The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1871-10-20


the Senate and many more in the House.
The County Election.
The official returns of the election, for
this county, as made up by tho return
judges, appear in another column and
verify our statement of last week, made
in advance Of the official count, that the
Democratic majority in this county on
the State ticket was about 1900, and
that all the candidates upon the Demo-
cratic county ticket were elected. The
exact majority for MoCANDLEss for
Auditor General is 1776, or but 2i below
1900, and this fine majority is obtained
upon a vote which was necessarily light
in the county. In 1868 the total vote
polled for Presidential Electors in Co.
lumbia county was, 6l65, upon which
the majority for SEYMOUR Electors was
1869. Now, the total vote polled is but
478S, upon which the majority for Nc
CANDLES should bo only 1i5l if IL bore
the same relation to the whole vote that
the majority Of 1868 bore to the whole
vote Of that year. In other words, our
present majority runs 1926 above the
number required by the standard of
1868. or course It is not possible to Sc
cure full vote of the people in years
when neither President or Governor
are chosen, but in the present instance
our increase of party strength is so great
that even a light vote but slightly af-
fects the magnitude of our majority.
1t is evident that upon full vote, this
year, our majority would have exceeded
1000.
AS to the other majorities for nomi-
nees upon the Democratic ticket, they
vary greatly in amount. Commencing
with majority of 469 for Mr.. LAMoN
for County Treasurer, we rise to one OF
951 for Mr.. BRYsoN for District Attor-
ney, and then successfully to one OF
1888 for Mr.. SHAFFER for County
Commissioner, to one of 1895 for Judge
DERR for reelection, and lastly, to one
of 1865 for Capt. BRocKwAY for Repre-
sentative. But while these majorities
vary very greatly in magnitude they
yet show distinctly the fact that a clear
majority Of the voters of the county
have decided that volunteering shall
stop in our local elections, or at all
events shall not be successful if tried.
The value of this decision for the future
is vastly above any personal interest in
volved in this election. For instance,
in the great elections of 1872 for Presi-
dent and Vice-President, for Governor
of the State and for Members of Con-
gress, our party must not be divided
and troubled by local contests but must
be thoroughly united and concentrate
all its efforts upon the work before it.
But this most vital object can only be
secured by distinct understanding by
friend and foe that nominations are to
be respected, and that opposition to
them shall be discouraged and defeated.
1t is satisfactory to observe upon the
face of the returns that the State ticket
was fully and faithfully supported in
every district, as was also the Demo-
cratic nominee for Representative, and
that the opposition in our ranks to the
nominees for Associate Judge and
County Commissioners was compare
lively slight. But we cannot understand
why any intelligent, sincere Democrat
could give his support to an open and
active Republican for the Office of Dis
trict Attorney. There was no question
as to Mr.. BRYsoN's nomination, and he
was quite as competent as his Republi-
can opponent for the duties of the Office.
He has respectable majority; it will
do as it stands, but it should have been
more.
1t was expected, land the result shows
the factl that Mr.. LAMoN would be
cut more than any of the other candi-
dates, and his majority made the lowest
upon the list and in fact if he had not
received some independent support from
Republicans who knew and esteemed
him in Bloomsbury, Scott, Berwick,
&C., his majority would have been still
further reduced and placed at low
figure. In his case the regularity or
fairness of his nomination was assailed
and we are bound to believe that
large number of Democrats voted
against him for that reason, resting
under the impression that some wrong
had been done to his compel titor in the
County Convention. 1t was unfortunate
that the case admitted of controversy
and was liable to be misunderstood.
But in fact the nomination was entirely
regular ; was made exactly according
to the rules, and the votes of the Locust
delegates, (which were complained off,
received strong endorsement from the
people Of that township at the recent
election. To us, the question whether
one man or another shall be chosen to
a county Office is not one Of deep inter-
est. We believe it to be the duty Of
a party newspaper to give all candidates
impartial treatment before nominations
are made, but after they are made to
support the ticket against assaults from
any quarter, and this duty which we
have performed for the regular nomi-
nees in the late canvass we would have
performed for their rivals If the latter
had been placed in nomination. And
this duty we shall at all times perform.
1t will be seen from the returns that
the vote in this county was almost
unanimous in favor of Constitutional
Convention. The State ticket mostly
used by volunteer candidates or their
supporters it seems had not a Conven-
tion vote upon it, so that the vote on
the Convention question is not full.
This arose from inadvTtance-was an
oversight-and does not indicate hostili-
ty to reform. The Convention is car
ried by a very heavy majority in the
State.
The Carlisle Volunteer sums up the
cause of the defeat of the Democratic
party in that county and the consequent
loss of the State Senate. 1st, the "new
departure "-2d, voters were bought up