In four years, Cleveland sent in 301 veto messages, and in addition he practically vetoed 109 bills by inaction.

Of 2042 private pension bills passed by Congress, 1518 were approved and 284 became laws by lapse of time without approval.

The positive results of the President's activity were thus inconsiderable, unless incidentally he had managed to correct the system which he had opposed.

That claim, indeed, was made in his behalf when "The Nation" mentioned "the arrest of the pension craze" as a "positive achievement of the first order.'" But far from being arrested, "the pension craze" was made the more furious, and it soon advanced to extremes unknown before.* * March 19, 1887.
The Democratic politicians naturally viewed with dismay the approach of the national election of 1888.

Any one could see that the party was drifting on to the rocks and nobody deemed to be at the helm.