The Portland daily press., 1862-12-04
The Portland Daily Press has the largest
regular circulation of any daily paper in
the city.
How the Soldiers vote.

In speculating on the result ofthe late cleo
tions. much has been said as to the number OF
voters each party has sent to the wal Inc
Republican papers have claimed In many cases
where the Democrats have succeeded, tliat IL
n vote could have been obtained of the soldiers
absent from their homes, the result would have
been In favor of the Republic ms. In some oil
the Western States, where means have been
adopted to secure to the soldiers the privilege
of the elective franchise, this position has been
sustained.
The Washington Chronicle of the 10th ult.
gives reports of the votes of the Iowa and
Wisconsin soldiersobtaned from official sour
ces. We have not room for the whole article
or the tables of the votes as given in that pa
per. but the results are sufficient for our pres
ent purpose. The figures given in the table
of the Wisconsin vote are very suggestive
only one regiment, the oath, gave Democrat
ic majority. The rest gave overwhelming Re-
publican maiorities. Thirty-one regiments OF
infantry, seven batteries, and three cavalry;
regiments voted in favor of the administration
by majorities ranging from ninety-Dne hun
dredths TO five sixths of the whole vote.
In some regiments majorities are only given,
and the aggregate majorities stood Republicans
1929, to 2000 Democratic.
In Iowa the soldiers vote in the first repre-
sentative district was as follows: For the Re-
publican candidate, -2490; Democratic 553.
Second district-Republcan POPS; Democrat
ic s2S. Third district-Republican 224s; Dem
ocratic. 125. Fourth dstrict-Republcan
326e; Democratic. 1l36. Fifth district-Re-
publican, 2609; Democratic, 672. Sixth dis
trict-Republican,1 ,1214; Democratic, 212. The
aggregate of the aforementioned votes is as
follows; Republican, 14,SS5; Democratic,
1927.
The Chronicle gives special returns from
portion of the Iowa troops.
Bissells engineer corps-the regiment that
cut the famous road through the woods at Is
land No. 10, by which our steamers could pass
completely around the rebel batteries without
being seen, votes 307 Republican and three
Democratic:
Dubuque Battery y................."..... ~ IL
Silver Grays tpart company .........-..- Il
8Ith Infantry ..,..,......t.''......'..' 80 20
~ n
Bissell's Engineer Corps ..........-.,. 3o'
The modus operandi adopted 10 obtain the
vote is thus stated:
A commissioner is appointed for each regi-
ment. This commissioner simply takes the
poll books and records the votes. The regi-
ment appoint their own judges of election !;
and everything connected with the vote, ex-
cept the mere record of it, is in the hands OF
the soldiers themselves, and they can have
their election as fair and as well conductfq as
though they were in their own homes. Lhey
voted in October for members of Congress,
State officers, district judges and district at
torneys; and it is intended that they shall vote
for county officers in the ensuing spring.
The editor in the course of his article very
pertinently remarks:
The soldiers are neither Republicans nor
hgnocrats. They are patriots, and disregard
ry considerations, vote eaaay aid ar dtei3ra- inss,
tatingly on the side of the Government