The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-06-29
The Principal Battle Ground.

| paign committees will begin work in earnest
| Then the voices of the stump orators will
be heard throughout the land. A question
which naturally presents itself is this:
Where will the principle battle ground be9
OF course the campaign will be conducted
| vigorously i'll all the states, but attention
| will be directed chiefly to the doubtful states.
! The republicans assert, of course, that
there is no doubt about their carrying all
! the states which they carried in 1884. These
states are California, Colorado, Illinois,
! Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts,, Michi-
| gan, Minnesota. Nebraska, Nevada, New
Hampshire. Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania,
Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin.
| These eighteen states have 1872 electoral
votes 1t is conceded that the democrats
will carry Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware,
Florida, Georgia, Kentucky. Louisiana,
Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, North
Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee,
Texas, Virginia and West Virginia These
| fifteen states have 1873 electoral votes
| The doubtful states of New York, New
Jersey, Connecticut and Indiana have &c
electoral votes.
There are 401 electoral votes, and the sue
cessful ticket must therefore have at least
| 2Ol. There is not much probability that
the republicans can carry either New York
or New Jersey. Mr.. Cleveland il stronger
! in both of them, in fact in all the states,
than he was in 1884, because his administra
ton has been clean, conservative, safe and
economical The republicans, to win,
must get nineteen electoral votes more
than their ticket got in 1884 Where
will they get them? There is strong
reasons for thinking that they hope
to get them in Indiana and Connect
cut. Tho former state has fifteen electoral
votes and the latter six. If the republicans
could carry those two states they would have
two electoral votes to spare. What are
their chances for carrying theme No doubt
one of the reasons for nominating Harrison
was the belief that he could carry Indiana
The democrats carried it in 1884 by ma
jority of over $780, but it must be remem-
bered that Hendricks, who was on the ticket
with Cleveland, was an Indianian, and
was very popular in his state In the
election there were over 5000 green
back and more than 5000 prohibition
votes cast. There will be no greenback
vote this year, but it is probable that the
prohibition vote will be larger than in 1884.
1t is quite confidently asserted that the
majority Of those who voted the greenback
ticket four years ago will vote the demo-
cratic ticket this year, and it is certain that
the greater part of the prohibition vote
will be drawn from the republicans. As
Stunning that these statements relative to the
greenback and prohibition votes are cor
rect, it is not improbable that the demo-
Gratis will carry Indiana, especially as
Cleveland'S popularity has steadily in
creased since the day he was inaugurated.
But if the republicans should carry that
state they would still need 4 electoral votes
Connecticut is a very close state. The
maiority-less than 1900. No doubt they
will make an extraordinary effort to carry
it this year. Campaign literature and
money will not be wanting, and it would
not be surprising if they should canvass it
more thoroughly than in any previous cleo
ton. OF course if the republicans should
carry all the states which they did in 1884,
and in addition to them Indiana and Con
necticut, they would elect their ticket, but,
as above pointed out, it is by no means
probable that they will carry both, or even
one, of these doubtful states. The demo-
Gratis will not let them have everything
their own way in any of the doubtful states,
and they are likely to strengthen rather than
lose their hold upon these states. The pros
pect now is, however, that the two states
above named will be the principal battle
ground of the campaign.
But while the republicans are putting
forth all their energies to gain Indiana and
Connecticut, may they not neglect states
which are now classed as republican, and
which are by no means as firmly bound to
the republican party as that party would
have the country believed
The Pacific coast delegates to the st.
Louis convention said that if Mr.. Thurman
were put on the democratic ticket for vice
president, they were sure that that ticket
would get tho vote of the Pacific states.
Mr.. Thurman is on the ticket, and his popu-
larity, together with that of Mr.. Cleveland,
ought to be sufficient, under the circum-
stances, to place those states in the demo-
cratic column. There is thought to be a
chance for the democrats to carry one OF the
northwestern states, but it is too early in
the campaign to get any indication of how
great that chance is. The people through
out tho northwest favor tariff reform, and
the strong declaration in favor of the pro-
tectlve system which the Chicago platform
contains may make many votes for the
democratic party there.
Having exhausted every pretext for
postponing action on the nomination of Mr..
Fuller, the republican senate will probably
now dispose of that matter. and it might
have done so sooner without causing I'M
pleasant criticism Even the search of
bitter partisans for something in Mr..
Fuller's record upon which to base opposi-
ton to him has failed, and he stands out
confessedly an honest and able man, one in
all respects suited to the high office for
which the President has selected him. Mr.
Cleveland has the knack of making nomi-
nations that bear the closest scrutiny.
The governor of Massachusetts has APP
proved the ballot reform bill passed by the
| legislature of that state, and the people