Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1893-03-02
DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT.

Reaction of Republican Chfcanerv in the
West.
The senatorial election in North Da-
kota is perhaps the end of a series of
surprises such as never occurred in the
politics of any other state At the
presidential election in 1892 one repub-
Hcan elector and two fusion electors
democrat and populist) were chosen
In the electoral college one of the votes
was cast for Cleveland, one for Weaver
and one for Harrison. There never be-
fore was such a division of the elector-
al vote of state. A fusionist governor
and republican secretary of state
were elected. In the legislature, with
a total membership of ninety-eight.
the democrats had thirty-one only, in
Guiding eight elected as independent
democrats" There were fifty-three re-
pubhcans and fourteen populists-
On the small capital of thirty-one
members, less than third of the en-
tire number, and nineteen less than a
majority, the democrats entered the
contest. They gained the senator.
There never was anything like it ex-
cept the case of gambler who had
made a fortune on a stake of small
value. HIS luck was illustrated by way
of para BILE. 1t was said that The be-
gan with shoestring and won a tan
yard" 1t is the first time within hui
man recollection when the democrats
went into a political deal, furnishing a
part of the capital, and secured the
entire profits of the transaction. AL
most universally, heretofore, the part
nership has been of that character
which has become classic in anecdote
A
they furnished the capital and the other
fellows the experience. AT the close
they had the experience and the other
fellows had the capital 1t is pleasant
to see the conditions reversed.
The republican congress admitted
the new states in 1889 Except Idaho,
which was kept back until July 8, 1S90)
for the purpose of packing the house,
the senate and the electoral college in
1892. From Idaho, Montana, North
Dakota, South Dakota, Washington
and Wyoming they expected to secure
eight members of the house, twelve
members of the senate and twenty
electoral votes. As result they saved
the most of the members of the house
from the new states The election of
senators is still incomplete, but the re-
publicans have lost one in Montana,
one in North Dakota, one in South Da-
kota. one in Washington and one in
Wyoming. OF the electoral vote they
lost five. Their loss in United States
senators is the most serious The re-
duction of the number OF their senators
in the new states and in two OF the old
er new states causes their loss of the
senate. The creation of new states. all
inha bited by a transient population of
homesteaders, was bad policy at the
start 1t has reacted on its authors.
The invention has returned to plague
the inventors.
Still this story, like all stories, has
an instructive moral The republicans
builded better than they knew. Out of
the mingled and incongruous mass of
frontiersmen communities are being
gathered and welded together which
are forming by degrees a powerful
democratic constituency. Out OF these
heterogeneous pioneer elements the
full proportions of democratic state
hood are in process o. Development
Chicago Herald