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The Commoner.
.VOLUME 5, NUMDEU 4
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THE ELECTIONS OF 1905 wore full of sur
prising results. For the first time in six
teen years the democrats carried Ohio. James E.
Campbell, elected in 1880 was Ohio's latest demo
cratic governor. The Ohio republican convention
of 1905 was .dominated by George B. Cox, the re
publican boss of Cincinnati. Myron T. Herrick,
the present governor, was renominated by that
convention, and the convention refused to en
dorse railway regulation. The democratic con
vention nominated John M. Pattison, .and in
its platform explicitly declared in favor of
railway rate regulation. In addition to the re
volt against bosslsm and the desertions from the
republican party on account of its refusal to
endorse railway rate regulation, trie temperance
element very largely supported the democratic
ticket, while the anti-saloon league wits openly
arrayed against the republican nominee. The
democrats of Ohio elected fho governor, winning
also a iajority in the legislature.
THE VOTE IN CITY AND TOWN elections
throughout Ohio show enormous democratic
gains. Edward J. Dompsey, democratic nominee
for mayor of Cincinnati, was elected by 15,000
majority. Tom L. Johnson was elected by 15,000
of Cleveland by a majority of 12,000. In Toledo
the republicans were defeated, Brand Whitlock,
candidate for ' mayor on the city independent
ticket, being elected by two thousand. Many
Ohio towns that have not for years elected demo
crats to ofllco, gavo democratic majorities this
year.
C" EORGE B. COX, the republican boss at Cin
J cinnati, was very prompt with his ac
knowledgment of defeat, and issued a signed
statement in which he declared that while he
would continue to vote the republican ticket, he
would retire from active politics. Senator For
nicer in a statement given to the Associated
Press says that the results in Ohio were "clue
solely to local causes." He attributes the de
feat largely to the revolt against bossisra, and
is evidently anxious to make it appear that his
position on railway rate regulation did not con
tribute to the democratic victory.
REFERRING TO THE OHIO election, the As
sociated Press says: "The stato officers
and legislatures chosen yesterday will serve three
years instead of two as heretofore, the consti
tutional amendment for biennial elections pro
viding that the terms of officials elected at this
time shall expire on January 1, 1909, at which
time the state officers and legislators chosen in
November 1908, will assume office. The legis
lature chosen in 1908 will choose a United States
senator in succession to Senator Foraker. For
some time there was confusion on this point
and it was widely but incorrectly asserted that
the legislature just chosen would name Foraker's
successor."
CONCERNING THE RESULTS in New York,
the Associated Press says: "Bird S. Coler,
munipical ownership, and Joseph Bermel, re
publican and municipal ownership, olected respect
ively president of Brooklyn and Queens boroughs,
have membership on the city's board of estimate
.and apportionment which controls all expendi
tures of money. This is of great importance, giv
ing the municipal ownership league a voice in
the city's financial affairs and also in the grant
ing of franchises, which power also is lodged
in the board.. In addition to losing the board of
aldermen, Tammany lost twelve members of the
state assembly from New York county and the
assembly when it meets in Albany on Janu
ary 1 next, will be republican by more than three
t;o one. The democrats elected their candidates
for comptroller, president of the board of alder
man, president of Manhattan borough, president
of. Bronx borough, sheriff, clerk and register of
New York county and all the coroners in Man
hattan and the Bronx.. The following supreme
- court justices were elected in New York county:
Henry A. ' Glldersleeve, democrat; George L
-Tngraham, democrat and republican, and Joseph
E Newburger, democrat and republican. In
Brooklyn Joseph A. Burr, republican and mu
nicipal ownership league, was elected supreme
court justice. In Kings county the municipal
ownership league elected its" candidates for
sheriff, county clerk, register ana coroners. By
fusion with the republicans it elected a district
attorney in Queens county, in Brooklyn it
elected one, justice of the municipal court, and,
by fusion with the republicans, elected two mu
nicipal court justices in New York county."
THE RESULTS IN PENNSYLVANIA, like
those in Ohio, are revolutionary. William
H. Berry, now mayor of Chester, Pa., democratic
candidate for state , treasurer, was elected by
50,000. Mayor Berry's opponent was J. Lee .
Plummer, republican. Some idea of the tre
mendous victory won by Mayor Berry may be
obtained from an extract from a dispatch sent,
prior to election, to the Pittsburg Dispatch by
its Harrisburg correspondent, as follows: "Mr.
Plummer's personality cuts very little figure.
The revolt is aimed at the 'organization' that
nominated him. If he is defeated it will be per
haps the most notable case on record in Penn
sylvania of the overthrow of a republican can
didate against whom virtually nothing has been
proved, so far as he is personally concerned."
THE SITUATION IN Pennsylvania, aside
from the election of Mayor Berry, is ex
plained by a correspondent for the Chicago Record-Herald
in this way.: "Popular uprising as a
result of the recent bank-graft exposures placed
the powerful republican state machine, headed
by Senator Penrose, on the defensive. The re
publican leaders relied on the vote of Phila
delphia to pull their ticket through, Imt this
failed them in the case &f Plmnmer. The repub
licans elected a justice of the supreme court and
three justices of the superior court, the demo
crats electing their lone candidate for superior
court judge, nominated under the minority rep
resentation regulation. Both state tickets were
indorsed miscellaneously by minor parties."
