The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1868-10-08
Tho Connections Town Elections-Tho Drift
Of tho Popular Tide.

Of tho Popular Tide.
The returns of tho late town elections in
Connecticut show, in the summing up, hand
some republican majority on the aggregate
popular vote. In New Haven alone the dem
ocratic majority of two thousand two hundred
and fifty three of last April has dwindlod
down to majority of nine hundred and thirty
one, and the democrats are generally the losers
In the strong republican towns and in the
strong democratic towns. The arithmetician
of the special organ of our democratic Man.
haitian Club of ssbloated bondholders" gives
us an interesting explanation of these losses.
He says that in the towns where the democrats
were largely in the minority they allowed
these recent elections to 60 by default, and
that in other towns, where the democracy were
sure Of majority, they made no effort to
bring out their full vote, and that thus they
were the losers In both cases. But, to cut
short the argument this aforesaid arithmetl-
clan, who figured out great democratic gains in
q republican majority Of twenty thousand in
the late Maine election, fatty tells us that
these Connecticut town elections are Of 'no
sort Of consequence" This will not do. We
think they are very, very significant, and our
reasons for this opinion may be briefly stated.
In the Presidential year, and especially in
the heat Of the contest, State elections, county,
city and town elections, are all controlled by
the Presidential issue. Thus, 1t was Grant
against Seymour In the September State cleo
tions in Vermont and Maine, and both parties
went into those elections upon that idea.
The result in each of those States was accord
ingly accepted as pretty fair indication of the
drift of the popular tide, not only In Yer
mont and Maine, but throughout the States
identified with the cause OF General Grant
against the rebellion. The results of these
little town elections in Connecticut are sub
ject to the same Interpretation. The demo-
cratic leaders and managers understood, too,
the importance to their Presidential ticket Of
holding Connecticut In these town elections,
but their followers failed to come up to the
work. General apathy has evidently fallen
upon them. The energy and enthusiasm which
marked their contest for Governor Of last
April have died out, and 80 they have per-
mitted these October town elections to 90 by
default. But whyp 1t is because Of the
blundcrs Of the Democratic National Conven-
ton of July in regard to both the party ticket
and platform for the Presidency.
With the announcement of Seymour as the
democratic candidate on Wade Hampton's
revolutionary platform, the popular reaction
which in 1867 set in against the radicals was
arrested and the popular Union elements Of
the North which had rallied around the banner
Of Lincoln in 1864, against the democratic
Chicago pronuncidmiento that the war was q
failure, began to rally again around the banner
Of Grant. All our political elections since
held, from Maine to New Mexico and from
Colorado to Connecticut, tell the same story.
and we expect that from Pennsylvania Ohio,
Indiana, Iowa and Nebraska the popular YER
dict on Tuesday next will settle the question
Of the succession.