The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-11-10
THE CAMPAIGN AND ITS RESULTS

Did there appear in the method OF
electing a president any discrimination
in favor of one section Of the country
over any other section? Such discrlm-
ination did appear, and it was wholly
in the interest of the west and the
south.
Did the result Of the election con-
serve the wishes of the greatest num-
her of voters SO far as population is
concerned: 1t did.
Did it conserve the wishes OF a ma
iority of the laboring men OF the coun-
try? 1t did
Is McKinley's election more decisive
than any preceding president excepting
Grants? 1t is.
Did the Democratic platform increase
or diminish the strength Of Democra-
CIV? 1t diminished it.
Did Mckinley, while carrying num-
her of the Cleveland states Of OF 1877,
also increase the Republican majorltles
in Harrison states? He did.
Did Bryan's speeches IN MS tours
have the advantageous effect popularity
claimed for them in Kansas! They DID
not.
Was the greater proportion of the ma
tive vote with Mckinley or with Bry-
an? With Bryan.
Finally. what caused the overwhelm-
ing defeat of Bryan and his party!
Opnosition to the free coinage OF silver,
16 to /: opposition TO the tariff policy
of the Democratic party; opposition to
the attack ON the supreme court. AS
every well-read man knows, these were
the pronounced issues of the campaign.
They are placed here in order of their
Importance 1t can not be denied that
all issues were subordinated to the ii
nancial question. The victory OF Nc
Kinley is Enthusiastically verdict in ia
vor Of the financial propositions OF The
Republican party. 1t can not be ques
toned that dominant desire pervaded
the Republican party to make the cam
paign on a protective tariff. But SUI
perior and more dominant demand
brought the financial question fairly to
the front and the campaign is defeat
pure and simple for the free coinage Of
silver at ratio of 16 to 1.
A shaded map showing the result Of
the election is of great interest in that
it records a great political change
which, while not as potential as antic-
ipated, is still great enough to mark an
era in our political history.
Judged purely from the amount of
territory the greater part of the United
States was certainly for free silver. But
our whole representation, as We all
know, is not based on acres, but on
population. The states which voted for
Silver began with Virginia on the east,
swept through the south with its hope
less prejudices and thence west TO Cali
fornia In former political shaded maps
Missouri has always been with the
south politically while it is, in fact, geo.
graphically north. This year Missouri
Is no longer isolated in this respect,
Kansas and Nebraska, Colorado, Utah
and Nevada, Idaho, Washington and
Montana forming now the northern
line of the Democratic party; Oregon
and California are still Republican and
would, if Washington had gone with
them, have given the Republican party
complete possession Of the Pacicfi coast
North and
South Dakota and Wyoming, which
were so confidently expected to be in
the slump of the west from the Repub-
lican party, have remained in the par
ty. Kansas and Nebraska, the home Of
the Socialistic movement, have been
lost to the Republican party by only
slight majority. The Rocky Mountain
states, however, may be gone perma-
nently.
On population the division of Popo-
cratic and Republican states comes out
in this way:
Republican Observation-Disclosures. AZ, SO, 2a0
The latest counts give Mckinley
$50 votes, Bryan 1871. 1t will be MOTTO
ed apropos of the Populist talk of elect
ing presidents by the direct vote of the
people that while the Republican states
have over twice as many inhabitants
as the Popocratic states Mckinley has
by no means twice as many electoral
votes as Bryan.
Neither are the interests of the states
Popocratic in property participation in
the United States anywhere near in
just proportion TO the power they exert
respectively in the electoral college.
The assessed valuation of property
compared is as follows:
In Republican states. $40, 20 SIS, 900
In Popocratic states. LooN0oC,ooJ
In the number of workingmen affect
ed the Popocratic electoral strength
shows still greater disparity. In 1890
the workingmen employed in the indus
tries in the states were:
Republican ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. oSs, Alb
This percentage, one above the other,
keeps up in the wages received as fol-
lows:
In Republican states. $, SSl sos CAB
In Popocratic states..... 273, 100 544
And Notwithstanding Kansas and Ne
hraska. two of the most highly educat-
ed states in the Union, are now counted
Popocratic, Notwithstanding this i'm
mense addition to the south, we find
the percentage of illiterates in the state
as follows:
In Republican Observation-Disclosures. 81
II Popocratic states. .........---.........A.s
This would appear 10 be sufficient
evidence that the verdict under our
electoral system had been a most lust