Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-11-09
.HUMoR In POLITICS.
The Mirthful Side of the Recent Elec-
ton in Pennsylvania.
ovER-CoNFIDENCE is not GOOD.
How q Pretty Girl Tried to Kiss Governor
sPattison for His Luck.
TIE oUEER B POETRY OF AsTREET MOB
WRITTEN ron THE D1ssArcH.l ]

| WRITTEN FOR THE DIsFAToH.1
The humorous side of last Tuesdays cleo
ton was largely lost sight Of In all great
elections there Is the element OF mirth, but
it was more preponderant in this perhaps
than all others. The circumstances of the
campaign were bound to produce fun, for on
the one side there was an enormous amount
of bluster, and on the other side vast over
confidence in the result. One side had to be
defeated, of course, and apparently the
leaders of neither stopped to consider what q
lot of chagrln would follow their boasts.
There are two types ofthe politician. One
believes in simply saving wood and keeping
| his mouth shut.
THE CONFIDENTIAL TRICK.
The other strives to keep up the confidence
and spirits of his followers by making large
predictions and loud claims of victory at ali
times. These types are in every community.
They are represented ia both of the political
parties.
In the headquarters of the Republican
State Committee in Philadelphia on the
night of the election some of the hard
workers of the campaign had been given
cushioned chairs to hear the returns read.
Among them was well-known Camden
attorney. He had been touring the State
for the Republican Committee making
stump speeches for Delamater. To him it
seemed impossible for Che State to do other
wise than elect Delamater. He boasted
that there was not che slightest possible
chance of it doing otherwise. He is large.
portly gentleman,
THE VOORHEES, STYLE
of an orator. mo, SIR" he declared at 9
o'clock that evening. He had just been
downstairs and placed bet on Chestnut
street for $50 that Allegheny county would
give 10000 majority for Delamater. And
he wanted everybody to know that he had
stuck pin in the published statement OF
that fellow Mapes, the Independent leader,
| that Crawford county would give majority
| of 800 for Pattison. How fellow in his
| right senses could make such a prediction
| he did not know, hut he stuck a pin in it
| anyway Just to show the fellow on the morn
ing after election that he did not know the
| first letters of the political alphabet, for
| Delamater's own county would snow Patti
son under by at least 1 ,000 majority.
| HOW THEY WERE FOOLED.
| The bad returns continued to come in
| during the next hour, showing disastrous
| Republican losses pretty much all over the
State, but the Camden lawyer kept UP his
predictions Positively no doubt ex-
isted,' ne said, ''that the State would &c
Republican. Why, he had been all over it,
and he knew"
| Well, about IL o'clock the portly, strong.
lunged gentleman disappeared. It had be.
/ come known that Crawford county had gone
Democratic by fully GEO majority, and that
! the State had probably defeated Deismatef
notwithstanding the Camden lawyers
/ speeches.
Collector Thomas v. Cooper, of Philadel-
I phia, replied to some doubts about $50 that
evening, that there need be no fears about
the State voting for Delamater. His origi-
| nal estimate OF Delamater's majority was
$1,000 At that hour he saw no reason to
| change his opinion. "And," he added, 81
have never been more than 3. 900 votes of in
/ my guesses of the result of State elections in
Pennsylvania"
That is true. Mr.. Cooper is a political
| leader
OF VAST E,lPERIENCE.
His estimates of.a State vote have always
been considered remarkably accurate. But
| the next day at dinner in the Hotel Lafay-
ette he had to confess that the State had
gone for Pattison by about 5000 majority.
His guess had been just 26, 900 off,
Frank Willing Leach, the private secre-
tary Of Senator NJ. S. Quay, loses 81, 900 in
bets by his confidence in the strength of
Delamater. He had one bet OF s., 900 with
State Chairman Kerr, of the Democratic
| Committee, and another bet of the same
amount with Colonel Alex Mcclure, of the
Philadelphia Times.
1t was the funniest thing to see the effect
of the discouraging Delamater returns on
the select party at Republican State head
| quarters the night of election. Every
Democratic gain of few hundred votes
would cause someone to say: "Yes, Pattison
| seems to have good many friends right in
that ward or in that town, but bless you, it
will not affect
THE GENERAL RESULT.
eve will elect our man no matter if the
majority is reduced to 10000, but Delamater
will have at least 15,000.' Wnen it was
finally apparent that the ''15, 600 majority"
would go to the Democratic side of the see
saw, the Republican gentlemen, one by one,
thought suddenly of some forgotten errand
down street. One man, who owns his mil
| lions in Philadelphia, accidentally re-
| membered that be was to meet his stock
| broker at Green's at 1:30A A. M. Another
Philadelphiap, an ex-State Senator, felt SO
|
ber his physician's advice and stay out OF
rooms filled with tobacco smoke" Still a
| third pulled little box of pills out of his
pocket, and said s'that reminded him of his
| promise to his wife that day. to bring home
her medicine from the druggists early" 1t
was marvellous how suddenly about that
hour that about every single gentleman In
Republican State headquarters found some
thing important to require his presence
elsewhere.
| SOME GOOD ADVICE.
| Among the transparencies carried through b
the streets of Philadelphia by the Demo
cratic clubs on. Wednesday night was one
which had upon it this inscription:
Don't take it so hard; we've been there
| ourselves"
Another club carried an efigy of Della
mater, which by an ingenious device was
kept constantly burning. Carbon oil and
pitch had been dripped all over it, and it
looked the most hideous thing ever saw.
There is SO seldom Democratic jolllfcation
in Philadelphia that the kindly Quakers
and polite society politician scarcely knew
how to take this incendiary demonstration
OF hatred for an opponent. aHorrible. !"
| calculated one Quaker, holding up
! his hands, and raising his eyes
piously to heaven. Shocking, simply
shocking, is the idea of burning a man be-
cause be was the rival of one whom they
voted for. Its disgrace andyshould be
stoppsd," added a member of one of the
wealthy clubs. "And / mean to end such
| outrageous doings," yelled disgruntled
Republican. He ran out in the street and
made flying leap for the burning efigy.
| Its bearer anticipated the movement and