The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1896-09-24
,aE News OBSERVER THURSDAY MORNING, SEPT "a 1885,

nau Decn as edTuGSb IN EdEAJ ing put
the wishes of the party managers as
was Mr.. Bryan, Harrison would not
have received the electoral vote of
that State. He only carried it by a.
bout 1000 plurality. Surely the gold
Democrats who were Mr.. Cleyeland's
personal and political friends should
be the last ones to criticise the vote of
Mr.. Bryan for Weaver and Fields. He
voted as they wished all Democrats to
vote.
AS a result of this fusion If Mr.. Har-
rison had received the electoral votes
of New York, Connecticut, New Jersey,
Delaware, Indiana, and the five votes
from Michigan, all of which were cast
! for Mr.. Cleveland, he would still have
/ lacked three votes Of a majority, and
| the election being thrown in the
| House, Mr. Cleveland would have been
| elected.
Though this fusion was arranged
| by committees and well known, by
which the Democrats in Kansas, Colo
RADIO, Wyoming and other States voted
against the nominee of the Chicago
convention, Mr.. Cleveland, not a word
of protest was heard from his warm
admirers, that these committees had
exceeded their authority-that they
had no right in effect to abrogate the
action of the National convention, such
aa is now urged against the commit
arrangement just perfected here.
tees ~ngements were made upon
Inese ara :. 0~s and with the re-
a dlFlsloh oA ollIce" Nha electoral
mote benefit of preventing See cast
vote of those States from be- ss,sf
for Harrison. The arrangements J.
perfected in this State for electoral
fusion is not trade for offices with
a prospective National benefit, but
simply necessity by which all per-
sons who want to vote for the same
man, Mr. Bryan, may do so.
Yet we see some Democrats who are
SO straight that they prefer to scratch
the names of five electors from their
tickets, who will vote for Mr.. Bryan,
because forsooth, they will also vote
for Tom Watson for Vice-PTesident,
thereby, possibly, throwing the cleo
ton of that officer in the Senate, where
the President must be selected
from the two men receiving the high
est number of electoral votes. Oh, COM
sistency! And this, Notwithstanding
the fact that it is admitted by all that
electoral fusion secures the State for
Bryan.
Surely the man who cuts off five
Bryan electors from his ticket must
not be very DESTROYS of his election.
Was it right in 1892 for the Demo-
cratic Legislature of Michigan TO
change the law so that electors were
elected by Congressional districts,
thereby knowingly giving nine cleo
toral votes of State to Harrison?
No Democrat criticised the act, be-
cause by it five votes were assured for
Cleveland. Why isn't the party doing
right now to assure eleven votes of
North Carolina for their candidate for
President and six votes for their can
didate for Vice-President, when, and
without some arrangement there was a
fair possibility that we would lose the
electoral vote of the State to both can
didateS?
The man who wants Bryan elected
must see that the action of the COM
mittee was the only sensible thing to
do under the circumstances.
1t has been suggested that the Dem
ocratic party is big enough to conduct
it's affairs without entagling alliances,
yet every man knows that the hope for
the election of Bryan when he was
nominated was the union of the silver
forces, and that without such union
there was not a shadow of chance
for Democratic success.