New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-11-04
THE FIFTY-SIXTH CONGRESS.
THREE OF THE SIX DISTRICTS IN Me-
BRAsKA MAY GO REPUBLICANS
Fr.sIoNrsrs MAY HOWEVER. ELECT FOUR con-
GREssMEN-FR SILVER STILL AN lssoL'

Republican managers at New-York ana Chica-
| GO Yet conditions here in 1896 made the sue
cess OF the free-sver coinage coalition wholly
ineligible and natural. No State offered
reader soil than Nebraska for the spread OF
those political doctrines which. under the guise
OF righting certain grievances Of the farmer
have in the last eight years recast the politics
OF the whole Northwest
Scant crops and low prices for several seasons
had almost Frustrated agriculture csnducted
as it was largely on borrowed capital, and
when in 1890 the Farmers Alliance agitation
began to show its head. distress drove thou
sands of voters to snatch at the suggestion OF
relief through paternalistic legislation. The Re-
! publican electoral ticket had had a clear ma
jority in 1888. but the reaction Of 1890 cost the
party from 20 to 30 per cent Of it's voting
strength. and 1t has been In actual minority
! in every election since.
General Harrison got the electoral vote Of the
State again in 1892, but only because the oppo-
/ sitiOn vote was safely divided between the
Democratic and Populist candidates for Presi-
dent
In 1891, though this same division continued.
one wing Of the Democratic party openly sup
ported the Populist nominee for Governor. Mr..
Holcomb who was elected by a plurality OF
3202. The regular Democratic candidate got
6,9SJ votes. leaving the Republican ticket in
minority Of l01S1. Since then the fusion be-
tween the Democratic and Populist organiza-
lions has become practically complete. and the
coalition thus established fortified two
years ago by the secession TO it Of perhaps five
| thousand silverite Republicans.
The Presidential campaign of 1896 drove
somewhat smaller number Of sound money
Democrats into the Republican ranks; and the
balance struck by all these transfers was fairly
represented in the plurality of 1885 given the
Bryan electoral ticket two years ago.
PROSPERITY WORKS \ CHANGE
1t is plain enough, Of course that many Of the
conditions which made the Populist movement
so formidable in $500 1894 and 1896 no longer
exist Two years Of full crops and unusually
high prices have brought with them an ample
measure OF prospcrity-a prosperity strikingly
reflected in the unhoped-for success Of the
Trans Mississippi Exposition. which has just
closed it's doors here with surplus large
enough to extngush every share Of its COM
mon stock Hundreds Of thousands Of dollars
have been paid on farm and real estate mort
cages i'm the last two years. and satisfaction
at this happy turn in the States fortunes is in
tense and widespread.
The old clamor for free-silyer coinage has lost
its meaning and effectiveness. and the fusion
leaders have shown in the present campaign an
eageness to shift the fighting to other issues
which can only be explained, perhaps. by Colo
mel Bryan's enforced absence from the stump.
The cruelty Of the Administrations failure
to facilitate the Colonels resignation by mus
terng his regiment out. the War Departments
shortcomings. real or imaginary in the war
with Spain and finally. the iniquites Of the
McCleary Currency bill. have been the favorite
topics OF the fusion speakers and editors. TO
discover that the text Of the McCleary Dlll-a
measure introduced in the House of Representa-
tives last winter by the Republican member now
sitting for the lid District of Minnesota. which
has as much chance Of getting through Con-
gress as any one Of a thousand other bills Of
the same SORTS Of such vital importance in
this campaign to justify It's being spread
in display trp, on all the city dead walls one
has only to travel to Omaha and read the col
umns of The World Herald or listen to the
outpourlngs Of the POpulist curbstone orator
The local genius who unearthed the McCleary
bill az the supreme issue Of the hour has so
far escaped identification, but il must be hlghiy
gratifying to Mr. McCeary to know that ms
pet measure is not without portentous sighin-
canoe in Omaha. whatever more modest es'i-
mate NAV be put upon IT at Washington or
Mankato.
FREE SILVER STILL AN ISSUE.
Though the abandonment OF the issues OF 1896
nv the fusion managers is in itself confess
sion of weakness II is not safe TO assume that
this enforced ohange of front will necessarily
involve the loosening of the free-coinage coall-
tion's grip on the state. What role the return
Of good times Will play in next weeks election
remains highly prOblematical
From the start the agitation Of 1870 found ca
pable leadership in this State-leadership which
has built up n compact and disciplined orsail-
zation. There is no Middle -of-the-Road Popu-
lie. Marty in Nebraska: neither is there as in
most Western and Northwestern states wing
Of the regular Democracy which more or less
openlv withholds approval Of the Chicago plat
fern.
with politicians of the stamp OF w j. Bryan
William V. Allen and Governor Holcomo hoiuins
the reins OF power. nothing has been neglected
which might weld the three elements in the Goa
ltion Of 1896 into firm and seasoned pohticai
party The election Of 1891 gave some hint OF
the steadiness Of the fusion forces. for in spite
OF a year OF great agricultural prosperity the
plurality given to Mr.. Bryan was maintained
and even increased, the fusion candidate for
Supreme Court Judge beating his Republican
competitor by 1880 votes.
In 1895 the fusonists carried siXty-eght or
the ninety counties of the state and in 1871 they
carried sixty-nlne. that. intrcnched as they
are In power not only al Lincoln, the capital.
but in nearly three-fourths Of the local judicial
and administrative offices, they present front
which can scarcely be broken at single attack.
Nebraska he's an unusually large percentage OF
foreign born population. Swedes, Poles. Rus
slams. Bohemians. Italians and Germans are
found In large rumbers. both in the towns and
the country Many OF these foreigners have at
tached themselves 10 the Popust party, and
share in the distribution of local Offices pos