The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1893-11-23
Baltimore Sun ]

/ election IS, as we all know, a year
when party discipline is hardest to
MAINTAIN under any circumstances,
and easiest to break under unusual
| provocations. Men feel that the
! presidency is secure for over three
| years to come and that the national
lines of policy cannot be seriously
affected or changed until the next
year 5 congressional elections are held.
! Hence it follows that one year after a
presidential election is the favorite
time for airing local grievances,
settling local faction fights and clean
ing up State and city affairs regardless
of national issues. And this has held
true to an exceptional extent in the
State elections just held.
The sweeping Republican victory in
! New York State would be a very grave
event, pointing to radical change in
| popular sentiment on the tariff and
money questions within the past year,
if it were not SO universally conceded
that the Empire State has been devoting
itself to a local house-cleaning, in
which the best and truest Democrats,
the very men who last year were tore
most i'll the support OF Mr.. Cleveland, !,
have done the most vigorous work
against the SO called "regular' DEM
oCratic ticket. In the language Of
New York Republican organ, 1" the
regular Democratic organization has
been defeated, but not by the regular
Republican organization" Wepointed
out in this column fortnight before
the election that Democratic revolt
against the machine nominations,
especially that of Maynard for the
bench of the Court Of APPEALS, which
headed the ticket, was threatening to
produce the political overturn in New
York which is now an accomplished
fact. The determination of the Dem
ocratic voters to rebuke Tammany on
one side of the big bridge and Nc
Laughlin's annex to Tammany on the
other side of it is shown on the face Of
the returns. In Brooklyn alone a
normal Democratic majority of at least
5000 gave place on Tuesday last to
majority of nerly $4,000 for the
Republican ticket. And when it is
remembered that every New York and
Brooklyn newspaper that supported
Mr.. Cleveland last year made war on
the Democratic ticket this year it is
entirely clear that New York has not
been witnessing Republican revival
but a vast rebellion of the Democratic
rank and file on local issues and against
local men only.
In a lesser measure this was true
also in the other States where Demo
cratic defeats were scored last Tues
day. In Massachusetts, the retiring
Democratic Governor, Hon. William
L. Russell, was conceded to have a
personal popularity far exceeding that
of Hon. John E. Russell, the candidate
of the Democracy in the recent con
test. In Ohio Mr.. Neal was known
from the first to be a distastetul
nominee to thousands of Democrats
who voted for Mr.. Cleveland with the
heartiest enthusiasm. On the other
hand, Governor Mckinley received a
large vote on personal grounds that
had nothing to do with national
politics. Sympathy with his personal
misfortunes as we'll as admiration tor
his personal gifts and qualities as a
leader unquestionably told heavily IN
his favor.
After all these proper deductions
are made, however, there is still
lesson to be learned by Democrats
from the returns of last Tuesdays
elections which has national bearing
1t is an established rule of Our politics
that the party in power, justly or
unlustly, will be blamed for hard
times. Business men who are not
prospering and working men who are
out of work are alike predisposed te
vote with the opposition. 1t was true
sagacity and foresight on Preslden'
Cleveland's part to anticipate TN:
tendency, as he did, by calling Con.
gress to meet in extra session last
August and relieve the business
depression by strengthening the credl
and currency of the nation. If the
Senate had co-operated with him a
promptly as the House in giving thl:
needed relief the recovery of business
would have been we'll assured a tul
month before the elections were held
/, Those Democratic Senators wh(
, blocked the way to business GONZALES
! cence for everything that happened
=, last Tuesday which was not dlrecti.
chareeable to local and persona
S causes.
Q The Democratic administration a
r Washington and its policies have beeI
1 neither defeated nor rebuked nor ma
! there been any reversal verdict give
e year ago III favor of Mr.. Cleveland
q financial and tariff policies. Certalnl
: no evidence is offered by the lat
o elections that the people have repente'
q of their desire, recorded twice over
: the polls, first in 1890 and again
% 1902, for a moderate and conservatlv
r reform of the worse than war tarl
/ rates imposed by the Mckinley &C
No sane man attributes the prerallln
business depression to MIR. Cleveland