The Tucson citizen., 1902-08-25
POLITICS IN VERMONT.

The amazing possibility Of a Repub- |
lican defeat in Vermont, which recent |
ly loomed in the lurid horizon has been |
effectively disposed of, completely
sQuelched we may say, cast out as if it I
were diabolical device to corrupt |
the souls of men. The agency by and |
through which this vanishing act was
effected was the Democratic State con-
ton. The readers of The Citizen have
been fully advised of the Vermont Re- |
publican family infelicity. They have
been made aware that Editor Clement
Of the Rutland Herald, a gentleman of
wealth, man of brains and character, /
and heretofore a loyal Republican,
made great campaign for his party's
gubernatorial nomination, and that,
having failed to secure the prize, he
bolted and started an Independent
movement On the very sensible plat
form of local option and high license.
The Citizen commended the platform.
1t is what Vermont needs, for prohibI-
tion in that State, as in every other
where it is in alleged operation, is a
\ transparent humbug. But we hold to
the doctrine that man who goes into
a convention as a candidate and is de-
feated on an honest vote and fair
count is bound to accept and abide by
the decision. This is essential to a
good party man, and therefore The Cit
izen could not put it's unreserved bene-
diction On Mr.. Clements bolt
The possibility Of Republican defeat
began to appear when the Clement fac
ton began to smirk and smile toward
the Democrats Going it alone there
was no chance that the boilers
could defeat Mccullough, the reg
ular Republican nominee, stand
ing on prohibition plat
form: But if they could induce the
Democrats to take up Clement and
shout for local option and high license,
as they have always done, the combined
strength of the boilers and Democrats
might overcome the Republican regu-
lars. The scheme was shrewdly ex-
plotted and some of the influential
Democrats favored it., Having no hope
of a straight-out victory, they were in
clined to yield to the temptation to aid
in defeating the Republican organiza-
} tion by electing a boiling Republican.
Half loaf seemed better than no
bread, so they urged their brethren to
make the same kind of mistake that
the national Democracy in 1872 per-
petrated when they joined a faction of
!, disgruntled Republicans led by Carl
Schurz. Whitelaw Reid and Murat Hal
stead in trying to elect Horace Greeley
} the most radical of all Republicans, to
the Presidency
! But the Vermont Democrats in con-
! vention assembled proved impregnable
in their orthodoxy, Having fought for
many years for principle only, with
never SO much as a possible chance of
: spoils, with never a hope of getting
near the provender box, they felt only
lofty scorn for the arts of the se-
ducers. A storm of opposition greet
ed the proposition to take up Clement
A small contingent, believing in the
local option and high license policy rs
against humbug prohibition, and not
being good, old-fashioned partisans,
voted their convictions, but were out
: voted nearly three to one, and Felix
2 McGettrick, stanch Democrat of the
: old school, was nominated after what
? is described as one of the most exciting
scenes in the history of the party.
E That settles the question The total
vote of Vermont at the last election for
, governor was 67OS7 A majority OF
/ that would be 33,544 At that election
E the Republican vote was 38,444, the
t Democratic vote 17,129, and the minor
= parties aggregate vote 1,517. There
e is no reason to doubt that McCollough's
t vote will suffice for his election. And
t he will be largely indebted to the rigid
d orthodoxy of the Democrats.
S ---O----
Sroro4ouxy Mood,