The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1892-09-09
THE ELECTION.
VERMONT VERY REPUBLICAN.

dOrses Protection. The Australian Bal
lot Reduces the Vote and Majority
The Banners County Returns
Dispatches from White River juno
tion up to o'clock this (Friday) morn
ing give the election returns from the
State summarized as follows: Returns
from 22S towns give Fuller, Republican,
36,31S; Smalley, Democrat, II, ,4S3; Allen,
Prohibitionist, 1899; scattering, 800. The
same towns in 1888 gave Dillingham;,
Republican, 45,37S; Shurtleff, Democrat,
17,79S; all Others, 1,204; and in 1890 gave
Page, Republican, 30,390; Brigham,
Democrat, 1900; all others, 1867. Com
pairing with 1888 these towns show Re-
publican loss of o, 100, and Democratic
loss OF 3l3. Comparing with 1890 the
Republicans gain 5,SSS and the Demo-
Gratis gain 800. In the towns reported
Fuller's majority over Smalley is Is, 704;
over all 1885. In 1888 Dillingham's
majority over Shurtleff was 1881; over
all 26,301. In 1890 Pages majority over
Brigham was 1890; over all u, ,343 The
towns last reported do not show vote
corresponding to those first given, and
as the vote of the 15 remaining towns is
small the prospect now is that the Re-
publican majority will hardly exceed, if
it reaches 10000 for the whole State and
the Republican plurality will hardly
come up to the majority of II 900 indi-
Gated by the first returns.
The House of Representatives will
stand, as far as heard from, 2l0 Republi-
cans and certainly 30, possibly 30 Demo-
Gratis. The Democracy had 63 in the
House of 1890. This is great Republi-
can gain; and being made up from towns
like Bennington, Rutland, Poultney,
Castleton, Sunderland, Readsboro, and
others, the New York Press is justified
in calling it rout, a Waterloo for the
Vermont Democracy.
In connection with the late dispatches
comes this remark: There is complaint
that not sufficient voting booths were
furnished in certain towns even where
voters were disposed to vote, and from
the expressions of sentiment received
1T is quite probable that strong move
ment will be made to repeal the election
law" We hope this is not true. There
is no sense of talking about the repeal of
a law because a town with 16 votes or 80
registry does not at first understand it's
workings. Here we voted the Australian
ballot for the fifth time and little fault is
found. The Republican leaders in Ver-
mont are well satisfied with the ma
jority given Fuller and Stranahan in
Tuesdays election, and they regard the
result as substantial endorsement of
Harrison and Reid and Protection.
Nearly all ante-election estimates made
by conservative party leaders placed the
Republican majority at from 10000 to
25,OOO. On the other hand, many lead
ing Democrats predicted that the Re-
publican majority would be from $1,000
to $1,000. That the Republican vote
would be less than it was in 1888 was
conce led by every one, the principal
causes attributed thefor being lack of
enthusiasm in certain counties for local
reasons, the failure to thoroughly organ
ize the party by school districts in some
counties and the anticipated difficulty of
voting under the Australian ballot sys.
TEN, which law applied for the first
time this year at the State election to all
town under 1000 inhabitants.
The Correspondent of the Boston Jour
nal probably summarizes the situation
as to the decreased vote when he says:
THE figures of the vote cast Tuesday
substantiates the misgivings regarding
the working of the ballot system. The
result of the operation of the law in the
smaller towns was a reduced vote, which
was caused largely by throwing out de-
tectlYe ballots. 1t is estimated that the
loss from this cause was almost 10 per
cent. of the total vote cast and that from
1000 to 5000 votes were lost by the
failure of the freemen to comply with the
law in marking their votes. The great
est losses from this cause occurred in the
Republican strongholds. The Austral-
ian hQllnt loau ha1 1,ann In, -, |,
larger towns at local elections for two
years, and hence in these Democratic
centres but few defective ballots were
cast. The Republican loss on the vote
Of 1888 is from 20 to "a per cent The
total Democratic vote in the towns heard
from also shows falling off from the
vote cast four years ago, and at this hour
promises to be the smallest cast for Gov
ernor in any Presidential year for 20
years"
The loss of course falls the heaviest
upon the Republicans, as the larger
towns, the Democratic strongholds, were
familiar with the system in local cleo
tlons, and, as result, the number of i'm
perfect ballots was small But despite
this fact, despite the sharp Democratic
campaign and the popularity of Col.
Smalley, the Democratic leader received
"a smaller vote than any leader of the
party in Presidential year for 20 years.
This certainly is significant comment
airy on the ''change of sentiment which
Democrats have been so loudly declaring
as having taken place in Vermont. It
surely can afford little comfort for those
who have been expecting tariff re-
form" wave. Vermont Republicans have
too practical knowledge Of the benefits
of protection to be stampeded.
Counting upon these facts the New
York Press says: 'If any Democrat can
draw any comfort from the fact that his
party in Vermont cast 19,527 votes four
years ago, 1920 votes two years ago,
and about $4,000 last Tuesday, he is well
come to it. At this rate the Democracy
may carry Vermont when all the Repub-
licans are dead or shall have moved away,
But a calamity is the appropriate condi-
tion of Democratic success. The party
lives on calamity diet and feeds its faith
when the diet is missing by pretending
to see its present.
Meanwhile, the duty of Republicans
is to take advantage of the lesson that is
so full of hope. The figures from Yer
mont mean that victory is ours if we get
the vote out in November"
BENNINGTON COUNTY RETURNS.
We give our usual table below. 1t will
readily be seen that if the rest of the
state had done as we'll as this county,
especially the South shire, that the re-
suit in the state would have been much