The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-12-07

appointing. In that instance MIR. NC
Cleary made his canvass on the gold
standard and came out with a major
ity very much greater than his prede-
cessor scored in 1890, and converting
his own plurality of 6,9OS in 1892 into
a majority of 3,50S. But there had been
financial depression and low prices of
farm products in the intervening years,
and how far selfshness steadily ap-
pealed to had brought Generalization
meantime coud not be known until the
votes were counted. 1t was the farmer
who was appealed to and relied upon
in this state, as in every other where
agricultural interests predominated.
The strongest if also the meanest mo-
tives of men were played upon, higher
prices for produce and scaling of debts.
If under all these circumstances the
farmer failed to respond to the lure in
such numbers as to show free coin
age to be prevalent among a majority
of them, 1t will certainly suggest itself
to those who are in control Of the Dem
ocratic organization that a bait that
failed to catch fish is not worth using
again. The returns are now in, and
further analysis of the farmer vote and
its significance as bearing on the fu-
ture of the Democratic party is worth
making. The two districts of the state
that are essentially agricultural are
the Second and Seventh. They have
no large manufacturing interests and
no large cities. About 70 per cent of
the people live on farms. They cast
30 per cent Of the vote of the state
this year. If free coinage could not
carry the farmers of these districts, 1t
is of no value as a vote catcher and,
having been taken up for that purpose,
may well be sent to the limbo of futile
bats.
The state census of 1895 gives the
occupations of the adults Of the state
We find that the counties of the Sec
ond district contain 1864 persons
classed as farmers, market and truck
gardeners, the last two being, I'M
doubtedly, an insignificant part of the
whole. The Seventh district contains
37,l73 in this classification. The total
vote of the former this year was sc, 1902
OF which the enumerated farmers
formed Y per cent. In the Seventh
district the total vote was 1920, Of
which the farmers were rs per cent.
Not that these percentages Of the vot-
ia hI1t no
number Of farmers bore that proper
ton to the total number Of voters Nor
is 1t clear that all those classed as
farmers are voters, but after making
all deductions for these uncertainties
1t is apparent that a large majority
of the men on the farms rejected the
| bait of free silver.
Mr.. Bryan received 2O,15S votes in the
Second district. A considerable por-
ton of these were cast by urban voters.
How many cannot now be ascertained.
| but certainly enough to make Mr.. Bry-
ans share Of the $4,000 farmers fall
| considerably below a half of them.
Another discouraging feature for those
who may contemplate a continuance of
fusion and sixteen-t o-one policies is the
TACT that, Of the gain of 1862 votes
in this district since 1892, the fusion had
but 2,256 to ,346 for the Republicans.
In the Seventh district Mr.. Bryan re-
ceived 24,829 of~the 49, 220 votes cast, or
5O.4 per cent. Making any reasonable
deduction from his vote for the urban
vote, it again becomes apparent that
less than half of the 37,179 farmers vot-
ed for him. Here, too, is the significant
fact that, of the gain In votes Of 49,
lao since 1892, the fusion drew only
soil to the 10,12O won by the gold
| standard