New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-11-09
W1RNER NILLERS DEFEAT.

Mr.. Miller has been beaten by Governor Hill
by plurality which is far from being as large
as the forces at his command might have made
it natural to expect, but which is nevertheless
decisive. The profound regret with which the
Republicans of this State will receive this an
nouncement will temper somewhat their JOY
in the election of General Harrison. Mr. Mil
Ter had aroused the enthusiasm and sympathy
Of the party to an extra ordinary degree by the
boldness and honest drectness of his canvass.
and many will find il hard to reconcile them
selves to his overthrow.
They should remember, however, that while
Mr.. Miller lid not succeed in Wrestling the
State government from the Democrats, his can
vass has had results which may be truthfully
described as Of far greater Importance He
rendered momentous service to the Repub-
lican party when he inaugurated his speaking
campaign in the course of which he traversed
fifty out Of the sixty counties Of the State. This
vas novelty in New-York pOlitcs-an adapta-
ton of Western methods. 1t is an old saying
that the Republican vote can be brought out
in this State only by a speaking campaign. Mr..
Miller determined to test this, and so set out
to stump the State with thorOughness which
no New YOrk candidate for Governor, so far
as we know, has ever equalled. But he was
not elected, says some one. True, but we must
look beyond the result OF his own canvass t.
get at the full effect of his work. This was
seen in the crowded meetings everywhere, the
awakening of large numbers Of voters who
mi ght otherwise have remained passive, and
all the other signs of intellectual stimulation,
eliminating in a very large vote. General
Harrison reaped the benefit of this, though Mr..
Miller himself was not able to do so, because
a combination of especial virulence was d.
rected particularly against him.
There was another very important, in fact,
vital, feature of Mr.. Mller's canvass, where
again he was not able to share the advantage
it gave General Harrison. This was the way
in which our candidate for Governor by the
logic of his position drove a large proportion
Of the third-party Prohibitionists back into the
Republican ranks The Prohibitionists started
out in this campaign with the avowed inteh-
ton of getting million votes. They thought
the silly Free Wbiskey" cry would help them.
The High-Lccnse plank of the Saratoga Con-
vention was less aggressive than they had ex-
pected to find it, and they tried 20 make cap
ital out of that. They were quite as much
astonished as the saloon-keepers to see Mr..
Miller build his own platform on the Tenn
perance question, and take his stand upon it,
prepared to accept defeat, if need be, for the
sake of his principles. The more sensible mem
bers of the Prohibition party saw the folly and
wickedness of electing a saloon-keepers attor-
ney over such man, and came back to the Re-
publican ranks in large numbers. We have
no doubt that the completed returns will show
such falling off from the Prohibition vote in
1887 as to prove that if the vote had merely
remained at that figure even without any of
the increase the Prohibitionists hoped to make.
General Harrison would have lost the State.
If the early indications should be fulfilled the
vote will show only a slight increase over that
Of 1854 or a falling off from last year of
nearly one-half. Not all Of this difference is
TO be ascribed to the feeling aroused by Mr..
Milier's Temperance canvass. There were
many Prohibitonists who got tired of being
assistant Democrats when they found out that
the Democratic party was fairly started on the
road to free trade. But the utteranccs OF
prominent Prohibition clergymen show that il
was the Temperance question that was upper
most in the minds of probably large majority
of the Prohibitionists, who came back TO their
old party under Mr.. Miller's influence Tbeir
votes were cast for General Harrison. snd