The Press., 1896-07-02
Washington Letter.
Washington. June 29. 1928.


 Washington, June %, 1896. He who asserts that the coming cam peign is going to be 8 walk-over for any body is either bluff1ng, misinformed, or has a short memory for election figures. Should the Chicago convention make 8 platform and nominate ticket upon which the pOpnlists and silver republi- cans can unite with the democrats he would be wise prophet indeed who could authentically say whether silver or gold would get the most electoral votes. of course, if there are to he two silver tick cts the success of the gold ticket would seem to be well nigh assured.
 This Is 8 good time to recall some po- litical facts which show that 1t has been hard fighting and the gaining of compar- atively few votes which have settled each of our last three presidential elections, not to mention the contest of 1876, when it was one electoral vote and that in such grave dispute that it could only be set tied by tribunal made for the occasion
 
 In 1884 MT. Cleveland won by margin of about 1900 votes In the state of New York, and in 1888 he lost to MT. Harrison by his inability to carry the same state. The contest of 1899 Is frequently called democratic tidal wave, because Cleveland got 277 electoral votes, while Harrison only got 145, and Weaver g, but glance at the popular vote cast at that election will show that it wasn't much of a tidal wave, but was in reality only the change of comparatively few votes, probably largely caused by men who stayed at home and didn't vote at all. The total popular vote was 12, 11O,636. Cleveland got 5, ,556, ,918, Harrison 5, ,176, 1O8, Weaver ,O41 ,O28, and Bidwell 264, ,133. Cleve- lands vote was only 13,685 greater than it was four years before, when he was de- feated, while HarrisOn's vote was 264, 1O8 less than it was in 1892, when he was elected. That shows what small change is required, if they are in close states, to make what the people call tidal wave winning for either side.
 The headquarters of the A. P. A. have been moved to Washington and are now open for business. Among other innova- tions is the publication of a weekly A. P. A. organ. Notwithstanding all the re- cent talk about the part this association was to play in the coming presidential campaign, Supreme President Echols, who certainly ought to know, assured your correspondent in the most positive terms that the A. P. A. as an Organiza- tion would take no part whatever in the national campaign, and that it's members are free to use their own judgment as to the best ticket to vote. MT. EchOls is going on a lecture tour, as far as Alaska, in short time.
 An incident occurred here several days ago which may play almost as important part in this years political campaign as Whitelaw Reid's old qua1rels with the Typographical Union did in the campaign of four years ago. One of the local street railway companies discharged number of their oldest and most efficient employees for no other reason than that they were officers in a union of Street Railway En- ployes, which afffliates with the Knights | of Labor. One of the officers of this com pany who was instrumental in bringing about these discharges is A. A. Wilson, U. s. marshal of the District of Colum- bia, a prominent democrat and chum of | President Cleveland. The national off, cers of the Knights of Labor have taken up the discharged mems fight, and have appealed to Representative Babcock, of Wis, who is chairman on the house con- mittee of the D. C., and also of the repub- lican congressional campaign committee, to help them secure justice for the dis charged men. They say that MT. Bab- cocks influence with this company ought to enable him to do this easily, as the company is now asking for the passage of bills by congress which depend upon the action of his house committee. MT. Bab- cock has promised to do what he could. If that results in a settlement satisfactory to the discharged men, the incident will be closed, if not, there may be trouble for somebody, as the K. of l.. officials say they will carry the matter into every con- gressional district in the U. s. in which there are Knights of Labor.
 The silver democrats who will control the Chicago convention by almost if not quite two-thirds will have to chose be- tween conciliating the pOpulists and sil- yer republicans and the gold democrats when they make up their ticket. It is now admitted by everybody that the plat form will certainly be for the free coin age of silver. Therefore the real fight will be over the head of the ticket. If they nominate man satisfactory to the gold democrats, 1t is certain that he will not be endorsed by the populists' and sil- yer convention to be held at St. Louis next month, and equally certain that he will not be supported by the bolting sil- yer republicans, and if they nominate a man satisfactory to the silver men out side of the democratic party, the gold democrats will not support him. Senator Mills will doubtless recognize the situa- tion as another instance of the democracy being between the devil and the deep sea-"
 l MANSFIELD.
 There was lively town meeting at