Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-08-10
THE NEXT CONGRESS.
Three Parties Hard at Work to OBJ
tain Control of the House.
REPUBLICANS CERTAIN TO GAIN,
While Democrats Believe Their Lead Can
not Be Entirely Broken.
FARMERS WANT THE BALANCE OF POWER
ESPECIAL TELEGRAM TO THE DIsPArcH.l

WASHINGTON, Aug Second in inter-
est to the contest for the possession of the
White House for the ensuing four years is
House of Representatives Three parties
are making the most confident claims that
they will be able to dictate the policy of
the lower branch of the Fifty-third Con-
gress, and 1t is by no me ans impossible that
either will have working majority.
The coming Congress will have under the
new apportionment $50 Representatives, an
increase of "a over the present The rela-
tion of parties as the House now stands is
Democrats, 235; Republicans, 81; Alliance,
10. In many of the States there has been
no redistrictIng. as in Pennsylvania, which
will leave the district lines as they now
stand, with the increase elected at large.
Some idea of the extent of the Con-
gressional contest of 1892 and what must be
overcome BY the Republicans may be
formed from the fact that the present Dem
ocratic and Alliance control in the House is
155 majority, and adding the "a new dis
tricts will make 179 Representative dis
tricts to which Republican Congressional
campaign managers must devote their ener-
gies. & @ould require gain of about 90
to meke their majority certain in the next
House.
Republican Reliance Upon Pennsylvania.
The Congressional Campaign Committee
of each of the three parties have already
opened Washington headquarters and have
forces busily engaged in sending out public
documents The Republican and Democrat
ic Committees are constituted in the usual
way, but all of the Alliance members in
Congress have been put upon the committee
of the Peoples party.
Pennsylvania is one of the States upon
which the Republican managers most firmly
rely for gains in the House of Represents
tives In the first place they figure on the
practical certainty of securing the two Con-
gressmen at large to be elected under the
new apportionment No doubt is enter
tanned here of the success of Mcdowell and
Lilly, the Republican nominees, bv about
the same majority that the Presidential
ticket will receive in the Keystone
State. Then the Beaver district now rep
resented by Gillespie, owing to the factional
quarrel and bribery scandal Of 1890, is Ger
tain to be redeemed In the Twenty-fourth
The chances are considered as slightly favor
ing the selection of Acheson to succeed
Craig, notwithstanding the Republican bolt
in Greene county. This feeling is intensi-
fed by the fact that the Democrats of the
district are reported to be much divided
over the nomination, and that there is a
possibility of the naming ofa Hill follower
who is opposed to the present position of
the majority of his party upon the tariff
In two more Keystone districts the Repub-
Hcans are very hopeful of overturning the
Democratic msjorities of 1890. In the
Seventh district Edwin Hallowell only de-
ieated his competitor by 1877 in the Pattison
tidal wave year, and in the Eleventh Lemuel
zimmerman was successful by just 3O3. 1t
is just barely possible, too, that the Demo-
cratic quarrels in Philadelphia may insurea
Republican successor to Congressman Nc
Aleer. These results would make gain of |
seven seats in Pennsylvania alone, which |
would be doing very well for one State.
Big Change Expected in Ohio.
The present Buckeye delegation stands IA
Democrats to z Republicans This condi-
tion Of affairs was due to the gerrymander
passed by the Democratic Legislature
elected with Campbell in 1889. All this |
has been rectifed, however, by the body |
chosen with Mckinley in 1891, and the |
present system of districting is intended to |
insure Is Republicans and Democrats. If |
there are no slips in this programme it will |
mean change of seats, or a net Repub- |
lican gain of 16.
Among the Buckeye Democrats scheduled |
to retire under the new order of things is |
Michael d. Harter, who led the fight |
against free silver so persistently in the |
present House. He has been renominated |
by acclamation, but the altered district is
Republican BY about 5000, which can |
hor1 11rh he h. -,
ity and popularity. Tom johnson, the
Henry George single-tax free trader from
the cityo of Cleveland, has also been placed
In a Republican district The majority is
not much over 1, 600, however, and johnson
expects to overcome this and return to the
next House.
There are one or two other Buckeve dis
tricts about which there is some doubt. In
old district the Republican ma
jority is large, but the nominee is reported
to be most obnoxious to the labor element
which has great influence in that section.
I. R Morgan, the candidate, is himself an
iron manufacturer, and during his entire
business career is charged with having
resolutely refused to employ union workmen
No Democratic candidate has yet been
selected, but B. T. Weybrecht, townsman
Of Morgan, will probably be selected when
the convention meets in September.
Strong Hopes in West Virginia.
West Virginia, the remaining one of the
trio of States so directly interested in the
maintenance of the policy of protection, is
also regarded as excellent missionary
ground. By the time the contests growing
out of the election of 1888 were settled the
mad three out of the four Re-
preseuratives from the war-born State. In
1890 the tidal wave was felt, and all four
districts returned Democrats. Pendleton's
majority in the First district was only 618
and he was renominated this year after a
fierce factional dispute. His successor is
therefore confidently counted upon as
and strong hopes are enter
tained of the other seats. Secretary Elkins
Is devoting great deal of attention to the |
contest in West Virginia, not only as to
but for the Presidential cleo
;ors and tine State ticket.
Kansas and Nebraska are the other States
y here the Republican managers regard
he prospects of retrieving lost ground as
Ibove par 1t il considered certain that at
east portion of the seats gained by the
Democrats and Alliance in the granger
weeps of 1890 will be recovered A hard
light is to be made in every one of these
districts Governor Mckinley has already
,een rallying the protection forces in Ne
,raska, and proposition to send 1000 Re-
publican orators into Kansas at once is
,eing considered. Of course it is under
TODD that in these States the Peoples party
Fill put forth its greatest efforts, and that
t is likely to prove more dangerous factor
I. ~ - = - Al /