.VOLUME 4, .NUMBER 17,
12
The Commoner,
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THE LESSON OF 1904 s
' Tho Commoner haa pointed out tho
(necessity for faithful adjieronco to
tho principles of tho democratic par
ty. It has Insisted that a victory which
would botray tho people, as they woro
botrayod by tho victory of 1892, would
bo more disastrous to tho party than
defeat, because without accomplishing
anything for tho country it would
leave tho party weaker for futuro
contests. It has shown that a party
must desire something more important
than tho distribution of patronago to
bo entitled to public connaenco. The
last tlmo patronago was dispensed
among democrats it corrupted and led
out of the party a largo proportion of
those who received tho patronage
tho party can well pray to bo spared
from another distribution of that kind.
But tho reorganizes aro constantly
asserting that to win is tho import
ant thing to bo considered, and that
they, tho reorganizors, hold the key
to success. Whilo this is a low piano
upon which to discuss a question, The
Commonor is prepared to meet them,
oven upon this plane, and to show
by experience bitter experience that
the Glovelandizing of tho democratic
party would mean complete disaster
rather than victory. Let us review
this experience.
In 1892 Mr. Clovoland carried twenty-two
states, as follows: Alabama,
Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware,
Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana,
Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mis
sissippi, Missouri, Now Jorsoy, tfew
York, North Carolina, South Carolina,
Tennesseo, Texas, Virginia, West Vir
ginia and Wisconsin, and received
olght electoral votes out of nine from
California, five out of fourteen from
Michigan, one out o throe from
North Dakota, and one out of twenty
threo from Ohio. Ho had a popular
plurality over tho republican candidate
of 400,000. Ho wont into the office on
the 4th of March, 1893, and immedi
ately surrounded himself with a gold
standard cabinet, largely selected by
the great corporations, and began his
'system of proscription against tho
democrats who represented thoir con
stituents upon the money question.
'lie refused to call congress together
in extraordinary session to consider
tho tariff question tho issue that had
been paramount in tho camnalEn
but at tho request of the financiers
called congress together in August to
consider a bill framed by John Sher
man a year before a bill indorsed by
Wall streot and supported by a larger
percentage of tho republican party
than of tho democratic party. To se
cure the passage of this bill he used
promises of patronago, and .rewarded
"with official position those who delib
erately betrayed thofr contltuents on
tins issue.
his financial policy was mo most im
portant item of his administration.
Tho Wilson bill had been passed (it
became a law without nrs signature)
during tho summer, but IC had not
been in operation long enough to be
come the paramount issue in that cam
paign. What was tho result of the
election in 1894? Mr. Cleveland was
president; his influence was dominant
in tho party, in both senate and house,
and he had control of tho national
committee through which ho distri
buted his patronage.
Below will bo found tho states with
tho majorities given, at that election.
Tho figures are taken from the New
York World Almanac of 1S35.
State Dem. Rep.
Alabama r7,582
Arkansas 48724
California . 1,206
Colorado 7,368
Connecticut ......'.... ; 17,688
Delaware ; -1- 1,221
Florida 25,300
Georgia 21,164
Idaho 2,375
Illinois .... ....... 123,427
Indiana .. ...... 44,673
Iowa '.. 79,396
Kansas ' 30,368
Kentucky " 1,047
Louisiana l..42,082
Maine ..... 38,978
Maryland '.;.. 2,696
Massachusetts 65,377
Michigan .... ;.. ...... 106,392
Minnesota ..... .60,013
Mississippi 15,561
Missouri 3,044
Montana ....... 12,771
New Jersey 48,728
Now Hampshire ...... 12,532
New York.............. v 159,108
North Carolina 20,751
North Dakota ; 14,369
Ohio 137,087
Oregon 15,001
Pennsylvania 241,397
Rhode Island ; 6.307
South Carolina 22,229
South Dakota 13,833
Tennessee 748
Texas 53,427
Utah 1.821
Vermont .. 28,521
Virginia 39,726
Washington 18,995
West Virginia 13,359
Wisconsin 53,900
Wyoming 3,184
Nebraska (fusion) .... 3,202
Nevada (fusion-silver) 1,362 .'
On congressional vote.
Populist and republican fusion.
In eight states where no state elec
tion was held the vote on the con
gressional ticket' is taken. From this
table it will be seen that 'onlv eleven
states out of the foriy-five Alabama,
By this subserviency to Wall street fSSS S& ""lft?".
ami hv hie in.i,, ,.. ..., """". miMioounii, euvin uaro-
,, ... u.muud WUUUUIO IU1U
negotiations with syndicates, he made
tho money question tho paramount is
.suo, and thore is much reason for be
lieving that ho advised that attompt
at tho coorcion of borrowers which,
.carried too far, resulted in the panic
of 1893.
In the fall of 1894 wo had a congres
sional election throughout tho Union
and a state election ui most of the
states. Mr. Cleveland's administration
was the issue in that campaign, and
Heart Disease
may be cured by strengthening the
heart nerves, enriching the blood arid
improving the circulation with Dr.
Miles' Heart Gure. Safe and sure.