N PHILADELPHIA the "city party's" plu
1 rality over the republican ticket was 43,000.
Mayor Berry, the democratic nominee for state
treasurer carried Philadelphia by 36,000. Con
cerning the Philadelphia contest, a correspondent
for the Chicago Record-Herald says: "The local
fight in Philadelphia was over county officers
sheriff, coroner and two county commissioners.
The candidates of the new city party also ap
peared on the tickets of the democratic, inde
pendent, Lincoln and prohibition parties. The
victory over the regular Republican ticket was
complete, the majorities being about 60,000 for
'each of the candidates. Many arrests were made
for attempted fraud at the polls, and in several
instances bloodshed resulted from' clashes be
. tween the reform and gang forces."
NEW YORK'S MUNICIPAL election is gen
erally described as "the hottest in history."
George B. McClellan was the regular democratic
nominee for mayor, being supported by Tam
many. William R. Hearst was the. nominee of
the municipal ownership party, while William
M. Ivins was the republican candidate. The mu
nicipal ownership party developed unexpected
strength. But in New York, as in Ohio, the popu
lar revolt against bossism was manifest. The
fight against District Attorney Jerome, who en
tered the contest as a petition candidate, and
was subsequently placed on the republican ticket,
was exceedingly bitter, and men of all parties
rushed to Mr. Jerome's support. .
ON THE FACE OF THE RETURNS, Mayor
' McClellan was elected by 3,400 votes, and
the Associated Press qaljs it "the. smallest plu
rality ever recorded for a successful mayoralty
candidate, and a result which might be readily
reyersed by a .recount- of. the ballots." Mr.
Jqrojne was elected, leaving .about, ten thousand ,
plurality.. Bird S. Coler the nominee for-
president of the Borough of Brooklyn nn ,
municipal ownership league ticket, was C
elected. In the new board or alderman t
.many will have but twenty-five members acahZ
thirty-eight republicans and nine mfiS
ownership members. cipdi
MR. HEARST ANNOUNCES that he will con
test Mr. McClellan's election, it I
claimed that thirty thousand Hearst men were
defrauded of their right to vote, that one thou.
sand election inspectors were guilty of illecal
acts, and that fraud and ballot-box stuffinc ram
erally was the order of the day, and all car
ried on for the purpose of defeating the municinal
ownership ticket. The ballot boxes in Greater
New York have been taken charge of under an
order from the supreme court. Mr. Ivins the
defeated republican candidate, has gone to Mr
Hearst's support, and insists that he was fairly
elected. The New York Evening Post and other
newspapers that were opposed to Mr. Hearst's
election, plainly, charge that he was defeated by
fraud. All wagers on the election have been held
up, and a post-election contest which promises to
be as heated as was the campaign itself, is in
progress.
TN RHODE ISLAND George H. Utter, repub
X lican, was elected governorover former Gov
ernor Garvin and the entire republican state ticket
was elected. The republicans captured both houses
of the legislature. In Nebraska republicans elected
a judge of the supreme court and two university
regents. Douglas county the chief county in
in the state, was carried by the republicans, but
the democrats made gains in the local contest in
some counties. In Maryland the proposed
suffrage restriction amendment was defeated by
a large majority. The state senate is democratic,
the lower house of the legislature is in doubt,
and the result will, it is said, depend upon the
official count. The democrats in Maryland
elected Chief Judge Harlan.
IN MASSACHUSETTS Curtis Guild, Jr., re
publican nominee for governor, was elected
by a plurality of 23,000 over Bartlett, his demo
cratic opponent. Eben S. Draper, republican
nominee for lieutenant governor, defeated Henry
M. "Whitney, democrat, by only 3,042. Draper's
small plurality was due to the fact that ho
took a decided stand against tariff reform
and lost the votes of many tariff reform re
publicans. In the legislature the democrats
gained three senators and one representative.
In San Francisco Eugene E. Schmitz, present
maybr, and union labor candidate was re-elected
by a majority of 15,000. Paul C. Barth, demo
cratic nominee for mayor, was elected in Louis
ville. Ezra Thompson, ' candidate of the anti
Mormon party, was elected mayor of Salt Lake
City. Charles. Bookwalter, republican, was
elected mayor of Indianapolis by ,00 plurality,
defeating Mayor Holtzman, democrat.
REFERRING TO THE results In Indiana, the
Indianajjolis correspondent for the Chicago
Record-Herald says: "The result of the election
throughout Ind.ana showed an unusual numbefc
of surprises, the most striking ofi which were the
complete overthrow of the republican ticket, in
Evansville and the success of the democratic
ticket in Richmond, in both of which cities the
democrats won on the issue of a moral reform.
In Richmond the democrat3 will be in power for
the first time in twenty years. State Senator
Edgar Durre was. defeated for mayor of Evans
ville by John W. Boehne. Practically the entire
ticket in Evansville was elected. Boehnes
plurality being about 1,700. Durre was made to
carry the odium of the administration of Mayor
Covert, who had permitted the city to run wide
open. The result in Richmond was no more
unexpected than in Evansville, as . the machine.
which backed Zimmerman, was. m disfavor, in
Fort Wayne, Hosey, democrat, was. elected over
White, republican. Another. striking-result was
the defeat of.Mayor, BidamanJn.-Terre.Haiito uy
James M. Lyons. -,The viatterviB-.a-municipal o
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