Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-11-07
DELAWARE.
The Fierce Fight Being waged in the Dia-
mond State.

The Fierce Fight Being waged in the Dia-
mond State.
Special Disr atch to The Evening Star
WILMINGToN. DEL. Nov. delaware is
properly placed in the doubtful column. One
Of the hardest fights Of this extraordinary cam
paign has been in this little state. and there is
no state wherein both parties are more doubt
full as to the result. The republican national
committee hesitate about claiming the state and
the democratic national committee canno.
bring themselves to believe tina. they are really
in danger of losing it, but the politicians of both
parties within the state know that the fight is a
desperate one with seemingly nearly equal
chances.
The situation is regarded a. so close that
every new vote on the registration list is as
conspicuous as fly in a pan Of milk. You may
judge how close 1t is when each party is claim
ing that it will ''sweep the state" by majority
Of from 600 to 800. The latter figure marks
the high water of expectation of each party.
WHAT THE CONTEST TURNS ON.
The contest seems to turn upon the votes of
1000 negroes in Wilmington an addition to
the republican vote The election is for Presi-
dent, one Congressman, some county officers
and legislature, which will choose the sue
cessor to Senator Gray. The contest is one of
extraordinary activity and extreme bitterness
Senator Higgins, republican. and Senator GRAY
and ex-senator Bayard. democrats have been
for weeks making speeches night. and day
throughout the state, each often speaking two
or three times within twenty-four hours. Each
party is driven almost to the coinage Of new
adjectives Of Reproduction to be applied to the
other and an absolute torrent of abusive cpl
thets is applied to Senator Higgins by the dem
ocrats.
On the streets of this city there is little
spoken of and apparently little else thought of
besides politics, and the partisans of one side
cannot refer to those of the other except in
terms OF bitterness. In q sense the aristocracy
seems to be opposed to Senator Higgins,
whom the democrats recognize as their arch
enemy and the most dangerous they have ever
dreamed of having in this state, and an intense
feeling Of resentment is aimed at him. Mean
while he is very calmly and shrewdly working
to place the state in the republican column and
to do SO in such way as to keep it there. Ex-
Secretary Bayard has probably never in his life
before made such fight as this time. and Sem
| ator Gray is as bard at it as is he.
The great struggle is in Newcastle county in
| which Wilmington is situated. and the republic
! cans claim that they will carry that county by
1000 or more majority: The other two cOun-
ties Of the state the republicans concede to the
democrats, Sussex by 500 and Kent by 500.
WHAT SENATOR HIGGINS HAS DONE
Until Anthony Higgins took hold Of the thing
| the republicans OF Delaware hardly thought OF
the posi- bility of overthrowing the rule of the
Bayards and the Salsburys. But Higgins made
his fight, elected a republican Legislature and
got into the Senate by taking advantage of a
time when the Salsburys and Bayards were
but temporary victory and was only sufficient
| to show the democrats that they could not az
ford longer to quarrel among themselves, but
must join forces against q common enemy
This time Higgins has been fighting the united
| democracy OF the state in an effort to win n
victory more complete and more lasting than
his first. In this he has hard eight before
him, but no harder than the democrats have to
hold the state. At the last election out Il II 400
qualified voters in Newcastle county the repub-
There are now II, 600 voters qualified. The
republicans estimate that 1900 Of these are Of
| their party and q, 800 are democrats They es-
| innate that the democratic increase blythe in