The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1897-04-09


Grass ignorance OF the conditions
under which the campaign was conduct
ed in the leading cities. The amount OF
rot" about the result in Cincinnati and
Chicago, for instance, being OF national
Significance, as showing that the people
are DESTROYS OF another change" in
the national administration. like that
they voted for In 1899, perhaps, and
that they arc sorry they voted down the
Populistic fallRcies and free silver here
sy last November, Is based on simply
nothing but the desire TO raise tho
hopes Of disorganIEed and ruined
party.
Thoughtless people. who have not had
the inclination or the time to keep post
ed on the events OF the local campaigns
in the two cities named and in many
other of the large towns in our neigh
boring state OF Ohio, are apt to be af-
fccted by the claims OF the POpOcratic
organs and political demagOgues. who
pretend to see in the results OF a cam
palgn on purely local issues u reaction
OF public sentiment The fact Is care
fully suppressed that in Cincinnati II
was not u Democratic ticket nominated
on u free silver platform that won, and
that the sacred cause Of bi-metnllism,"
or the free and unlimited coinage Of sill
yer at the ratio OF l6 TO !. and the Ques-
ton OF the tariff, were no more con-
nected with the campaign than was the
Greco Turkish trouble. The winning
ticket was fusion ticket, composed OF
Democrats and Republicans, and The
sole issue was municipal reform and
the defeat OF q local boss who had be.
come offensive to many Republicans. II
received the votes OF thousands OF Re-
publicans, who stand as firmly on the
national Republican platform to-day as
they did on the 9Th day Of last NOvem-
Der. This is the plain. unvarnished
truth, and all the claims OF all the err
ratio and dishonest POpocrattc organs
in the country. including the one In
Wheeling, cannot pull the wool over
the eyes Of an intelligent public.
Now. let US see about Chicago. In
that city the conditions were peculiar.
There was but one single feature which
had anything like a national political
interest, and that was whether the Sill
yer Democracy would poll as large a
vote as II did In November, which was
li5. 900, as II was making an effort to
do. in order to keep up its organization.
This II did not do, although its cRndi-
date for mayor, Carter H. Harrison, re-
ceived a total vote almost reaching that
figure. Thousands Of the votes he re-
ceiVed. however. were drawn from 9TH
er parties on the purely local question
OF a liberal" administration OF the To-
cal Sunday laws and the modifying OF
the local civil service law. under which
the past administration has been trying
to give the city government more etti-
Client service. Bear this in mind. that
the only thing approaching a national
organization in the field was this sill
yer Democracy. The opposition, which
may be said to have given Mckinley his
Chicago majority in November, was
split into three local bodies, differing.
not on national questions but on local
issues like the ones above mentioned.
solely. Two Of these bodies put up
''cltiEens' tickets" The third body WAS
the Cook county Republican machine, a
sort OF TammRny organization, Repub-
llcan only In name, and discredited by
the respectable Republican press OF the
city. The original Mckinley Republi-
cans did not support Il.
OS6
To quote recent article regarding
this Cook county machine and its rec
ord: Its most crushing defeats within
the party have been inflicted by the
Mckinley Republicans Of Illinois. Con-
trolling last years state convention, II
made Mart" Madden chairman thereof
in order to defeat by means known to
the parliamentary practice Of the CHI
caEo board of aldermen the choice Of
Mckinley delegates TO st. Louis After
Mart" was picked up out Of the adj
Joining county into which the McKin-
ley cyclone had lifted him, the sage
Cook county Republican organization
thought to reward his heroism and re-
iuce his cOntugIons by placing him in
the United States senate. The world
knows the result OF that attempt also.
II WAS due to the Presidents supports
ers in Illinois" This shows the esteem
the machine which had for It's purpose
plumber only enjoyed in the minds OF re.
spectnble Republicans. 1t did not re-
ceiye the support OF the Republicans.
The result did not show a reaction Of
national political sentiment" but de-
termination OF good citizens TO crush
the Madden ring in order that a respec-
table Republican organization might
be built over its grave.
/, is TO be regretted that the
bodies representing the vote cast for
McKinly could not come together on
one good ticket and common local
platform But the three elements had
their various ideas OF local reforms, re-
Enrdless Of the united sentiment on ma
tIonnl issues. and they split. This
meant the DISCRIMINATION which al
ways means defeat 1t made possible
the triumph OF an element In Chicago
local politics that holds out no encOur-
agemcnt to the advocates OF pure city
government, and already steps have
been taken to form n united organization
which shall have for It's purpose good
government and to work Irrespective OF
national issues. similar to the one
which swept TlmmRny from power In
New York City. our Popocratic friends
are taking great pains not to deal
frankly with the Chicago election and
do not tell their readers the real facts
and conditions. Instead, they indulge
in the blatant cry that the whole af-
fair was blow at the national admin
istration by "thc people"
Who were THE people" who aided the
silver Democrats to elect Carter HArri-
son? Let tho Register, for instance,
quote for the benefit NJ It's readers some
OF the articles that appeared in the Chi
cago papers during the campaign,
showing who his supporters were.
There were some good people among
them, but one Important element that
threw It's strength to him represented
the classes in all parties that wanted
restoration Of the "wide.Open" town
of past Democratic days In Chicago
the lawless classes who remember when
they were unchecked, when the gam
blcrs and the crooks ran the town and
police bribery was n common scandal.
While the Register of this city. yCster-
day. was taking OF It's hat" cditorlally
to Chicago for a result which It tthc