The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-09-27
CONCERNING NEW YORK.

new ok Is The p1VOUdl SudL0 UulS year
as it was four years ago, and it can
hardly be open to doubt that the party
which carries it will elect it's candidate
for President. From this time therefore
until the polls close on November Sth,
the eyes of the country will be fixed
upon the campaign in that state. 1t is
needless to say that New York is politi-
cally a very doubtful State. In recent
times as rule it has gone Democratic in
off years and Republican in Presidential
years. The fact seems to be that there
is large reserve Republican vote in the
country which does not come out except
in Presidential years. The Democratic
vote is much easier to handle than the
Republican, partly because it is largely
concentrated in the cities, and partly be-
cause it is composed largely of men who
are accustomed to obey orders. The
Republican vote on the other hand is
more scattered, and much less if it is of
a character that can be ordered out.
When it wants to come out it comes but
when it does not want to no amount of
appealing or ordering will bring it out. 1t
is therefore ordinarily easier to get out
the Democratic vote than the Republican
and this in large measure no doubt ac-
counts for the fact the Democrats usually
carry the state in off years.
Whenever the Republicans can get out
their full vote they are pretty sure of
victory. The problem therefore which
confronts the leaders of the party is how
to get out that vote. The Republican
vote is as rule thinking vote, and it
must be approached through the mind.
1t must be convinced that the issues at
stake are of Importance, and that the
election will have some decisive effect
upon them. The Democratic leaders un-
derstand this as well as the Republican,
and this accounts for the fact that the
Democratic organs of the Empire state
are belittling as much as possible the
great issue of the campaign, namely, the
tariff issue. There can be no doubt that
the Democratic national platform takes
definite and pronounced ground in favor
of free trade; and if the campaign in
New York were fought on the Democratic
and Republican platforms it would pre-
sent to the people as its paramount issue
the rival policies of free trade and
protection. New York is state full Of
manufacturing and other enterprises
,,b;oI, boyo rroxu,, III, ,,pdor yrntaction
and which depend for continuance of
their existence on the continuance of the
protective policy. An issue of that kind
clearly made would be certain to stir the
people up and bring out full vote and
full vote means Republican success.
Hence the Democrats of New York are
seeking to keep this issue in the back
ground; and in order to do so they
are going to the extent of repudiating
their national platform. The ques-
ton is to what extent will they
succeed? Undoubtedly the more this
issue is covered up, the more public
attention is turned to other ques-
lions, such as the force bill' and negro
domination, the better the chance of the
Democracy's carrying the State, for the
Democratic vote can be got out, no
matter what the issue, provided the
bosses are promised enough to make it
an object for them to order it out, while
the Republican vote can only be got out
by convincing it that something of vital
importance is at stake.
If the people can be convinced that the
question of free trade and protection is
at issue, in spite of Democratic denials
in spite of Democratic efforts to keep
that question out of sight or to disguise
it, there is no doubt that the Republican
vote will be out in force as well as the
Democratic vote. The danger to Repub-
lican success lies in the dificulty-and it
may be serious one-of convincing the
people that the protective policy is in
danger. 1t was Bourke Cochran who de-
clared that the tariff plank of the Demo-
cratic platform would make every factory
in New York State recruiting office for
the Republican party. That was true,
and if the Democratic leaders had stood
by it there would now be no doubt about
the result of the election in that State.
But they have. repudiated it, declaring
that it misrepresented the aims and pur-
poses of the Democracy. Hill has tram
pied upon it in public, and declared in fa-
vor of policy in which there is really
as much protection as in the Republican
platform; and all the lesser lights, tax
ing their cue from the Senator, are
trampling upon it, too. How much this
treatment has interfered with it's potency
for Republican vote making, how many
people have been lulled into Indifference
by having this issue practically with
drawn by the Democratic leaders is of
course uncertain 1t is this uncertainty
that creates the doubt as to the result on
the eighth of November. In other words
the success of the Democrats of New
York ON election day depends upon their
success in allaying the impression that
the party meditates, if given control of
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