St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-11-07
A DEMOCRATIC HOUSE
That Is What Is Certain to
Be Behind the Next
President.
An Interesting Resume Of the
Situation in the Various
Districts.
Republicans Can Hope to Sc
cure Very Few Membera
in the South.
Lots Of Democrats to Be Re-
turned From the States
Of the North.

vi LilO INOL lille
WASHINGTON, Nov. 6.-There is, per
haps, but one point upon which both of
the great political parties are agreed in
this campaign, and that is that the great
Democratic majority in the present
house of representatives will be largely
reduced. Even the most enthusiastic
Democrat is willing to allow that the
probabilities lie IN that direction. But
when it comes to calculation of the
extent of the. reduction there is again a
difference Of opinion. Some sanguine
Republicans have asserted their belief
that their party will be able to secure a
majority in the Fifty-third congress,
and will so be able to elect Thomas b..
Reed to his old place as speaker of
Tue house. The Democratic leaders,
however, laugh at this claim, and,
indeed, few conservative Republicans
have Endorsed it. At the beginning Of
the present congress the Democrats in
tie house, including the eight indie
pendents, or Alliance men, who usually
act with them, numbered PAT out Of a
total membership of 336, thus control
ling the house by the almost unprece-
denied majority of 15S. 1t is entirely
improbable, except in the event OF
A Landslide,
that this enormous majority can be
overcome by the Republicans. The
best informed Democrats in WaShlng-
ton believe that their party Will nave a
majority Of about twenty-five IN the
next house; conservative Republicans
a majority of about twelve, and the
probabilities are that the true majority
will be somewhere between these ny
ures, say eighteen or twenty; be
cause of the numerous unknown
factors entering into the contests
in MANY of the congressional districts,
the outcome of the election of congress-
men is really much more difficult to
forecast than is the case III the presl-
dental contest. In the last congress
sional elections, two years ago, the
Alliance was in the prime of Its youth
full strength, and because of its refusal
to affiliate to any extent with either or
the old parties, managed to secure the
adhesion of very many voters from the
ranks of both Besides. as is usually
the case in the mid presidential contest,
a spirit of unrest was upon the people,
and party ties sat lightly upon them.
Since that time, however, the Alliance
has almost ceased to have an lndepen-
dent existence. and has been merged INTO
the third, or Peoples party, and in many
states this party has in turn affiliated
with One or the Other
of the old parties. The object of these
Affiliations has been to strengthen the
representation in the house, and TO this
end the presidential ticket has been
traded off. One result of this plan has
been TO drive back into the ranks OF the
old parties many of the old original
Alliance men, who did not relish the
prospect of being delivered over to their
0ld.time antagonist. The extent OF this
disatfecton is absolutely unknown. The
other effect has been to surround the
coming congressional elections with a
cloud of doubt that makes it almost idle
to propheSy the result. SO many OF the
states are debataDle ground; and COM
ing down to details, it may be well to
look at the situation in Kansas and Ne
braska, the former Alliance strongholds::
There the situation is more involved
than elseNh here. The Democrats have
made a strong fight for independent eX-
istence, but, realizing that If continued
it would prove 10 Oe nothing more than
Il fight for principle without the most
shadoWy prospect Of offices. they nave
at last abandoned the unequal contest,
and have gone over in body TO the
third party ranks.
Fusion FL Complete
in these states, and nobody can calcu-
late the result with any prospect OF sue
cess. In Nevada, owing to the efforts
of Senator Stewart, who has at last
come out in open warfare not ouiy upon
the administration but upon his own
party because OF its failure to in
dorse his extreme silver coinage
views, the new party is be-
lieyed to be supreme. 1t will. 1t
is thought, not only elect the third party
electors, but also send to the house
Francis Newlands, the well-known Tree
silver exponent. The Republicans, how
ever, have ueryed themselves TO make a
strong fight, and will oppose NeWlandS
with eX-Representative Woodburn, and
have also determined TO force the strug-
gle and try to replace Stewart i'll the
senate with Bartine, the present repre-
sentative in congress.
In Alabama, another of the Alliance
strOnghOlds, the bad blood engendered
in the present state election has led the
defeated KolbiteS, JefferSonian Demo
Gratis, POpuliSts and other diSatIected
elements Of the old Democracy to go to
the length of fuslng with the Repub-
lieans in some OF the districts. That
astute politician. Chris Magee, has been
QUICK to take advantage of the situation,
and has
Fomented the strife
and helped along the fusion with all the
means placed at his disposal by the ma
tiOnal Republican committee. Now he
confidently claims at least two of the
present Democratic districts of the
state fer the fusion ticket. One Of these
is the district now represented by
Oates, the national party leader and a
strong man, and opposed to him is Tate,
Kolbite, who promises to run well.
The other district is the Seventh, now
represented 10y that veteran Democrat,
William Forney, for many years mem
Der of the appropriation committee of
the house. He has declined to run
again, and i'll his place the Democrats
have nominated William Ii. benson,
VINO is opposed by w. L. Wood. another
Kolbite. 1t is an undeniable fact that
the Democrats have been made uneasy
by the confident claims of the fusionists
in these two districts.
In Michigan the Republicans admit
the probability of the election of three
out of twelve representatives, while the
Democrats claim half of the delegation.
In Arkansas the Democrats fear that
the third party will elect one of the
congressman, but they are making
strenuous efforts to send solid delega-
ton.
iu California.
The Allinnce is almost nnvaItu In