Dk, Miles Muhoal Go?. EikhlS? in,?7' New York, with Mr. Hill n n,Q ,,:
.date for governor, went republican
lina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia
were carried by the democrats, and of
the eleven only one, California was a
northern state, and the democratic ma
jority there was only 1,206. Missouri
went republican for the first time since
the war; Kentucky, represented in the
cabinet by John G. Carlyle, went re
publican by 1,047 on tho congression
al vote, and elected five republican
congressmen out of eleven. Maryland
went republican on the congressional
vote. Illinois went republican bv a
larger majority than it did in 1900
Michigan went republican by over a
hundred thousand, and Ohio went re
publican by a majority of 137 000
Connecticut, the home 'of Mr. Cleve
land's friend. Bonedict. went renubll
o.nn by 17.000. New .Torsav. Mr ni
land's present homo, wont republican
by 159,000, and Pennsylvania gave a
republican majority of 241,000. Iowa
gave a republican majority of 79,000,
Massachusetts of 65,000, Minnesota of
60,000, Wisconsin of 53,000, Indiana of
44,000 and Maine of 38,000.
The sum of all tho majorities cast
for the democratic ticKet in the eleven
states only amounted to 300,744, whilo
the majorities cast for tno republican
ticket in thirty-two states amounted to
1,383,277. The net republican majority
was, therefore, 1,082,533; this was
nearly twice as large a popular ma
jority as the republican ticket had in
1896, when Mr. Cleveland helped the
republicans, and was about 20 per cent
larger than the popular majority of
tho republicans in 1900.
The crushing character of this de
feat can be realized when we remem
ber that it was a change from nearly
400,000 in 1892 to 1,082,533 in 1894.
The fusion majority of 3,202 in Ne
braska can not beconsidered a Cleve
land majority, because the Cleveland
democrats ran a ticket of their own
against the fusion ticket. Neither can
the silver majority of 1,362 in Ne
vada be counted as a Cleveland vic
tory, for it was antagonistic to Mr.
Cleveland. The republican majority
in North Carolina was secured by a
fusion between the republicans and the
populists, but both of them opposed
Mr. Cleveland. S'o mucn for the ma
jorities cast in the states.
According to the World Almanac
above referred to, the congress elected
in 1892 stood 219 democrats to 127
republicans, a majority of 92. The
congress elected in 1894 contained only
104 democrats, a falling off of 115, or
more than half,, while the republicans
had 244 members, nearry double what
they had in the congress before. There
were twenty-four states which did
not elect a single toinocratlc jepre
senative to congress: Colorado, Con
necticut, Delaware, Idaho, Indiana,
Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Min
nesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada,
New Hampshire, New Jersey, North
Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South
Dakota, Vermont, Washington, West
Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming. In
fact, outside of the southern states,
there were, all told, only eighteen
democrats elected to congress (Mis
souri being counted with the northern
states she elected five democratic
members to congress out of fifteen)
and of these one came from Califor
nia, two from Illinois, one from Mas
sachusetts, five from New York five
from Missouri, two from Ohio and two
from Pennsylvania.
The reorganizes think that their
cause is popular in New England, New
York and New Jersey, and yet when
the people had a chance to express
themselves on Cleveland's poliVv the
democrats only elected six congress
men (five in New rork and one in
Massachusetts) in all that territory
If it is thought that Cleveland is pop
ular in the states between the Shto
river and the Missouri. let it b r
numbered that the democratic pj
did not carrv a single state in that
section in 1894, and excluding Mis
souri, sent only four members to con
gress although in 1892 he carried ut
nois Indiana and Wisconsin, and se-
rSnssr vote in r &
leaden!,, in 1894 and what K n
since done to make him T)ODiilnr if
the rynrwmfeers insist that tariff re
formfc, the issue now. why did Z .tit
reform save the nartv In 1804? if
nrence for Mr. OlevAlnml. whv dJa
"v not show it in ln4? T ho I
Popular now because ho helped the
republican ticket in 1896, how can thaC
act be expected to make him popular!
with both republicans and democrats?
Why would tho republicans support
Mr. Cleveland in preference to a re
publican who agrees with them on
every question? And why would the
democrats feel more kindly to Mr
Cleveland now, since he has openly
helped the republican, party, than
they did in '94 when they opposed hia
principles, but still recognized him as
a member of the party 7 If the trust
question is to be the issue, how can
the reorganizes expect to hold the
votes of both the friends and the op
ponents of the trusts? And if imper
ialism is to be tho issue, how can they
expect to poll more votes with a gold
bug anti-Imperialist who was silent in
1900 than with a silver anti-Imperialist
who fought imperialism in 1900? How
can they expect to come nearer to vic
tory with a man who Is in harmony,
with the democratic position on a few
questions than with one in harmony
with the democratic position on all the
questions?
The reorganizers are always talking
about the independent vote, but it
must be rememborea that the inde
pendent vo.te is of no value unless it
is added to the democratic vote. The
election of 1894 shows (and It was
Mr. Cleveland's last appearance as a
democrat) that he coufcr not get
enough independents to make up for
the democrats who were alienated.
The democrats who think more of
"success" than they do of democratic
principles can find food for thought in
the history above, r.eviewed. If they
want,. victory, let them learn from the
failures of, the past that right is, aft
er all, expedient! The democratic
party was defeated, it is true, in 189G,
yet after four ysears of defeat it was
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