Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1898-11-19
THE USUAL RESULT.
Republican Congressional Losses
Were to be Expected.

Republican Congressional Losses
Were to be Expected.
In discussing the usual result of
Congressional elections midway be
tween Presidential years, United States
District Attorney, John G. Rose, after
careful study of statistics on the
subject, said to a Baltimore News re-
porter:
THE House OF Representatives
elected in the middle of a Presidential
term invariably contains less mem
bers of the party which succeeded at
the Presidential election than did the
House elected at the same time as the
President. Since 1870, at least there
has never been a single exception to
this rule. The losses of the Admin
istration party have varied greatly,
but there have always been losses.
The most radical change made by any
of these mid term elections was that
which took place in November, 1894
In the House OF Representatives OF the
Fifty-third Congress, elected iii 1892,
there were 2zo Democratic members.
In that chosen two years later there
were ro5, loss of more than half.
The panic of 1898 had taken place in
the meantime. II is significant OF
the immediate influence of great COM
iuercial disturbance upon the fortunes
Of the party in power that, next to the
overturning of 1894, that OF 1874 was
the most marked in the history of the
country. In 1872, along with General
Grants election to the Presidency the
Republicans returned to the House
1913 members. In September, 1875
the great crash of that year came and
the Republicans in 1874 lost 90 votes.
"The greatest revolution not assoc
ciated with great financial and in.
dustrial cause was that of 1890. In
1888 the Republicans chose 100 MEM
bers. Business conditions during the
next two years were uniformly good,
but in 1890 there were only 81 Re-
publicans returned to the Fiity-second
Congress. The Republican defeat in
1890 was, outside of the grain produc
ing States of the West, almost purely
political In this respect it resembled
the anti Democratic cyclone which
swept over the country in the middle
of President Pierce's term. In 1852,
it will be remembered, the Wing par
ty was practically swept out OF exist
ence.
&" Old Fuss and Feathers, as his
enemies called him; the Hero Of
Lundys Lane and the march to the
City of Mexico, as his friends delighted
to hail him, carried but four States OF
the Union. The Democrats elected
$50 members to the House, a number
which then constituted two-thirds OF
the entire body. In 1854 the Kansas
Nebraska act repealed the Missouri
compromise and made it lawful. to iu-
troduce slaves into the territory north
of SO. 80. In the Northern States the
greatest indignation was excited.
Contemporaneously the Know. Moth
ing wave swept over the country and
to the new House there we're elected
only So Democrats, loss of 70.
I'm the light of the somewhat con-
temptous way in which President
Hayes is sometimes, but think, un-
justly spoken of, it is curious that his
Administration Jared better at the
mid-term than that Of any other Pres
ident for years. In 1876 the Re-
publicans elected I44 members and in
1873 they elected I4I, loss of but
three. In the whole period of IA
Presidential terms from Tyler to
Cleveland, inclusive, the average loss
of the party which elected the Presi-
dent at the next succeeding Congress
sional election was As seats.
'In these calculations / have en-
deavored SO far as l couldget the facts
accurately to divide the House as it
was originally elected and not las it
stood after contests were determined,
etc. Upon that basis the Republican
majority in the present Congress was
S. and loss of Fl seats would de-
81 roy, Il altnnefher p