Endorsing for president since 1884

FILE - In this Aug. 9, 1892 file photo President Grover Cleveland poses for a photo. Cleveland, fearing poor health would be a political weakness, underwent secret oral surgery late at night in a private yacht in Long Island Sound. The cancerous lesion taken from his mouth was displayed in 2000 in an exhibit by the College of Physicians, a Philadelphia-based medical society. (AP Photo, File) — FILE - President Grover Cleveland poses for a photo. Cleveland won the 1884 election. The Gazette endorsed his opponent James G. Blaine (AP Photo, File)

The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.

So, The Gazette has been making presidential endorsements every election since 1884. That’s 140 in human years.

OK, fine. We didn’t formally endorse in 1912 and 1916. But clearly, we had strong feels for Woodrow Wilson.

Our first endorsement came in a presidential campaign widely regarded as the dirtiest in history. Well, until recently.

In 1884, Democratic New York Gov. Grover Cleveland was pitted against prominent Republican congressional leader James G. Blaine. It was a knockdown, drag-out war of attrition.

In July 1884, the campaign was shaken by a small newspaper in Buffalo. Cleveland, it reported, had fathered a child out of wedlock and refused to marry the mother, a widow named Maria Halpin. All hell broke loose as the story circulated across the country.

Cleveland did not deny the story. Asked by allies how to reply to the scandal, Cleveland said “Tell the truth.” Honesty? Weird.

More allegations piled on about Cleveland being a drunk who kept women handy near the Executive Mansion. Opponents claimed Cleveland was secretly being treated for a “malignant disease.” Cleveland’s once formidable image as a reformer took a beating.

Blaine had problems of his own. His opponents to dredged up a scandal involving Blaine in the 1870s. Blaine corresponded with a railroad executive, Warren Fisher. The letters were shady with a distinct smell of influence peddling. One correspondence ended with a request that Fisher burn the letter. Fisher apparently lost his matches and the letters went public.

Blaine also had to deal with a civil war of sorts in the Republican Party. A reform-minded faction, the Mugwumps, was out to clean up the party’s corruption. Blaine tried to straddle the battle lines between reformers and “Independent” Republicans, with mixed results.

There was no social media in 1884. It’s true. Instead, the campaigns staged massive parades, with costumed supporters and chants that might make great tweets.

“Blaine! Blaine! James G. Blain. The white-plumed knight from the state of Maine!” Republicans chanted.

“Blaine! Blaine! Jay Gould Blaine! The continental liar from the state of Maine!” Democrats retorted, including the Gould, a wealthy railroad magnate known for unscrupulous business practices. They also chanted “Burn the letter.”

The Evening Gazette was in Blaine’s corner.

“As the election is near at hand it behooves every Republican to be on guard and prepare for the final grand charge upon the enemy, that is to exterminate them for another four years,” we wrote for publication on Oct. 30, 1884.

We declared that Republican rule has been magnificent, and Americans have “never been as prosperous and happy as they are at present.”

Trade policy was a big issue. Cleveland favored free trade. Republicans favored protectionism, arguing free trade would help Britain at the expense of workers here. We urged readers to vote a straight Republican ticket.

It is part of “every true American’s duty to work for a ticket that favors the people of America, as against that which means help for England …”

But Blaine was damaged late in the campaign by a supporter, Rev. Samuel Burchard, who described Democrats’ heritage using the phrase “Rum, Romanism and Rebellion.” No, the event wasn’t at Madison Square Garden.

It angered Irish Catholics in New York, whose support Blaine courted.

Blaine narrowly lost New York and the election. Afterward, he wrote “the Lord sent upon us an ass in the shape of a preacher and a rainstorm, to lessen our vote in New York.”

In 1888, The Gazette picked Republican Benjamin Harrison. Our first winner.

(319) 298-8262; [email protected]

Opinion content represents the viewpoint of the author or The Gazette editorial board. You can join the conversation by submitting a letter to the editor or guest column or by suggesting a topic for an editorial to [email protected]