The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-04-26
AN INDEPENDENT SURVEY.

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Now that the Bryanites are making
such positive claims of their certainty of
success In the presidential election, the
Boston Transcript, an independent paper.
has been looking over the field to see If
there Is any ground for this stormy asser-
tiveness. 1t begins witt the electoral vote
of 1Ss6-273 for Mckinley and ia for Bryan.
If Mr.. Bryan is to secure a bare majority
fifty of the electoral votes which Mr.. Nc
Kinley received in 1896 must be cast for
the former. A survey of the field is made
to see where Mr.. Bryan can get the fifty
votes. The Transcript finds no encour-
agement for Mr.. Bryan until he reaches
Maryland, whose eight votes. it assumes,
may go to Mr.. Bryan. In the same list
is put West Virginia, with six votes; Ken
lucky, with thirteen, and Indiana, with
fifteen votes. forty-two I'm all. Indiana has
been put as a Bryan possibility because
prior to 1894 1T was a very close State, and
Is closer now than many Of the States Of
the Northwest. 1t should be said that in
giving thirteen votes to Bryan in Ken
lucky is the that Mckinley
received that number; the Transcript is in
error. since Mr.. Bryan received one of
the Kentucky votes in 1896, so that the
States which it regards as possible for Mr..
Bryan, which gave their votes to Nc
Kinley in 1896. gave but forty-one instead
of forty-two votes. The calculation leaves
Bryan nine votes short of a bare majority,
and the Transcript cannot see where he
| can get them. Delaware might be thrown
in, and yet he would be six votes short.
The Transcript turns TO the States
which voted for Mr. Bryan in 1896 in the
new West and on the Pacific coast TO in
quire into the probabilities. 1t finds that
the little State of Washington, with four
Republican majorities stree 1896. South
Dakota with four votes. has been en-
p~hatically Republican in the two last cleo
tions. These eight votes it counts surely
against Mr.. Bryan. Turning TO Kansas,
the Transcript finds that the remarkable
to say the least. d~ebatable ground.
Wyoming is also debatable ground.
Those who examine the vote of Kansas
will conclude that Republican prospects
are much better than those of the Bryan
ties In 1896 Mr.. Bryan's vote was 15s, 345
and Mr.. McKinley's was IA, $500. In 1896
Stanley Republican) had 1i9. $50 votes. and
Leedy (Fusionist) 1S3. 1883. That is, In an of
year. the Republican vote was increased
over 1900, and the Fusion or Bryan vote
fell off over 5000. This. in an off year
means that about $500 men who voted fol-
Mr.. Bryan in 1896 on the silver issue re-
turned to the Republican party in 1898 and
voted it's ticket. Therefore IL Is far NOR.
probable that the States of Kansas. South
Dakota and Washington. which gave Mr.
Bryan eighteen votes in 1896. will give theil
votes to President Mckinley i'm 1900. thar
that Mr.. Bryan will get twenty votes from
the States which the Transcript counts a.
being possible accessions to the Bryan
column. With this view of the field. tn.
Transcript gives its article the caption
'McKinley's Safe Margin"
As to Indiana, It can be said tina tn
Republican prospects OF carrying 1t mex
November are far better to-day than the,
were four years ago this time. True. tn