Wichita eagle., 1888-07-01
THE SITUATION, PRESENT AND
PROSPECTIVE.

1t is pretty generally conceded on both
| sides that the states north and south,
with the exception of Indiana, New
| York, Connecticut and New Jersey, will
90 as they went in the election of 1884.
| The four states named represent sixty
six electoral votes and of these the DEM
ocrats must receive forty eight to elect
their ticket. They claim that they will
carry all of them, the only foundation
for the claim being the circumstance that
they carried them four years ago, not
realizing, or ignoring, the fact that the
situation now is radically different from
that attending the contest of 1884. In
that contest they luckily chose for the
| second place on their ticket Thomas A.
Hendricks: by all odds the strongest and
most popular man in that party in In
diana, while the Republican ticket,
matchless as it was in its personnel, was
placed at disadvantage in that state and
was it surprising that the matter of state
pride should turn the scale where it was
so evenly balanced? This year the state
of case is exactly the same with the Re-
publican ticket and party in that state,
except that the peerless statesman and
soldier heads the ticket instead of being
placed second. Thus situated it is idle To
talk about Indiana being doubtful state.
It is as certain to 20 Republican as Its
right and left hand neighbors Ohio and
Illinois.
In New York, four years ago. the
Democracy went into the campaign
flushed with the success of Cleveland or
only few months previous In the race
for governor, and with all sorts of pledges
for the reform of abuses in the govern
ment which they succeeded IN making
great many people believe really
existed but which, in fact, existed only
in the fertile imagination OF Democratic
leaders. Besides this and like Indiana
the great state of Ntw York was not
represented on the Republican ticket,
while costly dissentions prevailed in the
party in the state throughout the CAM
paign. But despite these conditions the
Democrats succeeded in pulling through
with a mere skeleton Of plurality
less than twelve hundred. This year
the situation is almost as completely
changed in New York as it is in Indiana.
The Democrats go into the campaign
with the same leader they had four years
ago, but how different the circumstan-
stances. The popular estimate Of the
man in that state, as it Is out OF 1t, has
undergone complete revulsion in con-
sequence of his broken pledges and ad-
ministrative failure generally. In con-
trast with the Democratic embarrass-
ment there, the Republican party was
never in better shape for an aggressive
campaign. There are no discussions, no
scisms, no personal chickering's, but a
united, harmonious and confident party,
with as clean and able man from
among on them the ticket |
in the person of Levi P. Morton as
exists in the country. With such con-
ditions who doubts that the Republicans |
will sweep the Empire state like ter
nado?
The Democrats might carry New Jer-
sey and Connecticut and it would avail
them nothing, as it would still leave
them thirty-three votes short of the
two hundred and one. But |
they will not carry these two states, nor |
one of them. With the question of pro-
lection VS.. free trade the issue, and those |
the most Immediately in
terested of any in the country in the out
come of the issue, it would appear
ridiculous to class them even as doubt
full.
Thus we have stated the case as it
stands today with every reason to expect
it to increase III favor of the Republican
party steadily and increasingly until the
ides of November shall transform the
hopes aud confident expectations of
every true and loyal member Of the party
into glad fruition.