The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1888-07-12
From the Republican.

/ some 49E U00D6fui E69feas
New York, New Jersey, Connecticut
and Indiana are usually meant when
the doubtful States" are referred to.
But there is good ground for believing
that they are not. this year, the only
doubtful States-nor the most doubt
full. The snubbing of Governor Gray
and the nomination of General Harri-
son, with the Democratic losses in the
municipal elections. make Indiana rea-
sonably certain for the Republican
ticket. The Republican gains in New
Jersey and Connecticut, and the tariff
issue, have also practically removed
those States from the doubtful list.
New York, therefore, is the only one
of the four which may be fairly termed
doubtful, and even there Republican
prospects are most encouraging
The really doubtful States this year,
besides New York, are the two Viz
ginias. North Carolina, Kentucky and
Tennessee. There is a fair chance
that the Republicans NAV carry one or
all of these States. The Democratic
margin in each of them has, in the past
few years, become very light, and the
issues this year are favorable to its
rowing still lighter. The Virginias,
North Carolina and Kentucky are great
tobacco States. and the Republican po-
sition on the tobacco taxes will appeal
to voters in all of them with wonderful
power. The plurality for Cleveland
four years ago was, in Virginia, only
6, 141-abOut the same as in Indiana;
in West Virginia, only 4,22l; in Ken
lucky it was nearly thirty-five thous-
and, but in the succeeding guberna-
tiOnal election this preponderance was
substantially wiped out. It is highly
probable that the tobacco question
will exert sufficient influence to more
than expunge these slender margins
and give the electoral votes of each of
these States to the Republican candi-
dates.
Tennessee is not clasSed as a tobac-
CO state; but the situation there IS
different from that existing in nearly
all the Southern States. There is not,
as in Texas, great actual Demo
cratic majority. There is not, as in
Mississippi, systematic terrorism
whereby the Republican vote is kept
from the polls. Nor is there, as in
Louisiana, systematic stufing of bal
Iot-boxes and Justification of election
returns. In 1870 the vote of the State
as compared with the census was
1900 short of a full vote. In the
vote of 1870 the Democrats had over
40 600 majority. In 1884 at the presi-
Dental election the Democratic gain
was less than 100 votes over the vote
of 1870, while the Republican vote had
increased over $4,000, being but 5000
less than the Democratic vote. There
are still q, 600 to $4,000 non-vOters en-
| titled to vote, and more than two
thirds of these are in Republican
counties. If every vote in the State
should be polled the Republicans
Wherever manufactures are esta b.
lished, there the Republicans are in
variably strongest, and during the
past two years manufactures have fast
multiplied in all portions of the State.
In brief, Tennessee as well as the other
States mentioned may be regarded very
hopefully by Republicans this year.
Unless all signs fail, the forces which
have been disintegrating the Demo
cratic party so rapidly in those States
of late will show itself more markedly
still in the coming election. There is
but one hope to save them to Dem
ocracy-and that is most Wig
orous shaking of the bloody shirt
and even that is not guaranteed
to succeed.