Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1875-11-03
The November Elections.

this time, llnSleau Vi u'"Aeii-' - - "
is way back from whence it came; AMI foI
a tidal wave of such original magnitude 1t
did not STAY great while. When 1t was
a coming guest, republicans did not wei
come it, but they make their hospitality
good by speeding its parting
The significance Of last falls elections
was that \ great number of the thinking
men who had before that been republicans
had become disguised with untultliled
promises of economy and good govern
nent, and had made up their minds to see,
a, the only alternative. what the demo-
Gratis would do if put into power. The
result was an overwhelming victory
throughout the north. Then was the
opportunitv for the democratic party
TO prove itself faithful in the small thing
rivcn it. By 50 doing. it would have
,,ained the confidence of the great body of
in1cpnn,lcnt voters, and have gone on to
success in the coming presidential cam
paign.
Nowhere except under the lead of lilden
in Newly ork however, has that party shown
itself in principle OF action worthy of the
success attained, and the outcome Is that
nowhere, except in New York, has 1t re-
t,inod the ground won. The imitation
schemes to which it lent itself in Ohio and
its display of u large part Of the original
sin that so burdens it, there and elsewhere,
has gained the republican party chance
to make fight against it. The blow the
rcplblicans received last fall sobcred them
and brought them to Il realizing SENSE of
thcr'lost condition unless they went &c
work with IN intention of doing something
Il, we'll rs promising many things. Into
the contests Of this fall, therefore they en-
tered with good candidates and with IN
evident repentance of former sins and
intention to do better hereafter.
Yesterdays elections are Of great en-
coura~emcnt to those who do not believe
that a Democratic success would accom-
plish reforms, and that earnest effort with
in the Republican party will accomplish
them: in fine, to those who, looking 1t
the two great parties as they are, the ma
terial of each and the natural tendencies
of each, believe that through the Rcpubli-
can organization there is the better hope of
good government.
Massachusetts, which last fall elected 4
democratic governor by seven thousand
majority now chooses Alexander III. Rice
to the rubernatorial chair over Castor the
present democratic incumbent, by 4 plu-
ralitv of j16O. The election there was
complicated by the running of John J..
Baker on prohibition platform, by the
Labor Reform candidaturc of Wendell
Phillips and by widespread discomfort
ut the blunder in not having nominated
Charles Francis Adams. Mr.. Rice is a
very nice sort of man, and an honest man
but not any better in either respect than
his democratic competitor and his success
IS due to the fact that when Massachusetts
up her mind to be counted in any way as
a Democratic State. The prohibition vote
WIS not large, a majority Of the sensible
men of that persuasion having come to
the conclusion that the license law enacted
last year should have fair trial and thai
its failure on such trial is the only thing
that will make the execution of a prohib-
tory law in the future effective Gov
Talbot who was killed off by the rum re-
publicans last fall himself heartily supper
ted Mr.. Rice, as Rice personally supported
Talbot last year, and a few such men
rs Talbot saved the prohibitionists
from voting this fall in body in
such 4 way rs to rctaliatc for the
way in which they were served last fall
The remainder of the republican Safe
ticket goes in by round majority. The
remarkable feature of the voting is tie
totally unexpected way in wich various
towns have voted, some returning large
gains for the republicans, while in others
II heavy vote has been thrown for some Of
the independent candidates. The lesson
is that independent voting is getting to be
remarkably common, and that the way,
and the only way, for the present republic
can success to be made a prophecy for the
future is to deserve, by candidates and
principles and full determination to put
the latter in practice. the suffragcs Of
honest and thinking men, who do not tie
TO the party name.
New York had two excellent tickets to
choose from. Gov. Tildcn, whatever may
have been his political sins in former DAYS,
to-day stands rs the best representative of
that large body in his party which really
desires honest government aLl 4 sound
currency. He has fought and is fighting
the canal ring in earnest and it is that
which has saved the democratic ticket
with John Bigelow (who is a republican
if anything) ut its head from utter defeat.
The immense democratic majority Of last
year has been largely cut down by the
widespread distrust which the general
course Of that party during the past year
has created and Rigelow's majority over
+. w. Seward. for Secretary of State, will
be small. We DO no. doubt that the rcpub-
lican vote was somewhat increased by the
hostility of the canal ring to Tillen, but
this cannot explain the great decrcasa in
the democratic majority. We have no re-
turns from New York city but from the
way in which the state has gone, srlrmise
that Tammany is defeated in the local
election there. Whether John Morrisscy
Is elected state senator over the Tamma-
NJ Fox is unknown at the present writing
one horn of the dilemma is as bad us the
other. The alliance between the republic
cans and John Morrissev is far from 4 ho-
Is one and its only excuse is that Tamma-
nv rule is az bad rs bad can be-
Pennsylvania which elected such 4 lot
of democratic congressman last year now