The Portland daily press., 1900-09-22

but the Republican margin inathe House
was only three In that year there were
sixteen Republican Congressman elected
from the South, but this year Chairman
Joseph W. Babcock of the Republican
Congressional committee, looks for de-
creased party representation from that
part of the country as compared with
recent years
The Democrats start with an immense
advantage in the solid South. There
they have about hundred votes that are
as secure for them today as they VIII be
the day after election. No Republican
campaign, however energetic, can dis
suade the voters of the South from cast
Ing their ballots for Democratic Con-
gress1Onal Candidates. Here and there
district may go Republican, but this is
SO infrequent that the region may be
considered as solidly Democratic as ever.
AS the number of members of the House
is 357 the1DemOcrats are compelled to get
only about eighty outside the South in
order to secure clear majority. There
are eleven western and northwestern
states in which the Republicans at pres
ent have all the Representatives except
two. 1t Is clearly Impossible to make
any material gain in these States Rath-
or the efforts of the sOund-money advo-
Gates there must be bent to holding what
they have The greatest Republican ener-
| gy must be expended In the Middle
States, where the Democrats now have a
large representation, but where there Is a
chance for Republican gains. Mr.. Bab-
cock points out that the pivotal States
are New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and
the Union. Here the Republican party
expects to win the entire electoral vote,
| but 1t cannot hope to elect a correspond
ingly complete list Of congressman. In
1896 1t won every electoral vote In the
four States, yet the Democrats were sue
]
! tricts and the Populistst in three. In
other words, the Republicans carried the
four States by a popular plurality OF
| 753, 536 and yet the Democrats and POpu-
lists in com mbination carried twenty dis.
triots for the House
Two years ago these four States elected
an even larger Democratic representa-
tion. so that at the present time the Re
| publicans have only sixty live Represents
atives to forty two for the opposition. II
Is plain that Mr.. Mckinley may carry
New York, Pennnsylvania, Ohio and iii
nois and still the Democrats may gair
| In all these States on the COngressiOna
vote, Nobody expects the President K
win IN New York and Illinois by the
large margins OF 1896, though it is prob
able that he viii carry New York hJ
more than the scanty seventeen thous
and polled for Governor Roosevelt IL
| 1898. The chances are that the Republi
States mentioned viii not be largely re
duced as compared with 1898, but thl
danger lies in the change Of enough seats
to upset the narrow Republican maJOrit.
| at Washington.
There is no profit in being needlessly )
alarmed over the outlook, but sound
money voters in the Middle States ough
to be alive to the situation. On them ap
pears to depend the control of the nexl
House and the practical ind orsement o
the Mckinley administration. Here II
New England we can do little to he'll
matters for all but three OF our Congress
men are Republicans Two of the Demo
cratic districts are reasonably certain t.
return Democrats this year, and the soil
tary hopeful one is the Third Massachu
setts, where the Democratic candidat
two years ago won by only 159 over nj
Republican opponent, 1t would be
great misfortune II a Democratic Hous
should be elected, and every good citizel
should lend his aid to the effort bein
made by the Republican Congressiona
committee to hold the advantage that th
sound-money and expansion majorit
now enjoys.