The Bessemer indicator., 1894-03-31

The republican party is cemented
firmly and held together not only by
reason of II strong desire to down pop
ulism but also from the fact
that the democrats have joined
hands with the third party and the
combine is made to knock the re
publicans out for next fall as well as
for this spring, There is great deal
at stake. and us opposition begets op-
position. the republicans are going into
the campaign with the vim and
earnestpess that an army would evince
in entering into the defense of strong
hold against an enemy.
II the result of the city election of
one year ago could be taken as II
criterion there would be grave ap-
prehensions felt for the party now in
power. but there ere redeeming features
which more than offset the seeming
discrepancies of the election of April
4, 1898.
The official returns of that election
show that the combined vote of Royal
and Utter, the democratic and .populist
candidates. was 1905, Royal having
received 800 votes and Utter 936 votes,
while Strait received 1928 votes, or
4S2 less than the combined vote of his
two opponents. There would not be
much encouragement in these figures
if the fusionists would stand firm and
could depend upon their quoto of the
womens vote, but they will not hold
their own in either instance. 1t Is not
too much to conjecture that at least one
third of the democrats will vote with
the republicans; the signs of the times
indicate it and any one who has mixed
in politics to any extent will bear out
the assertion. A detection of one
third of the democrats would of itself
change the result and there will be
tremendous falling off because the
mixed ticket is devoid of principle and
many good democrats detest it.
Nor is the dislike confined to demo-
Gratis alone. There are great many
middle of-the-road populists who are
deeply chagrined at having been led
out of the straight path and who de-
clare that victory won by the com
bine would be empty of honors to
them as they have been shorn of their
identity as party and the democrats
would claim all the glory; so there is
sore distress in the populist camp and
it is certain beyond reasonable doubt
that many an erstwhile republican will
return to his old standard in the
present conflict
The vote cast at the election last
spring. 3.12s will be greatly augmented,
of course, by the addition of the new
political factor but it is only fair to
presume that the same causes and the
same prejudices which will influence
the men will govern them to very
large extent ut least. A fellow feel
ing" with their male kindred will
most sssuredly be marked char
acteristic of the vote.
The vote of the city will be still in
creased and in a more marked degree
by the addition of the voice of Bes
semer being added by reason of an
nexation. But Bessemer is republican.
1t is naturally so and will assuredly
stand In the republican ranks this
time. True. Dempsey was elected
mayor one year ago on the democratic
ticket over his competitors, Colvin on
the republican and Williams on the
populist ticket. but that proves nothing
more than the fact that the republicans
were all split up In one of their
periodical rows as they usually are in
home affair but now they are voting in
Pueblo and there is firm resolve on
every hand TO wheel into line and vote
ii straight: