John Harrison Wilson, The life of Charles Henry Dana

Owing mainly to the very large majority by which Mr. Cleveland was elected, he had hardly been installed as governor when the press of the country began discussing his availability as the candidate of the Democrats for president. Among the earliest of his supporters were several Mugwump or moderate Republican journals, and this circumstance, together with the fact that he had not yet greatly distinguished himself in public affairs, caused the Sun to decry the suggestion as premature, and likely to prove injurious to the fortunes of the Democratic party. But the fact is, that while Dana had come to be generally regarded as a Democrat, he was above all an independent, who had his own views on every subject. Unfortunately, they were unfavorable to Cleveland from the first, but, so far as can be discovered, they were based purely upon considerations of experience and fitness, and not at all on personal grounds. Besides, it should be remembered that, in looking over the political field, Dana had come to the conclusion, months before the nominating convention, that Butler, of Massachusetts, would be the strongest candidate that the Democrats could nominate, and had published an elaborate article setting forth his merits as “a man of the most fertile mind, of steady courage, and unflinching fidelity to whatever duty he assumes.” In bringing him forward, he contended that the general's popularity with various outsiders and independent organizations not connected with either of the great parties would prove to be an important if not a decisive element of strength. Later, when Dana was reproached by his colleagues of the press for inconsistency in favoring one whom he had previously denounced in severe terms for his connection with the Republican party, and for the support he had given to Grant's administration, the editor, without the slightest regard to the mere appearance of consistency, declared that “things had changed very much ”