The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-10-30
THE OUTLOOK IN INDIANA.

The popular vote in this State in 1892 was
as follows: For Cleveland, 262, 81; for Har-
rison, 256, 335; for Weaver %, 19s for Bid
well, Prohibition, 1904; total, 554394. In
1884 the total vote was 562, $50. viz, 2S3, 4O5
Republican. 23s, 1872 Democratic, %, 1888 Popu-
list, and u,157 Prohibition. In 1892 the Re-
publicans cast 1924 per cent. of the total
vote. and the Democrats 47.H. In 1894 the
Democrats cast 42.42 per cent. of the total
vote. and the Republicans 5O.37, or a little
more than one-half. The figures show
great change in favor of the Republicans
during the first two years OF Mr.. Cleve-
Gratis worked the free-trade argument very
successfully. By artful appeals and sophis-
teal arguments addressed specially to
workingmen and farmers they succeeded
in making a great many of them believe
that they We're being oppressed and i'm
poverished by protection, and that tariff
reform" would bring better times. The
people really did not know how well off
they were then. If they could have fore
seen the future they would not have voted
for change. But they did vote for a
change. and they got it. They did not get
$125 wheat nor anything else that had
been promised them, but they got a panic
and hard times, which continued to grow
harder. 1t was this experience which
caused the pendulum to swing the other
way and changed the Democratic plurality
of 6.4S2 in 1892 to Republican plurality of
44673 in 1894. The causes which operated
to produce this great change are still oper-
ating. The broken promises of 1852 still
well remembered by the people, and the
times are harder than they were two
years ago. The popular verdict on the tar
if question recorded in 1894 still stands. 1t
has not been reversed. and is not likely
to be. The people have tried free trade as
expressed in the son-Gorman tariff law,
and they do not want any more of it. They
want to return to protection, reciprocity
and prosperity as they existed during the
Harrison administration. Nothing has oc-
CURED since 1894 to them to change
their views expressed in the election of
that year. On the contrary, the increasing
stringency of the times and depression of
business, the low price of farm products
and lack of employment for workingmen
have strengthened the popular conviction
that the remedy for the situation lies in
a return to the conditions which prevailed
from 1888 to 1892.
The only new factor in the situation is
the silver question. But for that there
would be no doubt but Indiana would give
as large Republican plurality as it did in
1894. The question is the people be
deceived and misled by free-silver fallaeies
now as they were by free-trade fallacies
four years ago? The Journal thinks not.
1t believes that the great campaign of edu-
cation which is drawing to a close and
the conscientious, hard thinking which the
people have been doing during the last few
months have opened their eyes to the dis
honesty and danger OF the free-silver pro-
gramme, and that they will vote down
Bryan and Organism by great majority.
That there will be some detection from the
Republican ranks is undoubtedly true, and
the Bryanites will gain some votes by the
Populist fusion, but these gains will be
greatly overbalanced by the large number
of sound money Democrats, business men,
Germans, railroad men and others, who
will refuse to vote for Bryan, and very
many of whom will vote for Mckinley.
The stay-at-home Republican vote will ali
be out this year, and the independent vote
will be solid for Mckinley and sound
money The total vote this year will prob
ably be 10000 more than it was in 1894, or.
in round numbers, 100000. From present
indications McKinley's majority will not be
much less than the Republican majority of
two years ago. and it may be even more.