Daily Los Angeles herald., 1883-11-10

the HERALD.
The why and wherefore.
The references are 80 frequent to the
phenomenal majority of Gov. Cleveland
last year, In the Republican press, that
II may be as well to state some OF the
facts which explain that result That
campaign was, in truth, a huge joke.
Our esteemed contemporary, the Times,
in It's issue OF yesterday, said that Cleve-
lands majority was upwards of two
hundred thousand This is gross mis-.
statement of an easily ascertained fact,
to begin with. Gov. Cleveland received
635. .3IS votes to Folger's 342,464 and
the 40. s97 votes cast for the Prohibition
and Greenback candidates. Thus, as q
matter OF record, Gov. Cleveland's ma
jority was l5l,957. while his plurality
over Folger lacked fraction of being
10000. SO much for one loose and ILL.,.
advised claim.
But to properly understand these fig.
ures II must be borne In mind that, not
withdrawing the increase Of voters in
the last two years, the vote of the State
OF New York, in the election of 1882,
fell off l7l,376 as compared with the
vote in 1880. That this decrease was
distinotively Republican is shown by
a glance at the figures. The Dem-
ocratic vote in the election Of 1880
was 53i, i,5ll, while in 1882 il was 535, 3lS
"a trihing gain. When we come to the
Republican vote, in the same year, how
ever, we encounter frightful sliscrep-
ancy. As against the sos, 544 votes
polled by the Republicans, in 1880, they
only polled 342, ,464 in lss2--a little fall.
ing off Of only 2l3,0s0 votes of disgusted
Republicans, who stayed ut home.
OF course. In view of such nn exhibit.
It Is the morest nonsense to talk about a
comparison Of figures between last year
and this.
The true subject Of inquiry is as to
what caused the unprecedented apathy
Of the New York Republicans in 1882,
and thereby hangsa tale as significant as
was ever told in American politics.
To begin at the beginning, when Ros-
coe Conkling resigned his seat in the
United States Senate. in conjunction
with "Me Too Tom Platt," Arthur hied
himself to Albany, in company with
Plat, to lobby for a reelection of the
resigning Senators. Gov. Cornell, who
had heretofore been one of the stslwart
triumvirate who ruled the Republican
party in the Empire State, betrayed his
friends, Conkling and Arthur. AT a
critical stage of the Senatorial fight the
famous "stepladder" episode was sprung
upon Platt. II was sneaking and dis
graceful in the extreme, 'but il worked
up into the mosaic OF Republican treach.
cry, which retired Conkling and Platt to
private life.
But that was merely the initial chap.
ter of the party vendetta, all, like the
assassination Of Garfield by Guiteau,
strictly within the Republican lines
The Half Breeds, having overthrown
Conkling and Platt, dominated the en-
suing State Convention. In fatal mo-
ment they placed Hustled, the chief OF
the step.ladder brigade, on the Repub'
lican ticket, and Hustled was mercilessly
slaughtered at the polls by the Stal'
warts.
That was inning number one.
The return game was played when Ar
thur interfered to prevent the re-nomina-
tion of Cornell for Governor of New
York, forcing his Secretary of the Treas
ury, Folger. upon the Republicans of that
State. Here was the opportunity of the
Half Breeds to return the blow which
had laid Hustled low. There had been
spositively scandalous circumstances in
the sisagaces>of Cornell, even forged
kilograms being mixed up in the bust
ness. As consequence, elS,0s0 Re-
publican voters staid away from the polls
when Folger won the Gubernatorial
nomination with his loaded pohti'
cal dice, with the result OF Governor
Cleyeland's unprecedented plurality.
The election with whose returns peo.
Pile are yet busy was introduced by a
flourish of trumpets on the harmony key
note. Gen. Sharpe, the Stalwart Chair
man of the Republican State Central
Committee, resigned, in order that
there should be no impediment to the
Republican love.feast. All sections OF
the party joined in one supreme effort
and when the full figures reach us (and,
by the way, the Associated Press seems
to studiously withhold theml, it will be
found that the Republican party OF New
York has polled heavy vote, and that,
in square, stand.up fight, the Demo
Gratis have carried New York on the pop
ular vote, notwithstanding Kilkenny
cat fight in their own ranks, in the cities
of New York and Brooklyn.
Democratic dissension was rife in New
York, as in Ohio, during the late
election. In the one State, as in the
other, a substantial Democratic victory
was achieved Notwithstanding these dis,
sensions. With three separate Demo.
cratic organizations. cutting and slash
ing each other in New York City, and
sacrificing the interests of the State
ticket to their local purposes and re-
venges, the Empire State has come
grandly to the front as an immovable
Democratic State, and the controlling
factor in the next Presidential election:
The silly twaddle about an "off' year
is unworthy of even a contemptuous
notice. This is the year in which par
ties enter into very death grapple, in
order to test their bone and sinew. AS
the clouds rise from the ensanguined
field, the Democrats are found to have
lost nothing that rightfully belongs to
them, and to have captured Virginia
from the Administration, with the re-
suit of destroying the Republican con-
troll OF the United States Senate through
its creature Malone, who will be quick
ly consigned TO private life,