The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1874-11-06
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It Look, Bigger than it Really is.


As q general rule very few persons
properly appreciate the real significance
Of o political rcvulsion like that Of Tues
day last. We are not inclined to belittle
itwhon VIC say that to most people 1t ap-
pears much more sweeping than II really
Is. A few thousand votes here and there
effect great political changes, and those
who do not look below the surface imag.
Inc that an immense political or partisan
dlsintegrauon has taken place when such
Is not the case. We will illustrate what
we mean by reference to recent changes
in West Virginia. Onlya few years ago
the Republican party was in power in this
State. AS late as the year 1868 it elected
Governor STEVENSON over CAMDEN by q
vote Of 2O,O35 to 292lS. Two
years later the State passed into the
hands of the Democracy, Governor JACOB
receiving 2S;s85 votes to 2G,742 for Gov.
ernor STEVENSON. 1t will be seen that
while on apparently decided change had
been effected in the political status oil
West Virginia, yet the Republican vote
in 1870 was within 200 of.what II was in
1868. There had been no rCvulsion,
therefore, among the Republicans. The
explanation simply WAS that the "let up"
movement came into play and restored
the franchise to many who had been de.
prived oil In the year 1872, tho State
again changed its political complexion
by casting its vote for General GRANT,
and yet the vote for Mr.. GREELY was
several hundred larger than that cast for
Governor JACOB in 1879, at the time he
was elected by 2, 1923 majority over Cover.
nor STEVENSON. There had been no revul.
sion among the Democracy. More Of
them had voted with the party in the
hour of defeat than in the hour Of victory.
This same state OF things will be found
to characterize the vote cast In other
States. Take our neighbors over in
Ohio as On other illustration. In 1873
the Republican vote in Ohio was 2l3, III,
and this year it was 221 ,404, an increase
Of 1857. And yet most people are un-
der tho impression that because the De.
mocracy increased their plurality Of sos
in 1873 to a majority Of 1902 at the
election the other day, that therefore a
great revulsion-a perfect dissolution,
As It were, must have taken place among
the Republicans, The explanation is
simply that there is always floating and
reserve vote that is liable TO be called out
any year. Most people do not change
their politics. The vast majority of
voters vote with their party from year TO
year. That is, whenever they como to
the polls. Often times, however, thou
sands of them icel indifferent as TO the
result and do not come 10 the polls, and
this always gives the side an advantage
in whose favor the general political cur.
rent is setting. This fact is shown by
our West Virginia elections in August
and November in 1872. In August the
Democracy carried the State SO decidedly
as to obtain a majority Of 42 on joint bal
lot in the Legislature, and yet in Novem'
Der Gen. GRANT had something like
5000 majority in the State. The expla-
nation is that the Republicans turned out
and the Democracy did not, because the
current was setting against the latter, as
was shown by the October elections Of
that year.
As we said at the outset, we have NJ
disposition to belittle the Significance o
the vote Of Tuesday last. Our ColumnI
for months past bear witness that we havC
spprehendcd these results. We felt tina
our own dislike to the way things wcr
going was participated in by enough Re
publicsns 10 create very lukewarm feel
ing throughout the country. The DemoC
racy understood this feeling and mad
good use of it. They turned out will
elan, as the French say, while the Repub
licans were passive, In Ohio, for instance
the Democracy increased their vote from
2l4 525 in 1878 to 239, ,40G in October last
nearly three 10 one over the Republican
increase. This aggressiveness on the ont
side and Indifference on the other resulted
ina difference of 1900 votes in favor o
the Democracy, and made the result il
Ohio look much bigger than it is Il
many people who do not stop to inquir,
into the facts.