Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1888-12-14
The Letter " N"

| Just after the campaign OF 1854, :
New York correspondent of the Phila
delphia Times made announcement OF
a curious fact in relation to Presiden
tial contests. He asserted that upon
every occasion of a Presidential elec
ton the candidate whose name ended
with the letter II" was elected. As
the campaign just closed further sup.
ports this position, it will be interest.
ing to 60 back and look for verification
in history of quadrennial elections
from the beginning of the Govern
ment. The correspondent showed
that" in 17SS George Washington; a
letter m man, defeated John Adams
by an electoral vote of 60 to "a, and in
1892 Washington again beat Adams
by vote of 1872 to II. In 1904, as
Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr
each had 13 electoral votes, there was
no election by the election, 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 1872 to lin this
case, the first in which candidates for
President and Vice President were
nominated and voted for, the last let
ter of both the successful candidates,
names ended with en- In 1912 James
Madison for President and George
Clinton for Vice President had 122
votes, to AZ each for C. C. Pickney for
President and Rufus King for Vice
President. Madison was reelected
four years later. In 1928 Andrew
Jackson and John C. Calhoun, both
names ending with IN defeated John
Quincy Adams and Richard Rush for
President and Vice President by an
electoral vote of 17S to SO. In 1882
the candidates for President were An
drew Jackson, Henry Clay, John
Floyd and William Writ, of Maryland,
and the candidates for Vice President
were Martin Van Buren, John Ser
gcant, William wilkins, Henry Lee
and Amos Ellmaker, and of the 2SS
electoral votes cast Jackson had 2I9
and Van Buren, 1S9, both letter m fel-
lows again winning.
In 1886 Martin Van Buren, de-
feated William Henry Harrison by a
vote of 10 to 73, and Richard NJ.
johnson was elected Vice President
over Francis Grange, John Tyler and
William Smith, of Alabama; but in
lS4O General Harrison defeated Van
Buren, by vote of 224 to GO. The
next letter IN candidate was James
Buchanan, who defeated John C. Fre-
mont and Millard Fillmore. In 1860
the candidates were Abraham Lincoln
and Hannibal Hamlin-both being
letter m Observation-Disclosures and
Lane, Douglas and Johnson, and Bell
and Everett; and in 1864 Lincoln and
johnson against Mcclellan and Pen
dleton, all names ending with the let
ter 'n'-the Republicans winning by a
vote of PIP to 81. The next letter m
candidate was Samuel J. Tilden, who
defeated Hayes before the people by n
vote of POP to 167, but which an Elec-
toral Commission, with Senators Nor
ton and Frelinghuysen, both letter
IN statesmen, changed to 1S5 for
Hayes to 1S4 for Tilden. There
have been no letter IN candidates
since 1876, and only bad luck, death
and defeat has attended the Republi-
can candidates since then"
Roscoe Conkling's attention was
called to the theory of good luck at
tending candidates whose names
ended with the letter "n," when he
made suggestion which, whether un-
consciously or not, was observed at
the Chicago Convention, and the Re-
publican party has been restored to
power. He said
GAS the success of Madison and
Clinton, Jackson and Calhoun, Lin
johnson was SO pronounced, why not
make it double IN ticket in 1883 ?"
Harrison and Morton are ''lettcr m
men,"