Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1894-04-25
FIFTY FOURTH CONGRESS.
The llurculean Task Set for Republi.
cans TO Win Ii. -

cans 10 win IL.
WASHINGTON, April 16.-The vindica-
tion of the Reed rules of the Fifty First
Congress, now reluctantly accomplish
ed by the Democratic majority of the
present House, gives promising open
ing to the Republican campaigns in the
Congressional districts of the country
for the election of members of the next
House. The fight, within few weeks,
will grow hot in every doubtful dis
trict. The general conduct of these
campaigns have been intrusted to the
Republican Congressional Committee,
OF which Representative Joseph w.
Babcock, of Wisconsin, is chairman.
The Press correspondent asked Mr.. Bah
cock today for his judgment as to the
result of the fall elections in the COM
position of the next House. He replied:
"The result of the elections this fall
will be of greater Importance, and there
is more at stake, than at any election
held since the war. At present there
are twenty five States that have been
apportioned by the Democrats and
eleven by the Republicans. The re-
mainder elect at large, having only one
or two members each, and have not
been apportioned. The vote that elected
Benjamin Harrison President, in 1888,
gave us majority of three in the
House, but the same vote today, which
was then a decided Republican victory,
would give the Democrats from ten to
twelve majority in the House.
"This result is brought about by GER
rymanders in large Northern States,
among which are New York, Michigan,
Illinois and Wisconsin. So you will
see at once that we can win by large
popular vote, and still lose the House.
The Democrats now have 120 members
and the Republicans seven from the
Solid South. They need only fifty nine
more to make majority, and have
twenty eight Northern States to elect
them from, while we must secure 172
members from these same States to or
ganize the House, or, in other words,
we must elect 172 members from 900
districts, or three members to their one.
under the present gerrymanders the
problem is, can we elect rs per cent. of
the members in the twenty eight East
ern, Western and Northern States? The
present indications are that we can
elect over 80 per cent. of these dis
tricts, but to do this we must contest
every inch of ground. The race for
the control of the next House, believe,
PRACTICALLY determines. the, eoming
Presidential election, for if the Demo
Gratis control the Fifty Fourth Congress
by majority of States, their plan of
campaign for 1896 will be to indorse
the Populist ticket in enough Northern
and Western States to prevent the Re-
publicans from securing majority of
the Presidential electoral votes, and in
this way throw the election of the
President into the House.
80 you will at once see that if we
lose the Fifty Fourth Congress, we will
90 into the Presidential campaign
badly handicapped. We do not look
for any great gains from the South, for
believe that the Legislation SO far en-
acted, and the pending Wilson bill, to.
gether with the income tax provision,
will strengthen Democratic party in
that section. They have for years de-
manded free trade and cheap labor,
and no one will dispute the self evident
fact that the price of labor has been
greatly reduced since the election of
Mr.. Cleveland, in 1902.
ut is the duty of the committee to
look the facts squarely in the face, but
/ confidently believe that we can secure
a fair working majority in the Fifty
Fourth Congress, but it will not be large,
and our friends, who rashly predict
that we will carry the House by any
where from fifty to 100 majority have
entirely overlooked the conditions we
have to contend with. We will practic-
ally have to conduct the two campaigns
in one, and to win will require the COM
bined and untiring efforts of every Re-
publican and citizen who has the best
interests of the country at heart"