Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-07-20
THE ELECTION IN OHIO.

be of unusual interest and importance. In deed, it is regarded as in some respects the
 most important in the history of the com
 monwealth for there are political interests
 at stake that make it materially different
 from those of preceding odd-numbered years in which the election was for gov
 ernor end members of the general assem- bly, And the renominatiOn for third time of Governor Foraker, owing to the higher ambitions he is supposed to cherish, lends picturesqueness and is sure to i'm
 part vigor to the campaign that have hitherto been absent The importance of
 the election itself, both from a party and
 a public standpoint, is far beyond what
 the majority of the buckeye voters have
 yet conceived This will doubtless be
 made plain to them as the campaign pro ceeds.
 The marked singularity that attaches to
 the situation this year is due to the pend l ency of one of the three constitutional
 amendments that will be adopted or re- l jected on the day of election. The am
 endment is for the purpose of establish |
 all the state and county officers in Novem- 1 Der of the even-numbered years,
 and all township and municipal | officers in November of the odd numbered
 years. Under the present system there is
 an election for part of the state and coun-
 ty officers every fall, and for township
 and municipal officers every spring. The
 amendment is popular because it reduces the number of elections one-half, but more
 so for the reason that it changes the time of the township and municipal elections
 from spring to fall, which has been gen
 erally demanded for many years on the
 theory that town and city boards elected in the fall can organize, prepare their
 books, make their assessments and other :, wise make ready for active work when l spring opens. The present system is re-
 garded as inconvenient for the reason that it involves work and road making, paving, sewering and such like that cannot we'll be done in winter. It is thought the amend ment will have very large majority as it is regarded with much favor, in the rural f districts particularly.
 The amendment, however, has an impor-
 tant political bearing, since it involves an extension of the terms of certain officials to be elected on November 5. In order to adopt the proposed change to the present system it was necessary to extend the terms of some of the state officers one year. The change might have
 
 e ing the terms of the secretary of state, judge of the supreme court and : member of the board of public works one @ year and providing for the election of s state officers ill the odd-numbered years.
 But with due regard for party interests as
 we'll as those of the public the republican f legislature fixed it ths other way extend " ing the terms of governor, lieutenant & governor, treasurer, attorney general and l. all the members of the general assembly, f so that the candidates elected to these DO - stions this fall will hold office for three r. instead of two years for the first and l. probably the last time in the history of the .. state. In any event the general assembly ,t elected this fall will elect United States e senator to succeed Henry B. Payne. In e the usual course of events the genera
 assembly chosen iu 1891 would elect sue O cessor to Senator John She rman. But if > the amendment is adopted the term of the - general assembly elected on November ] t next will not expire until January 1893 t MT Sherman's term expires in March, 1893 :, If the amendment is approved by popular - vote, the election of two United States t senators will, therefore, devolve on the d sixtyninth general assembly, The repub a lican majority in the legislature had this i'll mind, too, probably when they pro t posed the amendment
 @ Saying nothing about the hundreds o1 t, county and municipal officers whose terms n are extended from seven months to one e year each, the stake in the contest nex1 , November is full control of the executive . and legislative branches of the state gov @ ernment for three years and two United f States senatorships. The campaign vii f have as much earnestness as if the amend J. conducted on the theory that the amend n ment will carry, whatever it's fate may @ ultimately prove to be. It is certain tha r. both parties will make vigorous pusl l for victory, and the outlook is not at al n unfavorable for the democrats Forake e has lost considerable of his popularity witt l. the voters and he no longer enjoys thu o confidence of leaders like Sherman ant 'f Mckinley. It is not probable that thes. g. men will exert themselves very earnestl, Il in his behalf or that they will put on tn, l. sackcloth and ashes of sorrow if he should y find himself in the soup tureen after th ' votes are counted OF November ,. If ,e therefore, the democrats make good SC > lection of the candidate to oppose him. i s good judgment is used in the choice O 1T the other men on the ticket, there is ex