Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1878-05-02
WISCONSIN POLITICS.
A Well known Wisconain Democratic psiiti.
c'an writes his opinion TO the leading Demo,
cratic newspsp per OF Illinois.

clan writes his opinion 10 the leading Demo
cratic newspaper OF Illinois.
MADISON, Wis, April Ii. In q
former communication the statemen,
was made that Wisconsin was nat
urally republican, and that it was
only carried for Gov. Taylor 10 1875
by combination of interests anC
nationalities tina; could never be Sc
cured again. The figures were cit.
ed from the Legislative Manual" te
show that for eixteen consecutive
years the state had gone republican
at every gubernatorial election by
msJorities ranging from four hun.
dred and fifty four to twenty-thres
thousand six hundred and sixty -four
and that the average majority fol-
the whole period was nine thousand
and thirty-nine. This should settle
the political complexion of the state
without farther comment; but to set
the matter at rest beyond the neces.
sity OF future recurrence, attention
is called to the fact that the state is
new,that large majority of its lead.
ing citizens, and substantially all oil
its public men, were born in other
states, and that the immigration 10
Wisconsin was drawn almost entire.
ly from the republican states of the
union and Europe.
The New England element Of it's
population is numerically large and
politically dominant outside of the
cities and communities controlled by
Germans. The New Highlander, as
most known, carries with him into
all ATTITUDES fixed habits of thought
and political action and ia prosely
ting and aggressive wherever he
goes. He is always and at all TIM s
radical in politics and religion, and
SO universally weeded to the republ-
can party that individual exceptions
only prove the rule A large pro-
portion of the German population of
the state hated slavery in the past.
They dread Capitalization in the fu-
ture, and have morbid fear of some
curtailment or another of their indi :
vidual liberty, at some time by some
party or power. The radical, revol !.
utionary Germans fell readily into
the republican party lines in old
times, and have not yet, as class,
been fully convinced of the error of
their ways With this little glimpse
en- PEASANT of the character of con-
siderable portion of the population
of Wisconsin. your readers 10 other
states will better appreciate the log
ic of past political events in this,and
accept the force of figures which
have arrayed republican msjorities
here for so many years.
The assertion that Gov. TayIor's
election was secured by coalition
of factions bound together by DO on
during Interests or law of political
cohesion, can scarcely need proof.
The temperance men and the saloon
keepers soon quarreled. The various
nationalities became jealous and en-
vious of each other concerning the
distribution of spoils. The grangers
and the corporations of the state
wore set at loggerheads by the rail-
road legislation of 1874 As a con-
sequence, the state which had elect
ed him governor in 1873. by ma
jority of Is 375, on total vote of
one hundred and forty-one thousand
eight hundred and twenty-three
(l4l S23), went against him two
years thereafter(with the same as
sociates on the ticket for state off,
GERS as at the preceding eleet,on),
and elected his com pe,itor, Gov
Ludlngton, by majority of seven
hundred and ninety, on q popular
vote of one hundred and sixty nine
thousand five hundred and thirty
eight (l69 $3.50.
That this sudden revolution was
due to secession from the "reform,
com blnation of 1873 is we'll under
stood at home. 1t was largely but
not wholly traceable to the active
of the railroads, whose
hostility the governor incurred by
his manner of enforcing the(to them)
obnoxious legislation of 1874. To
substantiate this the returns of Mil.
Yankee city will alone suffice. Be-
ing the homo of Hon. Alexander
Mitchell, president of the Chicago,
Milwaukee and st. Paul Railway
company the head quarters of that
enterprisIng and powerful corpora
ton. and having within it's limits in
addition to its main offices the work
shops, machine shops, car factories,
depots,and elevators of the company
each of which gave employment to
hundreds OF men, it would naturally
reflect at the polls the wishes and
sentiments of the railroads and give
expression to their indignation. 1t
would also follow that the wards
having the largest proportion of ls-
borers and railroad employees within
their precincts would show the great
est changes from 1873 to 1876 And
this was precisely what occurred To
illus rate the First, Fourth, Fifth,
Sixth. Eighth, Tenth, Eleventh,
Twtl th and Thirteenth wards con-
tain about all railroad employees and
laborers. In 1873 these wards gave
Gov. Taylor an aggregate majority
of four Thousand and eighty elk votes
at quiet orderly election free from
excitement, and with little or no ex-
pectation of his election. La 1875
bali OF these usually democratic
wards gave'majorities for Ludington
and Taylor's majority 10 the aggre.
gate was but two hundred and two
"a falling off of three Thousand
eight hundred and eighty four votes
in two years.
In other railroad centres the re-
salt was the same. Portage City
in 1873 gave Taylor a majority of
131. In 1875 Ludington carried it
by I votes. Watertown, La Crosse,
Prairie du Chen, Green Bay, Fond
du Lae,J anesville and all places hsv-
ing railroad interests at stake, show
ed marked changes which were d.
rectly chargeabIe to railroad infu-
ence. The campaign was hotIy con
tested from beginning to end and
every appliance -esorted to TO swell