The San Francisco call., 1896-10-12
THE MIGHTY FALLEN.

How are the mighty fallen! Henry
George, the author of progress and
Poverty" at one time the political
economist of the poor, the most promi-
nent writer upon the rights and
wrongs of labor on this side the
Atlantic, the popular and almost success
full candidate for the office of Mayor OF the
city of New York; Henry George, who
ten years ago seemed to have secured
permanent niche in the temple OF Literary
fame, is now content to be the travelling
figure faker of the Bryan aggregation.
How have the mighty fallen
1t is, indeed, subject for sadness TO see
man like Henry George descend to be
for hire the lightning calculator of polit-
ical campaign and III that capacity to use
his talents in juggling statistics, so as to
mislead the minds of those who have ad-
mired and trusted him. Yet that is his
exact position and attitude with reference
to the coming election. He is reported to
be travelling through the Northern and
Middle States collecting data for the pur-
pose of proving the certainty of Bryan's
victory. He is sending out bulletins con-
tanning these gathered statistics, with his
deductions therefrom. No one living
knows better than Henry George that his
figures furnish no warrant for his conciu-
sions and that his deduc tions are as full
of sophistry as an egg is of meat.
Take for example his calculation as to
the probable vote in Michigan. He cites
statistics TO show that in the last Pres-
Dental election the Republicans cast
222, 70s votes, the Democrats 202, 296 votes,
the Populists 19, 892 votes and the Prohi-
bitionists Il, ,069 votes. He then calculates
that a combination OF all the other ele-
ments against the Republicans would give
the combine majority of the votes. After
this quite simple bit OF arithmetic Mr..
George calmly proceeds to advise US that
this com bination lis now assured" and
that, Of course, Mr.. Bryan will carry
Michigan.
There are so many elements omitted
from Mr.. Georges estimate of the Michi-
gan result as to make it hardly possible
that he failed to observe and consider
them. In the first place, union of the
Democratic and Prohibition vote is almost
an impossibility in any Western State. 1t
is quite unnecessary to recount the rea-
sons for this. In the next place, no rs-
tional or impartial statistieian believes
that fusion between Democrats and Popu-
lists will result in holding to the COM
bination the full past vote of both.
This also requires no demonstration to
the minds of rejecting men. In the third
place the vote of 1892 is OF very little value
in an estimate of the vote of 1896, especially
when the Democrats upon the money issue
are taking the opposite view to that taken
four years ago. They then ran an ac-
knowledged gold advocate and an open
and avowed enemy of silver for President
and they elected him. Does not Henry
George know better than TO argue that the
same vote may be counted upon to elect
Bryan this year? To claim that gold Dem.
ocrats are few in Michigan, or in fact any
where else, is 10 argue against stone wall
of contradlcting facts which even polit-
ical sophist such as Henry George has be-
come should hardly dare to attempt.
The transfer of Mr.. Georges addition
mill over into Illinois has not lessened
the obvious faliacies it is engaged TO grind
out. He ignores tne existence of Palmer,
and. taking Altgeid as his authority,
predicts that Bryan will carry Illinois.
This latest bit of prophecy destroys
Henry Georges reputation for either inde-
pendence or accuracy in the field of poll
tics, and his own words write him down
as nothing more than a political hack en-
gagged to travel at the tail of Bryan's pro-
cession scattering deiusiye sophistries,
and depending on his past record as
reasoner to have them believed. 1t
is pity Mr., George was not sent into
New England prior to the Maine and Yer
mont elections. If he had been, Bryan
would have carried those States by the
same simple process of reasoning that he
is now assured of Michigan and Illinois,