Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1894-11-29
THE FREE SILVER CRAZE.
Some Results oil the Kecsut Election
That SHOW How Fatal This Issue Proved
to tho Democratic Party.
New York Evening Post, Nov. 10th.

Some Results oil the Kecsut Election
That show How Fatal This Issue Proved
to tho Democratic Party.
New York Evening Post, Now 10th.
Curious diyergences as to the fulness
Of the vote at the recent election are
found even in States which adjoin each
other, and which apparently had the
same conditions Take Ohio and
Indiana, for example. Neither elected
governor, although minor State Of
ficials were chosen in OHIO; and in both
popular interest was centered upon the
Congressional contests. The total vote
in Ohio was small only 764, o50, against
1913, SOS in 1898 and 850,16 in 1892;
while in Indiana it was the largest on
recorG-562, 1896, against 554,394 in the
last Presidential election. In Ohio the
immense Republican gain is due, not TO
any material increase of the Republican
vote, but to the tremendous falling off
in tho Democratic, the figures for 1892
aud 1894 contrasting as follows:
Rep. Dem Pop. Pro.
1so2......, .405. lsI 4o4. lis l4,S52 26Ul2
1S94........4lS9s S 2T6,0S2 49,4sl 1855
In Indiana, on the other hand, the Re.
publicans have increased their vote far
dbNNO WIG VIZ lOSOlAa WislSh wac
263,361 for Harrison in 1888, while the
Democratic vote holds UP far better than
in Ohio, a comparison like that given
above showing these figures:
Rep. Dem. Pop. Pro.
1892. 256, 335 262Sl7 22,l9S 1904
1Sy4...,.....2s4,4 1856 237,5o2 1857 ll,o2l
But while tho offices at stake did not
differ greatly in these two States, there
was one important distinction between
the campaigns in Ohio and Indiana.
The Democrats of Indiana went no
further on the silver issue than to de-
mand in general terms restoration of
silver to its old place in the currency
systems of the world, and to "hail with
delight" the signs of restoration OF the
binetalic system. The Democrats of
Ohio, on the other hand, adopted a reso-
luton declaring that 1--WE favor the I'M
limited free coinage Of silver at the legal
rate of 16 to l, with equal legal-tendcr
power" There could not be better
test of free.coinage as an issue than this
radical difference between the Demo-
cratic platforms in two adjoining States
| The result was that in the State where
it declared for unlimited coinage the
party lost one-third Of its vote in 1892,
while in the State where it made no
such declaration it came within 10 per
cent of reaching the unprecedented total
cast for Cleveland in 1892. There can
hardly be politicians stupid enough not
| to draw the moral of such figures
| Wherever in the country the free
| coinage issue was made prominent by
| Democratic candidates, the result was
the same as in Ohio. In Missouri, for
example, Bland himself was beaten, his
vote sinking from 1887 in 1899 to
1856 in 1894, SO that Republican was
elected from the district with only an
increase of his party's vote from 49, 53
to 1885. On the other hand, any
| Democratic candidate who made his
campaign boldly for sound money
protited by his course. While other
Democratic Congressman from Tennes.
see who had voted for every silver
measure were defeated, Representative
Patterson of the Memphis district, was
triumphantly reelected after canvass
in which he justified his opposition te
free coinage, apologized for his vote in
favor of tue Seigniorage bill as mis-
take, and promised to stand firmly fol
sound money in future. Some Of the
Southern newspapers perceive the sig.
nihcance of such facts. The Memphis
-10GEaHche is one Of them. 1t attribute!
the Democratic loss of the House to thu
party's abandonment of 'its traditiona
honest-money policy" and says: "Wha
the Democracy of the South must do i;
to abandon the free.silver craze.
cannot hope to win over the Northern
Democracy. 1t cannot carry free silvel