Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1892-02-11


any New York candidate mixed up in
the perennial local quarrels of that
State. And certainly Western Dem
ocrat would not be weaker in the agri-
cultural States of the South than a
candidate from the Northeastern CEN
tres of protected capital.
The Democratic party" our COR
respondent says, might go on passing
unlimited coinage acts from now until
doomsday and it would not make a
single Western State Democratic. 1
unhesitatingly and unequivocally in
favor of free coinage as measure of
abstract right and sound political econ
omy, but | have no faith in it as
measure of abstract right and sound
political economy, but | have no faith
in it as measure of political policy,
considered as a means of making Dem
ocratic votes in the West"
The Republic began the fight for
Democratic success in the West while
the Bland act was in force and there
was no free-coinage issue in politics.
So let us drop incidentals and get at the
main question. 1t is not question of
whether this or that single act of leg
islation would be popular in the West.
1t is question of Western leadership
in the campaign for the Presidency.
When our correspondent thinks of
the West he has in mind Colorado,
and he argues the efore that the West
is s.hide-bound. Perhaps Colorado is.
But Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin and
Indiana are Democratic States already
on the official count. Iowa has voted
for Democracy three times in success
sion, and will do so in November if
asked in good faith. Illinois, Indiana
ern candidate, and as between Benja-
min Harrison and respectable Western
Democrat they will all vote for the
democrat.
| The Republic is talking straight
from the map of the United States and
and the official returns of the Electoral
college. Let our correspondent and
all others interested take a map of the
United States and write on each State
how its electoral vote has been cast
since the term of John Quincy Adams
and the candidacy of Andrew Jackson,
the Allegheny Mountains. Then let
him sum up and see how many of the
candidates nominated from the Atlantic
States have been elected and how
many defeated since that time. This
is a very simple thing to do, Anybody
can do it. And whoever does do it
will know more of the all-important
| geography of American politics than do
ninety-nine in every hundred of the al
legged practical politicians" of the
country. And any one who does it for
the first time will be so surprised at
|
understand how he has lived>so long.
seen so much and read so much more
about American politics without ever
thinking of locating the seat of politics
on the map.
| John Quincy Adams term as Presi-
dent expired March 4, 1892. There
have been eighteen Presidential cam
paigns since then, and of eighteen
candidates elected to the Presidency
the Atlantic States have furnished four
Van Buren,, Pierce, Bucnanan and
Cleveland. The roll of defeated
Eastern candidates is long one.
When an Eastern candidate is nomin
ated by the Democrats against an East
ern candidate in opposition the Demo
Gratis win. This happened when Pierce
was nominated against Scott and when
Cleveland was nominated against
Blaine. This accounts for two of the
four Eastern Presidents elected since
John Quincy Adams. The overwhelm-
|
| ing influence of Andrew Jackson ac-
counts for the election of Van Buren
in his first candidacy. In his second
the West was too much for him.
Buchanan of Pennsylvania simply
slipped in during the interregnum
between the complete disorganization
of one party of opposition and the or
ganization of another.
Since his time the rule has worked
without a break. No Eastern candi-
date has been elected when nominated
against candidate from the West. 1t
works across party lines, and it will
probably continue to do so for the
next half century at least.-Republic.
|