The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-09-02
VISCONsIN'S VOTE.
Reason why Its MaJorities In Presidential
Years Are Usually small.

Wisconsin. the Badger State. was admitted
into the Union In ls4s and participated In the
Pre- ,idential election OF that year and Ia every
Presidential election since, By a popularity Of
It's politics. il has almost invariably been car
red by snail majorities. In the nrst Presiden-
tial election 1t went Democratic by 200 votes:
in the second by ,. 800. At the beginning OF the
Civil War it was ranged with the strong anti
slavery State, but in the Presidential contest
ticket. the majority for President Lincoln was
only 1900, and twelve years later on a con-
stantly increasing vote the Republican plu-
ralitv was only 5000. Blaine carried the State
in 1884 by a majority of only 1900. Cleveland in
500 had q plurality, Of $500. and II, was not
until tie PTTssidenta eIsenon Of isse that either
dent Mckinley had then a majority Of l02. 900.
something entirely unprecedented In the poll
tics OF Wisconsin.
The reasons for this apparent c~loseness. or.
rather, for the former oloseness, Of politics in
Wisconsin Is to be- found primarily in the fact
but a much divided foreign population. OF
100000 electors, o,oo0. il is computed, are either
S& ctGeSt , SS 7 GiT,a OF S Si GsTn:n; ys,e9s s.a
descent. Two-thir $ Of the Germans. II Ia gem
orally COMPUTED. incline 70 the Democratic
a'sIs NTpu tRera are PDi ii1,soO "a iorsisn; Born R e si5s
i /, Mot voters, Or 30 Ges IN or sian = prT a.,
bNA' NV A't ~ WV AhAAA hAAs - NV hH
German or Scandinavian voters or their de-
sceudants in WISCONSIN. This division gives the
republicans. a lead which represents about
their nornal majority. which is increased or
oblltcrated by the appeals q party Leaders to
the IA tvf-born citizen Of Wisconsin. OF those
10 whom appeals for support are addressed *
c~luslvely Ia English,
"Tnlike Michigan, Wis onsin has a very small
numbe OF Canadian voters, and unlike Mich
igaG. { o. il has few Holllnders. On the other
hand, Wisconsin has a cons derable Belgian
COLONY and quite a number OF Welshmen. The
Belaians usually vote the Democratic. and the
Welshmen the Republican, ticket.
A second reason for the traditional closeness
OF Wisconsin as a State and the d.f'Gulty Of
making any estimate in advance o. the vote IL
10 10 found n the circumstance that its big
city, MIiWanke't l. rather a toreicu than an
Gtrnan-AmerlCan voters THIN anv other city
/ tho country. and it. influence IL over
suadowcd In Tho p'iItica ana r. Of Wisconsin
closely divided between the two parties, and "
sometimes happens that Milwaukee Will GO ona
way aud the other counties of the State
another. he contc I being fought on one line in
the Cream city. and on another line In the other
cities of the State,
At the State election II 1898 the Republicans
carried Wisconsin ty $4,000 plurality and they
ara expecting 10 do as well this wear perh lps
bettor. but all calculations based on the vote Of
the Badger state are subject TO change for the
reasons above given, ana a small majority for
IN" Repuhl,Cans can generally he more conf
IDENTIFY predicted than u large mSi,ritN euch "a
hey had in lsa*. but In no Presidential elect on
before