The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-06-30
BLAINE'S IN" THEORY.

BLAINE'S IN" THEORY.
A Queer Study of the Names of Presi.
dental Candida tes, Now Revived by
the Act of the Chicago Convention.
From the Neto York Sun.
WASHINGTON, June 16.-In April of last
year Col. Alex ander McClure's paper, the
Philadelphia Times, printed very remark
able article regarding some of James G..
Blaine's fatalistic notions and this has just
received vastly increased interest from
the republican nominal ions of yesterday.
After referring to the parallel between
his case and Henry Clay's, the article pro.
ceeded to aver from the present knowledge
of the writer, that Mr.. Blaine had theory
that the republicans could count on good
luck whenever they nominated Tor President
q man whose name ended with the letter
'n." He had further theory, according
to this account, based on the superfuous,
but none the less fatal, ''e," which robbed
his own name of final "n, . that if he ever
secured the republican nomination he would
by some mishap be defeated at the polls,
while if the republicans should ever win he
nominating convention.
"a critical examination of the results of
presidential elections, such as perhaps only
Mr.. Blaine himself would think of making
showed him that upon every occasion of a
presidential election the candidate whose
name ended with the letter m was elected,
aud as the letter m theory of Mr. Blaine
may play a conspicuous part in the cam
paign OF next year, fatalists and supersti-
tious politicians would do well to study the
lesson Mr.. Blaine has already learned. In
1888 George Washington, a letter n man,
def Gated John Adams by an electoral vote
of 60 to "a, and in 1892 Washington again
beat Adams by vote of 1& to n. In
1904, as Thomas jefferson and Aaron Burr
each had 70 electoral votes, there was no
election by the people, and upon the thirty
sixth ballot in the house of representatives
Thomas jefferson was elected. In 1908
Thomas jefferson and George Clinton
defeated Charles Colesworth and Rufus
King by an electoral vote of 1862 to
lin this case, the first in which candi-
dates for president and vice president were
nominated and voted for the last letter of
both the successful candidates names ended
with n In 1912 James Madison for presi-
dent and George Clinton for vice president
had 122 votes to AZ each for C. c. Pinckney
for president and Rufus King for vice
president. Madison was reelected four
years later. In 1928 Andrew jackson and
JO0n y. CdluOuu, DOOu udLIloS CHUNG WIFI
m defeated John Quincy Adams and
Richard Rush for president and vice presi-
dent by an electoral vote of 17S to SO. In
1889 the candidates for president were An
drew jackson, Henry Clay, John Floyd and
William Writ of Maryland, and the candi-
dates for vice president were Martin van
Buren,, John Sergeant, William Wilkins,
Henry Lee and Amos Ellmaker, and of the
2SS electoral votes cast. jackson had 219
and Van Buren, 1S9, both letter m fellows
again winning.
William Henry Harrison by vote of 10 to
70, and Richard NJ. johnson was elected
vice president over Francis Granger, John
Tyler and William Smith of Alabama; blu t
in 1910 Gen. Harrison defeated Van Bur en
by a vote of 234 to go. The next letter m
candidate was James Buchanan, who de-
feated John C. Fremont and Willard Fill
more. In 1860 the candidates were Abra-
ham Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin-both
letter m nominees. Breckenridge and Lane,
Douglas and johnson and..Bell and Everett,
and in 1864 Lincoln and johnson against
Mcclellan and Pendleton, all names ending
with the letter n, the republicans winning
by vote of 212 to 81. The next letter m
candidate was Samuel j. Tilden, who de-
feated Hayes before the people by vote of
2O2 to 1871 but which an electoral commission
with Senators Morton and Frelinghuysen,
both letter m statesmen changed TO 1856 for
HAYES to 1S4 for Tilden. There have been
no letter N candidates since 1876, and only
bad luck, death and defeat has attended the
republican candidates since then.
f'Soon after the nomination of Grover
Cleveland l met James G. Blaine, and
strolled with him frequently on the banks
of the Kennebec. On one of these occa-
sions, after he had been planning industri-
ously for hours to secure his election, he
said in tone of dependency that was pain
full: They call me the Henry Clay of the
Republican party. l believe | am, and,
like Clay, am destined to defeat. Twice
Henry Clay was defeated for the nominn-
ton when he could have been elected, and
/. too. have been twice rejected when an
election was certain. Clay was nominated
upon the third trial and defeated by no
body, and it seems certain that l am to be
beaten by a man who five years ago was
tho sheriff Of a sixth class city
s.Roscoe ConkIing is represented as say
ing, when this Blaine theory Of good luck
attending candidates whose names ended
with the letter m was called to his atten-
ton: AS the success OF Madison and Gin,
ton. jackson and Calhoun, Lincoln and
Hamlin, and Lincoln and johnson was so
pronounced, why not make 1t double m
ticket In 1882 And that is why the ticket
of John Sherman for President and Robert
n Lincoln or Allison or Harrison for vice
president is gaining so rapidly in favor in
the state of Now York.
This curious statement OF Blaines notion
was published more than fourteen months
ago IL it represented him truly, the
famous republican leader must already
have unused on the fact that the combina-
tion of a double ticket" for 1858, as
Conkling expressed it, is what has just sue
ceeded at Chicago in default Of mis- own
nomination, which his friends had desired.
But perhaps Mr.. Blaine also reflects that
the democrats this year have one "n" candi-