The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1900-08-29
COLD DEMOCRATS
What Will They Do In the
Coming Campaign In
This State ?
CANvASSING THE SITUATION
Some Says Ninty-hve Per
Cent. of Them Will Vote
for Bryan.

Both parties in New Jersey, at the pres
ent time, are much engrossed with politi-
cal figures and politicians theories, says a
Trenton letter in the Newark Sunday
CaA.'' They are engaged in the extraor-
dinary task of finding out the tendency of
the Gold Democrats and the Mckinley
Democrats who played an important part
in the campaign of 1896.
1t cannot be forgotten that New Jer-
sey was moved out of the Democratic
column, after maintaining its position
there for twenty-six years by the phe-
nominal plurality of 1882 for Mckinley
and Hobart. This was Republican gain
of over one hundred thousand in State
having 375,O0O voters.
Various estimates are given by the po-
litical accountants as to the number of
Democratic voters who cast in the ballot
The average Democratic plurality on
both State and National tickets was
about 10000, and the natural conclusion
of the political experts was that 10000
Democrats voted for Mckinley and Ho-
bart on the direct issue of gold and sill
yer, and the other 10000 did so to COM
pliment their State honored with the Vice
Presidential nominee.
The pertinent political query is the
tendency of these 10000 Democratic
votes, plus the 6s73 Buckner and Gold
Democratic votes in this particular cam
paign. Speculation on the subject takes
the widest range. Both political parties
take a cheerful view Of the situation
The State Committees of the two leading
parties are now canvassing to find the
drift of the sentiment and the prelimi-
nary canvass leads both the Democrats
and the Republicans to offer statements
that can be considered official, but not
guaranteed to remain good until cleo
ton day.
The Republican county chairmen, at a
conference during the past week, paid
some attention to the Gold Democrat and
his position in this contest. Sixteen out
of twenty-one counties were represented,
and, according to the reports that were
submitted, the money issue was not so
dead in many localities as the Democrats
We're disposed to have the general public
believe. The rural counties would prob
ably present the largest change of vote,
more so than the manufacturing and
largely populated countless such as Es-
sex, Hudson, Union. Passaic and Cam
den The Republicans claim that they
have interrogated many known McKin-
ley Democrats and find that about one
third have actually stated a change of
conviction, and will vote with their party
this campaign. 1t is further stated. as
a result of the conference, that many
Democrats are quoted as being disposed
to swallow the Kansas City PLATFORM
who have not taken any position The
announcement of their alleged CONVEX
sion was not authorized. The net result
of the Republican conference was the
discovery that many who voted for
Mckinley four years ago will vote for
neither Mckinley nor Bryan this fall
but will vote their Congressional ticket,
SO that the falling off will be from one
third to one-half of the Democratic-Re-
publican vote.
The Democrats claim that they will get
back from ninety to ninety-five per cent.
of the Gold Democrats, and if they have
any basis whatever for such claim, the
Republicans are being badly deceived, for
that would mean a Democratic victory
Henry D. Winton who was the head
and front of the Buckner and Palmer
movement in 1896, lives in Bergen County
which was strong Gold Democratic
county, and which has a class of voters
a large percentage of which are New
York business men, who commute to the
Jersey hills and take a lively interest in
New Jersey politics. Bergen gave 451
votes for the Buckner ticket, and there
was probably four times that number
who voted for Mckinley Bergen as a
rule, has ben Democratic but it gave
Mckinley plurality of 4015. Editor
Winton is very sanguine of Bergen's
future. He estimates that at least ninety
five per cent. of the Democrats of Bergen
who did not vote for Bryan will vote for
him this fall because OF their natural
tendency to other issues. The other five
per cent, he believes, will be lost to both
parties, so that Bergen county will be
Democratic.
The Republicans, however, are making
an underground canvass of this county
in particular, and report, that it is inn
possible to strike percentage of the Gold
Democrats, but that the county will not
go Democratic, because there will not be
anything like stampede back into the
Democratic camp.
At the Democratic State headquarters,
which were opened during the past week,
Secretary William K Devereaux stated
that heir eturns on the Gold Democratic
vote were not yet as complete as the
committees woul like them, because Of
the fact that it was vacation period, and
political activity had not begun. The
special purpose of the committee will be
to get hack those Democrats who voted
for Mckinley four years ago land the
estimate made upon the information so
far obtained is that from eighty-five to
ninety percent of the vote will go back
to Bryan Devereaux was frank enough
to admit that these figures were large
and may be changed by subsequent devel-
opment, but the county leaders and
workers were taking the pains to size up
| the situation in their localities, and It S
based on what comes from the rank and
| file Of the voters and not from isolated
cases. Men, more or less known In the
county and State, are quoted as making
declarations of intention, SO far as their
1 vote is concerned. which has formed the
basis of a great many peoples opinion,
but his estimate and that of his informers
are based upon the disposition of whole
groups Of voters.
Ex-secretary of State Henr} c. Kelsey,
| Willard J. Fisk. former Secretary Of the
Dem mocratic State Committee; Benjamin r
Lee, for twenty-five years the Democratic