Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1893-01-26
THE VOTE OF THE PEOPLE.
Figures Indicate Steady Growth of the
Democratic Party.


A complete table of the popular vote
at the last presidential election in COM
parison with that at the election of
1888 contains some suggestions of I'M
usual interest. In the first place. 1t
shows that the total vote was compare
lively light. The total vote in 1884
Was 10,05l. S06 and in 1888 1t was H.
$1,000 This is an increase of about
II per cent in the four years. In 1892
the total vote was IL. O6S, 595, an in
crease of trifie over 6 per cent,
although in the meantime six new
states had been admitted into the
union, with an aggregate of PA, 354
votes. The table shows that this loss
on the total vote must have fallen
chiefly upon the republican party.
though the increase of the democratic
vote was less than would have been
expected in ordinary circumstances.
The vote of the peoples party ex-
plains in part the relative falling off
in both the regular parties, but it
is evident that it was drawn much more
largely from the republicans than from
the democrats. The total vote of the
prohibitionists and the labor party in
1884 was 325. 733, and in 1855 it was
1893, 712. But in 1892 the prohibition and
peoples party vote reached an aggre-
gate of 1889 of which 1. 040, 600 was
cast for the Weaver ticket. In the
states where there was a fusion be-
tween the democrats and populiStS.
and where the democrats withdrew
their electoral tickets, the votes are
all credited to Weaver, which involves
a deduction of democratic votes from
the Cleveland column, the number of
which cannot be estimated. There was
IL com bination between the repu blicanS
and peoples party in Louisiana which
may affect the republican vote there,
though it is probable that the division
made in the table represents substan-
italy the actual strength of the two
parties in the state.
The vote for Cleveland when he was
elected in 1884 was ASIA S6. and his
plurality over Blaine was 23 COS in the
whole country. In 1883 his total vote
was 5, $50, 242, which was an increase of
fully 1917 per cent over that of the pre-
ceding election, and, although defeated,
he had a plurality of 95, 534 over Har-
rison on the popular vote of the coun-
try. The latter obtained his majority
of the electoral votes by carrying GER
tain close states by narrow margin.
ClevelandS total vote at the last cleo
ton was 5,554,6S5 which was an in
crease of only about per cent. over
that of 1884, but his plurality over
Harrison was increased to $50, 342. The
vote for Blaine in 1884 was
4.S51, 0S1, and that for Harrison
in 1855 was 5, 40, 10S. This was an in
crease in the republican vote of little
over II per cent. that in the demo
cratic vote having been 1917 per cent.
These figures point significantly to the
means by which the republican victory
of four years ago was gained by con-
centrating the powers of corruption
upon New York and Indiana. Har-
rison's total vote at the last election
was 5,172, 343, falling off Of more
than per cent. from that of 1888.
These figures indicate steady
growth in the strength of the demo
cratic party in the last eight years,
but they show that the increase was
relatively greater during Cleveland's
administration than during the subse-
quent four years, and that the launch
ing of his tariff policy in the message
of 1887 did not weaken the party in the
country at large. But their greatest
significance is in the evidence of loss
of strength by the republican party dur
ing the administration of Harrison and
while the agitation of the question of
tariff reform was most active. There
is no doub bit that this is largely accounted
for by the passage of the Mckinley
law and the extravaganza of the Fifty
first congress. The dissatisfaction
with the course of the republican party
was indicated by the failure of the to-
tai vote of the country to show its nor
NAL increase, by the reduction of the
republican vote not only relatively but
absolutely, and by the development of
such unusual strength by the third
party in states that were previously
republican.
This record shows how the vote of
the country is liable to shift in conse-
quence of popular dissatisfaction with
the course of the party in power if it
fails to fulfill the promises by which
it has secured the confidence and sup
port of the people. Under our electoral
system the result is made much more
striking in the electoral vote than in
the popular vote. for a modera tie
change in the relative voting strength
of parties throughout the country may
overturn state after state. In 1888
Harrison received 233 electoral votes to
1SS for Cleveland By an increase OF 3
per cent. in the democratic vote and a
decrease of per cent in the repu blican
vote the result was changed to pr cleo
torai votes for Cleveland to 145 for
Harrison. There is in the possibility of
such changes d lesson for the leaders
of both parties to ponder upon.-N. Y.
Times.