Los Angeles herald., 1892-07-26
RuLRD By A MINORITY.

The student Of republican government,
as exemplifed by the history of the
United States, is taught to believe that
the foundation of such government is
the will of the majority. But study OF
the official returns for the past thirty
two years, will show that in sixteen
years the minority have ruled the ma
iority; that the president has been
elected by less than one-half of the ped
pie; and that on two occasions, Harrison
in 1888 and Hayes in 1876, the success
full candidate has been actually defeated
by the popular vote. In the latter case
the defeated candidate had clear ma
jority of 157 ,020 over all other competi-
tors and 297 ,299 over the man who got
the office. We append table showing
how the majorities have gone since 1860:
Year. Rep msj.l Dem. maj.
1860, lincoln. .491 .249 Breckinridge.. 80.
1864, Lincoln. .407, ,342 McClelan...... ....-
1869, Grant. .305. 45slseymour.......
1876 Hayes Trident .I57 ,O2O
1880, Garfield. 1884 Hancock. ~.
1855 1885, Harrison HARMS 4sGs4a ssssa
*Plurslity.
tIilden's majority over Hayes, 297 300, and
$4,000 over all. In 1880 James b. Weaver,
the Greenback candidate received 306,2l9
votes. In 1884 B. +. Butler. Greenback capdi-
date, received 27O,359 votes and John 7. 81.
John, Prohibition candidate, received 150,767.
In the election of 1888 the defeated
candidate, Grover Cleveland, received
SO, 544 votes more than Benjamin Har-
rison. Iu the election there were two
other candidates in the field, A. j.
Streeter, the Union Labor candidate,
receiving 145,96l votes. while the Pro-
hibition nominee, Clinton B. Fisk re-
ceived 151, ,147 votes for temperance. Our
belief is that Fisk drew as many votes
from the Republicans as from the Dem
ocrats, while Streeter drew off 100 DEM
ocrats for every sixty Republicans. Per-
haps the contrast is even greater than
that, but we think we are we'll within
bounds on that computation.
In 1875 the total vote was s, ,412, ,766, of
which Rutherford B. Hayes received
4,033,97 in 1880 the total vote was
9,193,9O6, of which James A. Garfield
received 4,439,745; in 1884 it was 10,-
094 1888, of which James G. Blaine re-
ceived 4,Sl8,671 in 1888 it was II 1884,
937, of which Benjamin Harrison re-
ceiyed 5,439,S77. So it will be seen that
in the lsst four elections, in which
the Republicans have gained the
presidency three times, they have
never once polled one-half the popular
vote. Lincoln had over one-half the
popular vote in 1854, and so did Grant
on both his terms, but it must be re-
membered that the reconstruction meas
ures were not then complete, and the
southern states were practically disfran-
chised. But in the past sixteen years
the Republican party has never polled
one-half the popular vote, and has there
fore afforded the world the curious spec
tacle of minority governinga majority.
At the same time, we have no idea
that the constitution of the United
States will ever be amended in such
manner as to dispense with electoral
colleges and choose our presidents BY
the popular vote. When Tilden was
counted out in 1875, and justice OF the
supreme court decided that what was
lawful in Florida was Illegal in Oregon,
every other Democrat you met was in
favor OF abolishing the electoral colleges
and electing the president by popular
vote. But as coon as Cleveland was
chosen, in 1884, the very same men
were in favor OF preserving the old sys-
tenn intact. 1t is impossible to resist
the belief that the electoral college sys-
tam 10 tho waa ron nf tho nortx, in ,ovyor