an  intelligent  understanding  of  an  issue  at  the
time,  or  even  to  its  settlement ;  but  amid  our  rapidly  changing
political  conditions,  interest  in  both  the  speech  and  the  ques-
tion is  soon  lost.  In  most  cases  such  oratorical  efforts  remain
little  more  than  temporary  contributions  to  an  issue  restricted
to  a  neighborhood  or  a  State.
Grover  Cleveland  had  none  of  this  training  in  politics  and
oratory.  Until  his  inauguration  as  Mayor  of  Buffalo,  in
January,  1882,  his  experience  and  discipline  were  entirely  pro-
fessional. While  an  assistant  to  the  District  Attorney  of  Erie
County,    New    York— his    first    independent    position    as    a


X  INTRODUCTION.
