The American guide., 1896-11-28
WHAT THE VICTORY MEANS.
An Ending of Dangerous Elements In the
BODY Polite.

an Enuinh OF dangerous Eiemcut1 IN tne
BODY Polite.
McKinley's lead in ths electoral col.
lege will be l13. 1t ought, of course
to have been 2l3, or 413, for there is not
a person in this country who can give
n good reason why Bryan should have
got an electoral vote Mt all. Still, the
1l3 majority will do. 1t Is n longer
lead than any presidential nominee has
gained since 1879, except that won by
Cleveland in 1892. Cleveland had plu-
rality in that year of 1872 over Harrison,
end majority of 10 over Harrison and
Weaver. Hayes had majority OF l.
Garfield of 50, Cleveland il 1884 of 81,
and Harrison in 1855 Of 65. Mckinley
has much larger majority than any OF
these, while his Endorsement in the
popular vote will be more impressive
than any other candidate ever gained.
The immense popular majority, sup
plementing the big electoral majority,
makes the recent victory one of the
most notable and decisive in American
annals. Some wild vaporng will be
heard for few days among the Alt
gelds, the Bryans, the Faulkners and
the Joneses about 1900. but this will be
dismissed with smile by the people.
There will be no 1900 for the elements
which have just been overthrown.
Theirs is now seen to be the most thor
cughly disreputable and discredited of
all the lost causes which have ever fig
ured in national politics in this coun-
Try, 1t is entirely safe to say that fully
a third of the men who voted for the
Chicago ticket will, long before IL
months more pass, be ashamed TO ac'
knowledge their folly.
There is no menace to business In
these howls of Altgeld, Faulkner and
Jones. and in the fantastic pledges and
threats of Bryan The follies and viii
lainles which these men represented
will never be so potent again as they
were In the crusade in which they have
Just been crushed All the elements
Of danger to representative government
which political philosophers at home
and abroad have beea for a century
warning the country against were
united under the same banner in the
contest just ended. The honest but
ignorant and crcdulous persons who
formed the main body Of the Bryanite
forces, and who always fall an easy
prey to the smooth demagogue, were re-
enforced by the faddists and cranks of
all sorts who think that any change in
the social regime will be for the better;
The impracticablcs and the shiftlcss, to
whom life under any kind OF conditions
would be a failure; the malcontcnts, the
socinl ishmaclitcs and the anarchists
who are opposed 10 government in any
shape, and who would try TO pull down
Organism il it were ever established,
aud the criminals Of all classes, nation
alitirs and castles whose hand is against
all sorts OF authority, were gathered to-
rrther under the same leaders In the re-
tent assault upon the government This
looked like a formidable coalition, and
II was, but II went down TO eternal
smash when the virtue, the intelligence
md the patriotism of the country com
hncd against it, There is not the
falntcst probability that all these Gle
mcnts can ever again be brought into
The same camp at any one time. The
enemies Of governmental honesty and
order have done their worst, and have
failed. That il3 electoral and the oO0,-
600 or 100000 popular majority for
Mckinley proclaimed to the country
that the fcttcrs placed on business by
the popocratic peril are smashed for
good.-st. Louis Globe-Democfat.