The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1890-11-16

PKKlODICITx or GKOUNDeWELLs.
Il Il no less interesting than : singular
fact that for full half century the p0lit-
icai revulsIons that IRE familiafly known
a. s.groundsweIls" have In this country ~
CURED ct regular intervals Of eight years.
In 1s40 the Wings, with Harrison and
Tyler q their candidates. swept the coun-
try, north and south, carrying 20 Of the
then IS states. and leaving the Democratio
party sn apparently helpless and hopeless
wreck But in 1912, two years later. the
lately crushed party turned the tables, re-
gained all Of their lost ground. and Robert
c. winthrop. the Massachusetts, Wing,
was succeeded g Speaker Of the House of
Representatives by Howell Cobb. the Dsm-
ocratic ire-eate. from Georgia
Eight years later. in 1850. the tide which
in 184s had carried Taylor and Fillmore
into Office on the Wing ticket was eifectu-
ally turned and by House overwhelm-
ingly Democratic Linn Boyd. ct Kentucky.
was elected to the Speakershir
Eight years later, in 1858. two years after
the overwhelming victory Of the Demo-
Gratis with Buchanan Is their candidate,
who carried 10 out OF the 81 states, leaving
but II to Fremont and TO Fillmore. there
came . Republican groundswell, the
House Of Representatives was revolution
lied, and William Pennington was made
the FIRST Republican Speaker OF that body.
succeeding James La Orr. fof South Car
DINA.
Eight years later. in 1866, two years after
Lincoln's second election. when he carried
ali but three states. the Democrats again
made remarkable gains. but - there were
states not participating in that election the
gains were not su ficient to change the
complexion Of congress. The three sub
sequsnt ground swells Of 1874. 1882 and
1890 are familiar. It will be observed that
these revulsions have been about equally
divided between the great parties. striking
the Republicans three and the Democrats
four times. for the administrations Of Tyler
in 1912. Of Fillmore in 1850. and of Andrew
Johnson in 1866 were conducted by rene-
gades who, though elected in opposition to
the Democrats, had deserted their friends
and gone over to the enemy.
1t must be admitted that the regularity
of these revulsions throughout so long
convey the discouraging idea that the
people are whimsical. or an encouraging
belief in their independence and rectitude,
is matter Of differing opinions. In .
measure both views are probably correct.
But 1t is better and safer to take the latter
as the controlling view, and to apply it as
an admonition to = prudent and cautious
exercise of power.
A careful study of popular elections in
this country will lead to some striking rev
Citations and cannot but prove profitable.
Despite the distracting influence of occa-
sional side issues and popular frenzies. the
differing ideas as to the scope and func-
tions of the federal government that were
personifed by Thomas Jefferson on the
one hand and by Alexander Hamilton on
the other are and since the foundation OF
the government have been the funda.
mental and distinctive issues in American
politics. Pretty uniformly, under varying
party names, the great bulk of the people
have been adherents to one or the other of
these ideas. About a. uniformly the firm
adherents to either of these principles have
not constituted . clsar majority Of the
whole people.
A study of election returns and an intel
iigent consideration of their variations will
show that with striking uniformity about
ninety per cent. Of our people have been
stsadfastly and in almost exactly equal
proportions adherents to the one and the
other of these principles Of government.
OF the remaining ten per cent. it is now
true and has been from the beginning,
that certain proportion, about ONE
fourth, are swayed by some cranky
notion which they magnify into para
mount political issue. The remainder-say
60 to 80 per cent. of the unattached 10 per
cenL-are the men whose votes decide
elections, provided elections are fairly con-
Quoted. They care less for the ideas of
Hamilton and Jefferson than for the man.
ner in which the devotees OF the one or the
other administer the government. This
does not imply that they are Mugwumps.
As rule they are Republicans or Demo-
Gratis, according to the influence of associa-
ton, but in neither case tied to their party
by the bonds of . controlling principle. At
every election they are liable to scatter
somewhat, but the history Of the last fifty
years seems to indicate that about every
eight years they gravitate pretty solidly in
one direction, and come down with what
may be called political dull thud."
There is nothing that shrewd politicians
may study with greater profit than the ma.
ture and occasion of these thuds, and how
to avert them.