Omaha daily bee., 1899-12-04

The BESSON OF THE ELECTION.
Now that the official canvass of the
vote cast at the recent election in Ne
braska has been completed. it is both
interesting and instructive to institute
comparisons and formulate conclusions.
Out of total vote a fraction over
$4,000, 2O3,533 were cast on the office
of supreme judge and only 100 800
were cast on the office of university
regent, which goes to show that more
than 10000 voters failed to express
their choice for regents and more than
10000 for the head of the ticket. The
highest vote ever cast in Nebraska was
i'm 1896. which aggregated 23O, T9J. At
that election the presidential electors
received 224,111, or 6,6SI less than were
polled In 1896 the total vote for gov
ernor was 217,763, with 1902 not cast
ing a ballot for governor. In 1897 the
total vote was 19ST40 of which only
104,262 was polled for supreme judge,
or only 1900 less than the total Mark
the sharp contrast between 1897 and
1890. Both were off years, but while
the total vote polled in 1897 was over
10000 less than 1S99 the number of
voters who failed to express choice
for supreme judge in 1899 was 1900
greater.
In 1898 the total vote polled was
195329, or nearly 25,OOO less than this
year. The aggregate vote for governor
last year was 10O,66S, or 1900 less
than cast for supreme judge this year
These $1,000 represent chiefly the diff
ference between the outcome of this
year and last year. The vote for Hay
ward for governor last year was o.
9S2. while Reese this year received "a.
2l3, gain for Reese over Hayward
of 1921, while Holcomb received 1O9,-
32O, as against 95,703 for Pointer in
1893, or gain for Holcomb over Poyn-
ter of 1867.
On the surface it would seem that the
stay-at-home voters of 1898 had turned
out this year and cast an almost solid
vote for the fusion candidate. As
matter of fact the stay-at-home vote
was fairly divided and the republicans
made considerable gains This is mani
fest by close analysis of the vote on
regents, which most nearly represents
the party vote influenced by outside
pressure. Taking the vote of Teeters,
the highest candidate for regent on the
fusion ticket as against Ely the high
est on the republican ticket, and we
get a fusion majority of 6,7S3, which |
IS about the actual plurality of the |
Susionists. Holcomb's majority of over
10000 Is made up, first, of this $500 |
fusion plurality, and fully 1000 votes !
cast by the prohibitionists, who polled |
300 for their candidates for regent, bat !
lad not candidate for supreme Judge. |
The residue of nearly 5000 votes rep
'esents republican boilers who were
Induced to cast their votes for Holcomb
'ither by the liquor dealers or the cor
lorations. 1t is an open secret that
he railroads and their allied corpora
ions threw their weight in the scale
luietly, but effectively, on the side of
Iolcomb because they distrusted Reese
i'' WHY F"iiiih5 W puI tIltlI tluSt III
he state house machine which had
leen protecting their interests since
he popocrats had come into power
While no reliable forecast can be
made, the figures should by no means
discourage republicans. The fusion ma
hine has this year succeeded in
ragooning every voter at its command
nto line while the republicans were
TX and in many counties absolutely in
ctive and unorganiZed. In 1896 the
lckinley presidential electors poiled
O3,O64 votes in Nebraska, nearly 1O,-
90 more than cast for Judge Reese
'eXt year all these will be in line for
1cKinley and many thousands more.
IN the other hand Bryan cannot do
luch better if as well in 1900 as he
id in 1896, when calamity and dlscon-
ent constituted his mainstay.