The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-12-05
POLITICAL RGVULSlONS.
Since Jackson's Time They Have Multi
piled.
Especial Correspondence. |


the late election, automatically speak
ing. il self evident-the older the coun-
try grows the more doubtful each cleo
ton becomes, and comparatively small
change in the popular vote makes az
enormous change in the representative
vote.
Garfield is supposed to have had q
sweeping victory"-214 electoral votes
to 155. Yet his plurality on the popular
vote was but 7,098 out of 1891 ,0S8 for
the two leading candidates-less than
one-tenth of per cent! A change Of one
vote in sixty in one state in 1888 would
have elected Cleveland. Yet Harrison
had 233 electoral votes to 1853. Fifty
thousand votes, or one in 230 of the total,
! located in close states, would have given
Cleveland an overwhelming victory" in
the electoral college. And where is the
politician wise enough to foresee the
trifing accident that may change one
vote in $50?
Except in 1900 the result was fore
gone conclusion at each election till
1924. Then the foundations of the great
political deep were broken up. Of the
four candidates John Quincy Adams
was chosen by the house of representa-
tives, although Gen. jackson had
much larger popular and electoral vote.
The people were angry, yet, strange to
say, of all the great men then living not
one foresaw the revolution of 1828-the
first great political revolution of our his
tory.
The scandals Of that campaign were
simply frightful. Those good old people
who think the world is growing worse
should read some of the campaign
papers of 1928. 1t is scarcely an exag-
geration to say that Mrs. jackson was
murdered. She saw her name paraded
in the public prints as that of the vilest
of women, but bore up till the election
was over and then died-nominally Of
heart disease.
On the day of the election the great
Wing leader INDUCED in confident
prophecy. The whole number of cleo
received 17S and Adams So. For vice
president Calhoun received III, all
others 80. In the house of representa-
tives then elected Andrew Stephenson
was chosen speaker by 152 votes to 80
for all others. And yet issues were so
little defined that there was a majority
in congress for the United States bank.
The election Of 1882 could not be called
a revolution, yet it was even more sur
prising. 1t was exultingly proclaimed,
and not denied by Jackson's friends, that
nearly all the wealth and three-fourths
of the professional men were against
him. The number of electoral votes was
2SS, of which jackson received PIG and
Clay 40! Vermont voted for Writ, anti
Mason, and South Carolina for John
Floyd, whom the historians have char
itably allowed to be forgotten.
In 1886 Van Buren, received 40 cleo
toral votes and Harrison but 20. The
panic of 1887 'obiterated the ancient
landmarks" as the journals of the day
expressed it, and the congress of 1891
showed a great falling off. Still the
Democrats were able to elect as speaker
the once noted and often ridiculed Rob
ert Mercer Taliaferro Hunter, of Vir-
ginia. In 1910 the revolution was COM
plete-Harrison received 234 electoral
votes and Van Buren, 60l This was not
so great a surprise then as it now seems,
for the country really was in very bad
way. Two years later came the greatest
surprise perhaps in our history-the
Wings elected but 90 congressman and
the Democrats 40.
In 1914 the figures remained nearly the
same, yet in 1876 the Wings chose 115
and the Democrats but 10S.
The election of Taylor in 194S was due
to a Democratic split in New York, so
the subsequent steady decline of the
Wings was no surprise. Their last fight
was in 1882, when they got but Il con-
gresslnen to the Democrats 159. Two
years later came the fourth great polit-
ical revolution in our history The di-
vision Of parties in the Thirty-fourth con-
gress was not clear, but the Democrats
were in a minority, and combination
of Republicans and others controlled the
house, n. p. Banks being chosen speaker.
The slavery agitation was reopened,
but parties remained more evenly bal
anced than appears on the surface. At
any rate, there was no great revolu-
ton, and in 1860 Lincoln received but 4
Il per cent. of the popular vote, yet he
had $50 electoral votes to 127 for all
others. The law of politics that the I
party in power loses ground in the ''off 1
YEAR asserted itself in the very heat and 4
fury of civil strife. and in 1862 all the 1
''close states went against the admins 4
tration.
The next three elections must be re- I
yarded as exceptions TO the general rules; /
nevertheless the Democrats, who had F.
elected but 40 congressman in 1864, .
got IS in 1872, to the Republi- /
,anS 1876. Then came the greatest of I
Ill revolutions" both popular and rep
The majority of $4,000 4
Tor Grant in 1872 gave place to Demo
,ratic majority of about 400. 600 in 1874. /
and In the Forty-fourth congress the
Democrats had 17s to the Republicans,
los. The change in the popular vote is
rot easy 10 estimate. as the vote on presi-
dent and congressman in 1872 varied
greatly, but il fell little short OF GOO, 600
The next revolution" was not so sur
prlslng, but it was big enough, tor the
small Republican majority IN the Forty
seventh (Gar,ield) congress was changed
IN 1882 to Democratic majority of 81
The change from 1881 10 1886 was not sui
icient 10 wipe out the Democratic ma
ior7ty. and even in 1888 the apparent