Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1873-01-08
From the New York Time.
Gen. Grani's Vote.
THE REPUBLICAN STRENGTH IN the NATION.

THE REPUBLICAN eIhENdIH IN IiL NAIlpH
The Republican party carried every
State in the Union but six Gen. Grant
as its candidate, received three hundred
electoral votes, against siKty.six, scattered
among Democrats and Liberals its popu
lar majority was 759, l37, being nearly
half a million (il9,5I9) more than il
1865 and its total vote was 3,592,9ei
being an increase Of 579,796 over the vote
of 1865. When, on the second morning
after election, we estimated Grants popular
majority at over 100000, some Of our
contemporaries limited that we had allowed
our enthusiasm TO afoc; our judgment
The result, as stated then, was regarded as
simply incredible. Yet il will be seen that
we we're 10000 votes behind the facts.
Shortly after the election, the principal
organ OF the Democracy gave great prom.
inence to a series Of calculations going to
show that the increase in Grants vote over
1868 was not as great as the increase in the
population required We discreditod these
calculations at the time The complete re-
turns show them to have been grossly er-
roneous. The increase Of population ac-
cordine to the census Of 1870, is at the
rate Of 2.23 per cent, or 500 per cent for
the four years from 1868 to 1872. Gen.
Grant received ia 1865, 3Ol3,lSS votes.
Calculating by the percentage Of increase
in population, be ought to have had in 1872,
26S, 776 more votes than in 1868.
As matter of fact, he received $40, 796
more votes than in 1868; but Of this num-
Der 2i0,Gj0 we're cast by the States Of
Florida, Mississippi, Texas and Virginia,
which cast no popular vote in 1865. His
increased vote, therefore, in the States
which voted four years previously was $780,
2G6, or T0,490 more than it would have
been had his vote increased no more than
the population.
Those gentlemen who have been soothing
their minds with the theory that Gen.
Grant was elected not by the number who
voted for him, but by the number who were
opposed to him and did not vote at all, will
have to abandon their efforts at consolation.
They will find that had the Democratic
candidate poled the full strength Of 1868,
with the addition Of the natural percentage
Of increase in population, he would still
have been beaten by majority Of over
six hundred thousand. The complete re-
turns fully establish the correctness of the
position taken by the Times after the Bal.
timore Convention, that more votes were
lost than made by the Endorsement Of the
Cincinnati candidate.
Ia the National Legislature, the strength
Of the Republican party fully equals its
strength in the country. 1t will have q
more than two.thirds majority in the House
Of Representatives and in the Senate and
it is thus in position to carry out without
embarrassment, its pledges to the people.
In the several States, it Is in full pos
session Of the Governments Of twenty-three
of the thirty-seven States, aud 10 partial
possession of FIVE more, while the Democ.
racy have but nine in all. OF the States
with divided Governments, Indiana and
New Jersey are unquestionably Republi-
can on a popular vote, while, Of the States
with the Democratic Governments, two
Virginia and Delaware--were carried by
the Republicans on the electoral and Con-
gressional vote.