The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1894-11-16
Eighth Page Essays.
NO. L.

wen NuS pay 10 pioJSN Nu', wv
curtain has been rung down, the
prompter has closed his book, the
players have left the stage, and the
lights are out. This is good time to
take account of stock, to look up the
dead, wounded and missing, and to
prepare for the battle of 1896. Lest
something should be forgotten which
ought to be remembered, we propose
to put on record in these Essays facts
for our party friends which may be
useful in the coming contests.
Ex-Secretary Whitney is one of The
shire widest political observers in the
country. He says:
1t does not require seer to see
that the causes Of yesterdays results
were both general and special. 1t is
repetition, to my mind, Of 1874,
with the parties reversed. The panic
of 1873 resulted in the great Demo
cratic tidal wave of 1874, and the
hard times of 1898 and 1894 have re-
suited in this great Republican vic
tory.
That is the great underlying gener.
al cause, but along with it is the fact
that the Democratic party has misbe.
haved since 1892, and disgusted large
bodies of its friends and supporters.
That fact has been perfectly evident
to everybody. When people are poor
and hungry they actually are against
the Government, and the party in
power gets the blame of it.
A great many who have Loyalty sup
ported the party this time will rather
rejoice at the thoroughness and com.
pleteness of the whipping. If it was
to be, they would rather have the
lesson written out strong enough not
to be mistaken. do not think it is
verdict against the party or its
principles. The Republicans will
say so, an d it will take long time to
get over it, but the Democratic party
has had four times as many defeats as
victories since l have been a voter.
and it does not demoralize easily. 1t
will be stronger in the end.
The Reading Morning Herald has
this to say of the political result last
week as compared with that of
1890, and the then overthrow of the
Republicans.
"The Democratic defeat in the
country on Tuesday is not unprece-
dented. 1t is closely paralleled by
the great landslide against the Re-
publ;cans in the second year Of Presi-
dent Harrison's term.
"In the ffty.frst Congress the Re-
publicans had working majority in
the House. In the elections of 1890
this was converted into a Democratic
majority Of about one hundred and
fifty. AS far as the new tariff was
involved in the elections the condem-
nation of the Mckinley law was far
more emphatic than is the disapproval
of the Democratic measure.
"The reversal of the State elections
was quite general in 1890 if not so
pronounced as it has been this year.
Pennsylvania the rock-ribbed Republi-
can State which gave Harrison 10, 900
majority in 1888, elected a Demo.
cratic Governor by 10000 in 1890.
Illinois, which gave Harrison a ma
jority Of $4,000, elected Democratic
Treasurer by 10000 in 1890. Massa-
chusetts, which had been Republican
with only two exceptions for thirty
years, and which gave Harrison a
majority of $4,000, elected Demo-
cratic Governor two years later by
over 5000 majority. Michigan, Ne
braska, Oregon and Wisconsin, all
Republican States, went with the
avalanche for the Democrats in the
middle of Harrison's term.
eff Wilson, the champion of Demo
cratic Tariff Reform in the House,
is defeated this year, was not McKin.
ley beaten in 1890
"a political reverse in the middle of
the administrative term has been the
rule in our history. No President
since the end of the war and recon-
struction period has carried a party
majority in Congress through his
term.
"There is discipline in the Demo
cratic defeat, but it is neither unpre-
cedented nor final. The Republicans
have rope enough to hang them
selves, and their record indicates
that they will do it before 1906"