The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1900-10-08
Campaign Issues and the
Political Outlook Care
fully Reviewed
MANY DOUBTFUL STATES
Some Elements Of Doubt Enter Into
the Situation III All of Them.
The Electoral Outlook-The
Possibilities of q
Landslide.
Bv Jos. Oil.

BY Jos: Oil.
Washington, October Especial. Joe
Manley, of Maine, member of the re-
publican national committee and profess
s,onal politician, whose chief claim for
fame rests on his inordinate scuttling
from under the Tom Reed boom in
1896 which earned for him that worthys
famous THE Almighty hates GUTTER
sheer. has settled everything. According
to Joe, all is over bat the shouting.
with his little pencil he has figured out
the certainty OF AIcKinleys recollection.
giving the democrats scarcely enough
electoral votes 10 prove that their party
has been I'm the fight Joe IS considerable
enough to concede that Bryan has
chance TO get few votes IN the south.
but as to every other part Of the union
he IS certain that L Is going TO initiate
the example of his own state of Maine
which went
Hell bent
For Governor Kent
And Tippecanoe
And Tyler. too"
With, of course. Mckinley and Roosevelt
substituted for the o!dtimo~s in Joe's YER
sion OF the rhyme
The democrats, he - tain, M
a rhoai Of n Sira ~ \ ct-r. Ihcte aio
no doubtful states. hyerything is set
tied and all IS over but the shouting
which Is to greet the republican trium-
phal car.
Claiming Everything.
The picture is a pretty one for Joe and
his compatriots. There was once a dis
tinguished political leader Of Ohio whose
reputation rested largely upon his ten
dency to "claim everything with conf
dence" and the man from Maine has
evidently determined that there IS fame
in imitation. How much of his roseate
predictions he believes 1t Is hard to say;
but the hard work being done at repub-
lican headquarters and throughout the
country proves beyond question that
Chairman Hanna and mis- committees do
not by any means believe that victory is
certain.
And of course It ia not. IT is Just as
uncertain today as It has ever been.
and It is going TO remain uncertain until
the votes are counted
About the only thing certain about
American politics is that II IS a very I'M
certain quantity. The record Of presi-
dental contests since the war shows
that no president has been given two
terms III SUCCESSION save NftiltAt Ill ant,
and his second election come at a time
when things were SO onc-sided that there
was no real use in an opposition ticket
Since then, the American public has been
a decidedly tickle quantity and no presi-
dent has been given two successive
terms
A Lot of Doubtful States.
Mckinley may break that "hoo-doo."
but It will take the count of ballots to
decide that he has done So Just now
there are a lot of doubtful states Those
states viii belong properly to the doubt
full list until the end Of the contest and
all the predictions Of political leaders
concerning them will not remove those
doubts. Men possessing greater or less
knowledge of conditions in those states
viii keep on predicting and giving rea-
sons for their predictions. but all the
predictions on earth do not make GER
tainty.
In more than one contest some appa-
rently little thing has happened to ma
terially affect the result. The bad break
Of one man who was his firm and sin
cere supporter and who thought he was
doing the wise thing furnished the final
blow to Blaine's prospects I'm New York
and placed the electoral vote of that
state IN tie Cleveland column. There IS
more than a month remaining before the
presidential election and any day Of that
month may develop some republican
? break 10 inforce those which Mr.. Hanna
has already made ana I'm combination
with those Hannaisms make many
votes for Bryan. On the other hand there
is. of course. the possibility of disastrous
breaks by democratic leaders-though IN
all honesty II must be admitted that none
have happened as yet.
No Certainty at All
There IS no warrant for predictions of
the Manley kind on either side. BY the
same token there is no sense I'm demo-
crafts going about concedlng that NC
Kinlev Is sure TO be elected" There
are n lot of such democrats I'm the south
They are for the most part men who have
not studied conditions at all, but have
siu,rlv taken the republican claims at
the value OF the republicans themselves
and who take ii for granted that be-
cause Mckinley defeated BRYAN I'm 1896
he is certain to do ii again. lie may do
II. Won understand; but ii is no certainty.
All things considered he ought to have
Tho better chance, for he has at work
g., his behalf the whole machinery of the
federal government; he has back of him
,,crhans the most perfect political or
ganization that this country has yet de-
welcomed. and his managers undoubtedly
have in hand as much money as they
can use with any degree of effectiveness.
,rhcy may not have as much as they
had I'm 1896, for then they had scared
cornorations and individuals into ma NJ
moth subscriptions; but they probal v
I Ill fp MI N Us1N 10 q