The Portland daily press., 1900-11-07
The Argus Landscape
Pictures
Some Cold Comfort From Ar
kansas and Virginia.

1t was all over before the fun had real
" commenced. So one sided was the con-
test that little excitement was caused by
the election, and by ten O'Clock even the
most sanguine Bryanite had erawled OF
home convinced that the Nebraskan was
buried beneath the greatest landslide that
has ever been known,
There were of course thousands of peo-
pie on the street. These people gathered
about the places where the steropticons
were throwing the returns on the screens
and for an hour or so the Democrats
waited hopefully for favorable news. 1t
did not come and their hopes diminished
In proportion to the length Of time which
elapsed between one Democratic bulletin
and the next one. In front of the PRESS
and Argus offices on Exchange street
there WAS crowd which blocked the
street from curb to curb.
The Argus began valliantly to boast
about the good returns which were COM.
ing later. They promised their Demo
cratic friends great news In little
while The PRESS began the evening by
giving the Democrats in the Argus crowd
cold comfort. The first bulletins from
New York showed conolusiyely that Dick
Croker had not been carrying that big
state around in his vest pocket ready to
deliver it to Bryan when 1t was wanted.
Even the returns from the Tammany pre-
cincts were laden with omens OF defeat
and each sucDee ling bulletin was magni-
flying this fact. The Argus stereopticon
began showing good roads pictures and
scenes of foreign travel The PRESSscon
tinued to fash on the screen returns from
all of the doubtful states showing that
their electoral votes would all be found
in the Repu bIican column In the morn
ing The Argus continued to display
landscapes, the PRESS to give the crowd
landslide figures. The Democrats, and
there were a great many of them on Ex-
change street, cheered Bryan's picture
loudly at first and then became silent.
Then the PRESS stereopticon man hogan
to ask where the Argus figures were and
why their Democratic neighbor did not
show some signs of life. The landscapes
continued. including scenes from Salt
River and ruins, interesting but rather
tame. Then came the Argus bulletin
which sat the crowd yelling: Arkansas
has gone Democ ratic.''
The Bryanites whooped 1t up for awhile
but grew silent when the news that the
New York World conceded MoKinley's
election was flashed on the PRESS
screen. A little later the Argus said
Virginia gives Bryan big majority"
Th is was little rift in the dark cloud
which seemed to be settling down over
the Democratic hopes. The PRESS gave
the crowd cartoons by the score, all of
which raised laugh and sometimes a
cheer, but for the most part the crowd
was content to grin in silence at the
bulletins and not humiiiate the Demo-
Gratis by cheering too loudly.
In the Democratic crowd were the
Bryan Zouaves, Silver Eagles and other
Democratic campaign organizations who
were waiting for an excuse to start off on
a parade. Their excuse did not come, and
1t was severe blow for the boys who
have spent their good money to lug
torch light around and keep people awake
during the past few weeks.
AS tine nlgnt wore away ana 1t became
certain that Mckinley had been elected,
many people went home satisfied that Nc
kinley was their next President, and
that there would be four more years OF
the full dinner pail. The Democrats who
had been watching the good roads bulle-
tins from the Argus all the evening in
terspersed with photographs OF sylbyan
scenes got tired of the thing and went
home. After ten o'clock no one would
have known that there was a Democrat
on Exchange street from the noise in the
crowd. They had read enough and were
silent and even the oft repeated picture of
Bryan with the legend What's the mat
ter with this man." failed to bring out
cheer. The boy with the tin horn who
had been helping swell the Democratic
cheers had been captured by his father
and led OH home by the ear and the street
was left to the Republican crowd.
There was big crowd in Monument
square whsre an evening paper Was dis