Telegram-herald., 1890-11-22
POLITICAL sssuxsso~<
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NV 1CE1, NcF. eS-~-tte Kaorsl q
Us lAse slec<lon. azftz1esEslly sxs>k-
isg. - SCI eTi1~et-- ths eidar re so1z-
~ grows Ehs E1axs do0osfal each eAso-
riSn esccxaez. @z1 : eozzap2r<Ezvs,y saIl~A
e1zRge IA to popsal<r vote ua4ses A
ezorzloGs chsaee a the rsprese1t-kife
vete.
0a-neld Is supposed - have had
''sweepl1g yiexorys -Sla slectozAl votes
- lsS. fsS his plurality On the popular
soss va bEt 2 0es 0UE Of s,S9l - Tor
tAe twe Lea3iag eAnGid2tes less than
one tentA Il per cezt' 4 change q one
yege IN sixty IA enc state Ia 1855 would
have elected Cleveland. Yet Harrison
had 9S3 electoral VOTES - l6s. Fifty
thozsand votes. or oae IA 80 Of the to-2l.
heated ia Close states. would have gwen
Cleveland an overwhelming victory In
ire electoral college. And where Is the
politician wise eaough 70 foreeee the
trifing accident that may change one
vote Ia 4S0
Except in 1900 the resslt was fore
gene conclusion at each election I'll
1924. Then tho foundations OF the great
political deep were broken up. or the
four candidates John Quincy Adams
wAs chosen by the house OF representa-
tives. although Gen. Jackson had a
mach larger popular and electoral vote.
The people were angry, yet, strange 10
say, OF all the great men then living not
one foresaw tho revolution OF 162S-the
hrst great political revolution of our his
tory.
The scandals Of that campaign were
simply frightfnl These good old people
who think the world is growing worse
should read some of the campaign
papers of 1928. Ii is scarcely an exag-
geranon 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
toral votes was 2S1, of which Jackson
received 17S and Adams SO. For vice
president Calhoun received III, all
others 90. IN the house Of representa-
tives then elected Andrew Stephenson
was chosen speaker by l52 votes 10 80
for all others. And yet issues were so
little defined that there was 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 2l9 and
Clay 4sl 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 ITO elec-
toral votes and Harrison but 73. The
panic of 1887 "obiterated the ancient
landmarks" as the journals of the day
expressed it, and the congress of 1891
showed 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 so! This was not
50 great 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 bat 90 congressman and
the Democrats 40.
In 1874 the figures remained nearly the
same. yet in 1916 the Wings chose 115
congressman and the Democrats but 109.
The election of Taylor in 1S48 was due
to Democratic ''split" in New York, SC
the subsequent steady decline Of the
Wings was no surprise. Their last fight
was IN 1852, when they got but II con-
! gressmen 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 Democrat:
were in a minority, and a 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. AZ
+ any rate, there was no great revolu
tion," and in 1850 Lincoln received bat
fl per cent. OF the popular vote. yet ht
/ had $50 electoral votes to 1877 for al
/ others. The law of politics that the
party in power loses ground in the "of
T year. asserted itself in the very heat AMI
fury of civil strife. and in 1862 all the
"close states" went against the admins
I tTation.
The next three elections must be re
T garded as exceptions 10 the general rules
+ nevertheless the Democrats. who haC
I elected but 40 congressman in 1864
got So in 1919, to the Republi
cans 195. Then came the greatest o.
all revelations" both popular and rep
resentatlve. The majority Of as, Coz
for Grant in 1878 gave place to Demo
cratic majority Of about 400. 900 in 1874
and in the Forty-foursh congress th'
Democrats had 17s to the Republicans
los. The change in the popular vote Il
not easy 10 estimate. as toe vote on presi
dent and congressman IN fs72 varie,
greatly. bat il fell little short of 1 .00o, 900
The next revolution" was not so sur
pTising, bat It was big enough, for tn
small Republican majority in the Forty
seventh (Gsrasld) congress was change
in 1852 70 Democratic majority Of 81
The change from 1894 to 1885 was not suf
fcieut 70 wipe cut the Democratic ma
iority. and even in 1888 The sppsren
popular majority wss Democratic. =
the year 1890 EaSst stand II our histor-