Barton County democrat., 1892-03-24
CAN WIN ANYWAY.
New York Is Not Indispensable to Dems
cratic Success.

New York Is Not Indispensable to Demo
cratic Success.
Politics is a practical matter. There
are sentimentalists who like to beat
the air and come back empty-handed. .
but the average citizen does not care
to follow an ideal too expensive to have
any chance of getting through the bal
lot box. He does not expect, where
there are six or seven million people
to be induced to work together, that
each man can have the platform shaped
quite to his liking. nor can all have their
favorites for candidates Character
and qualifications being conceded to all
within the nominating radius, availa-
bility rightfully comes in for large
place Here, too, there is honest di-
versity of opinion. Personal bias and
old impressions have their influence.
For instance, many democrats have
become so in the habit OF looking to
New York for their presidential candi-
date that they are not able to disabuse
their minds of the impression that its
thirty-six votes can be had only for one
of its favorite sons Yet. as they look
over the record, they note that for
thirty years every man put on
the presidential ticket has been
from New York. Mcclellan and
Hancock were really no excep-
tions.R The popular soldier did
not carry that state in 1864. Seymour
Gid In 1858, but was not elected. Four
years later Greeley was woefully
slaughtered Tilden swept it by
round majority in 1876 by virtue of his
broad craftsmanship and the magnifi-
cent fight he had made against Tweed
and Tammany. In 1880 Hancock was
rejected. and Cleveland was saved by
a scratch in 1854 He failed at the sec
ond trial 1t has not been questioned
that the democrats presented in each
case were chosen with reference to
their strength in New York, yet they
saved the state but three out of seven
times In two cases only. those of
Seymour and Tilden, can there be any
plausible claim that there was gain
even in that state by reason OF the loca-
ton OF the candidate. This view is
strengthened by the fact that in the
merely state elections in the same
period the democrats have been sue
cessful about two-thirds of the time.
The argument, then, from the records,
that it is needful to go to New York for
the head of the ticket to save that
state is palpably lame. With apparent
harmony and unanimity in that state
for its man, the election results are not
indicative that advantage was gained
by listening to the '.shrieks of locali-
ty." Nor is it fair diagnosis of the
situation to insist that the democrats
cannot elect president without New
York. The zeal for a favorite in
that state induces a leading demo-
cratic paper in Wisconsin to insist
that it would be party suicide to
leave it. That is simply absurd.
To support this theory it allots
to the republicans all the northern
states except New York, Connecticut,
New Jersey and Indiana, with sixty
seven votes. which it classes as doubt
full. and comedies also ten of the four
teen votes OF Michigan to the republic
ans They then have two hundred and
fourteen votes, and either New York
or Indiana would give them more than
the requisite two hundred and twenty
three. That IS an attempt to manipu-
late figures to subserve special ends.
New Jersey end Connecticut are as
certain for tho democrats as West Vir-
ginia and perhaps one or two other
southern states Indiana may be fairly
claimed and Michigan is certain to give
the democrats at least six of its four
teen votes Then with the south they
have one hundred and ninety-six votes,
without New York. If the candidate
is not from NBw York, it is evident
that he will be- from Indiana, Illinois
or Iowa, with the vice president prob
ably from Massachusetts, In that
event the twenty-four votes of Hin ois,
thirteen Of Iowa and fifteen of Massa-
chusetts coulC be drawn upon unless
the campaign broke down by absurd
blundering. ANY two of them would
be enough, or Illinois and Montana or
Rhode Island alone. Nor is there \
reason to suppose that New York
would be lost because its home man.
was not taken. 1t is not judicious to
press the locality feature very strong
iy.-St Paul Globe.