The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1897-01-27
Note and Comment.

THE populists in the Utah legislature
call themselves democrats. There are
sixty of them to three republicans. In
the Vermont legislature there are sew
enteen democrats and 25S republicans.
THE total vote of Nebraska at the
recent election was only 10000 greater
than it was in 1892, and large portion
of the increase was in Douglas county,
which includes the city of Omaha.
Lancaster county, of which Mr.. Bryan
is resident, gave majority of 800 for
Mckinley, the same that Stark county,
Ohio, of which Mr.. Mckinley is resi-
dent, gave to him. Stark went demo-
cratic in 1892 by 1000.
LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR WOOD
RUFF of New York must have felt
greatly ri lieved after having deposited
with the Senate this metaphorical bur-
den: "Let Us expose the lenses of the
mind for moment to receive upon the
film of memory an impression of what
the album of history contains in order
that from picture of the past we may
derive inspiration in dealing with the
manifold needs of the present hour"
THE leaders of the Cuban revolution
have taken every means to convince
Mr.. Cleveland that their demand is for
independence, and that they will ac-
cept nothing less than that. This state
ment has been made and repeated by
the president in the Cuban government,
by the chief commander of the Cuban
army, and by the authorized represen-
tatives of Cuba in this country; but it
seems impossible for them to convince
Mr.. Cleveland. Give him up. After
Cuba has won freedom and independ-
ence, he will probably regard these
things as undesirable for her.
THE interstate commerce commits
sion is non-partisan affair, the men,
bers appointed by the president num-
bering five, "not more than three to be
of the same political party" But no
rule of locality has regulated, under the
Cleveland administration, the appoint
ment of Interstate commerce commits
sioners, and the entire west and south
west is without a representative upon
it. One of the commissioners comes
from Vermont, another from New
York, another from Illinois, one from
Iowa, and the fifth from Georgia.
Texas, which ranks next to Illinois and
Pennsylvania in railroad mileage, has
no representative on the commission;
neither has the Pacific and Northwest
ern states. The railroad mileage of
Vermont is less than 1000 miles, where
as that of Colorado is 4,500, that Of
Nebraska is $500, and that of Kansas
is nearly 5000.
| A CORRESPONDENT of the Sun, writ
ing from jamestown, N. Y, on Nov
ember Z, four days after election, gave
! figures to show that a change of 40 900
votes in ten of the states of the coun-
try would have made difference of
seventy-one electoral votes, by trans
ferring that number from the McKin.
ley to the Bryan column, and thus
changing the result of the election.
The fgures.of the contest at that time
were, of course, incomplete, and to
some extent defective, and in the light
of the official returns now fully can
vassed it seems that the result was
really closer than these figures then
made it appear. In South Dakota,
where it was said that 500 votes would
have changed the result, Bryan was
successful. In Wyoming, in which it
was said that 1000 votes would have
changed the result, Bryan's plurality
was 789. In Tennessee, in which il
was said that 1000 votes would have
changed the result, Bryan had nearly
10000 majority, and thus these States
should be taken out OF the reckoning OF
closeness. The Mckinley vote was
27l and the Bryan vote was 176 in the
electoral college. A difference of forty.
eight votes would have changed the
result. A change of $50 votes in the
State of Kentucky would have added
twelve to the Bryan column. A change
of 912 votes in California would have
added nine, and change of 1866
in Oregon would have added four. A
change of 1000 votes in Delaware
W uld have added three; of 5000 il
West Virginia, six, and of 1880 in In
diana, fifteen. A change of 1900
votes in these six States would have
elected Bryan.