Evening star., 1898-10-04
in THE NEXT HOUSE
= d. 49,
Outlook Against Democrats Gaining
Control.
GAIN OF THIRTY EIGHT YEARS
Correspondent stea'ey Goes Over
the Districts.
Oh A N3ES HE LOOKS FOR
CHANGES HE LOOKS FOR

ton correspondent Mr. o. o. Stealey:
Now that ''grim-visaged war hath smooth
ed its wrinkled 'front.' the most important
F., matter interesting the public mind is the
| political complexion of the next House of
Representatives.
The present House consists of: Republi-
| cans, 2O4; democrats, 125; popuiists and in
dc pendents, 2S; total, 357; republican ma
jorty over democrats. 70; republican ma
jority over all, 81.
The democrats, to obtain control of the
next House, must elect 179 members, or
gain fifty-four seats, but gain of twenty
six seats by the anti-republican forces
would be sufficient to control the House
should they be able to effect union OF
their strength. Taking into consideration
the feeling at present existing between the
political opponents of the republicans, 1t
does not seem like an agreement of this
nature could be reached, for the populists
are sure to insist in the future, as they
have in the past, that the tail shall Wag the
dog Therefore if the popullsts hold the
balance of power in the next House they
may stubbornly demand nearly all of the
cake and good part of the bakery,
study of the congressional field dis
closes that it is quite possible for the pop
ulists to hold the balance of power in the
next House, but without a tidal wave"
the democrats can hardly gain fifty-four
votes, the number required to control the
I1ou7e. w ME lHe Will gam
congressman in New York, Pennsylvania,
Ohio, Illinois, Indiana and the south. they
Will lose i'll some of the far western states
which they carried solid in 1896 While
the election of 1896 resulted in a republi-
can victory and the present Congress was
chosen on high tide yet it should not
be forgotten that in number of the far
western states the republicans were swept
OFF their feet completely as were the
democrats in their eastern and southern
Strongho,ds In 90 silver democrats and
silver republicans in the far western states
wiped out large republican majorities and
sent tWenty-Seven representatives to Con-
greSs. While in the east, middle states ard
the south the republicans and gold demo
Gratis captured number of districts here
totore democratic and sent republican rep
resentatives to Washington.
In the Fffty-fourth Congress Mr. Reed
was elected Speaker over Mr. Crisp by lJ6
majority. This majority was obtained in
the election of 1894. AS will be seen. the
democrats gained thirty seats in the next
or present House, but, as stated. all OF
this gam came from the far west.
Where Dc9otrats Expect Gains.
1t is safe to Icontede that the democrats
in the coming election will largely increase
their gain in the states where they maze
heaEy losses In '36. The conditions from
tnen TO now are much changed and in their
favor In the 1895 election the party ma
,,,iiely i,, G oI nunn9r OF large cities. incud-
Il n
clhnati not forgetting Louisville, was in
the hands of the republicans Now thes.
cities, with many others, are controlled by
democrats. New--Ierk city and Rrooklvn
alone sent nine republicans to CONGRESS rD,,
years ago 1t IS Reasonable to Suppose that
the democrats Will redeem at least six NJ
these districts : - ~ N
~ the seven members of the House fran,
chicago there IS rot a democrat .na ~ ~.
democratic party lenders here claim +bat-
ni ms year they sFfll elect three, If not four
ihe information from the interior of the
state is that the democrats will gain five
seats. The Illinois delegation in con ,rass
BoW stands eighteen republicans to four
oen1ocrats. The next viii likely stand
Twelve republicans to ten democrats
Ihe present Indiana delegation sta,ds
hlne republicans to four democrats. The
democrats have good chance to gain two
II not three. seats. They should redeem
the first. fifth and ninth distrjcts ana IL
now looks like they would. -
Ihe Ohio delegation stands fifteen re
puplcahs 10 SIX democrats. The repubii-
cshs expect to lose four seats here by
reason of factional fights in the partv ana
disappointment Of ortice-seekers. The dem
ocrats claim that in the next House they
WIN nave eleven votes from Ohio to ten for
the republicans, gain of five
Out OF the tWenty-eight districts in Penn
sylVanla. three only are represented bv
democrats The QuayMar tin Wanamaker
1cud IN that state will help .he democrats
this year to at least few more congress-
men, Ihey Will probably increase their
representation from three to eight
No democratic gaiE may be looked for
from New England nor New Jersey though
| the democrats of Jersey City may squeeze
through a congressman.
The Delaware democrat will likely re-
tain his seat.
In the south democratic gains are ius.Iy
expected.
In Alabama the democrats should surely
carry the fourth district, now held by Al
orlch. repufilcan, seated On contest against
Flowman. democrat. The latter was elect
co, but the republicans went behind the re-
turES. They should also carry the seventh
district, now represented by Howard, pop
Ulist.
representatives.
Florida and Georgia will send solid demo-
cratic delegations, as they did in 81.
In Kentucky the democrats will gain two,
If not three, members. They will elect
Gilbert III the eighth and Williams in the
ninth and may slip Oscar Turner through
in the fifth. The only sure district for the
| republicans in Kentucky is the eleventh.
If the next House should be close, it is not
at all unlikely that the democrats elected
from Kentucky will lose their seats on ac-
count of the new election law. 1t is known
here that Evans fully expects to be seated
| in the next House if the republicans crgan-
| iZe it. whether he is elected not.
Louisiana and Mississippi will each re-
peat solid democratic delegation.
There IS rather a pretty fight on in Mary
| land. which is now represented by a solid
! republican delegation. The democrats
there have mostly Topped together and
are making strong efforts to carry two or
| three of the districts. The probabilities
are now that they will carry two out of
| the six districts.
| No change is expected in the Missouri
delegation, which now stands twelve dem
ocrats to three republicans The latter are
from St. Louis. ~ {
The Indications point to another badly
split-up electionfin North Carolina. There
are Eine districts infthat state. and Old
tar heel statesman says he rather expects
to three republicans, three democrats
and three populfsts elected. There IS only
one democrat In Congress now from that
state.
South Carolina can &c depended upon to
send a solid democratic delegation. 1t has
seven MEMBERS
No change is likely in Tennessee. The
Jonesboro and the Knoxville districts, the
first and second, will doubt go republi-
can as usual, and the eight remaining dis
tricts democratic
In the thirteen Texas districts there was
only one republican, elected in '96-R. B.
Hawley of the tenth Galveston district
a good business man Of high character and
pleasant personality. He was elected by
900 plurality over Shefburne. democrat
but Noah Allen. populist. received 5.47s
votes. The democrats expect to defeat Mr..