Arizona republican., 1904-05-24
Concernlng the Next House

The biennial claim that the next
 house" will be democratic has been pu.
 forward. The claimant is properly
 Chairman Cowherd of the democratic
 congressional committee. His claim is a little less extravagant than might
 have been expected.
 There is a majority of only thirty. | two against us now he said the other | day in his first bulletin from head.
 quarters. And we shall be able to take
 more than sixteen seats away fro,1 the republicans" MT. Cowherd puts the majority against his party in the house at thirty-two. In the house as elected in November, 1902. the repub- lican majority was only thirty. It has been increased since then, through the unseating of MT. Howell, of Pennsyl vania, and MT. Shafroth, of Colorado,
 to thirty-four. Counting the Tenth
 Pennsylvania and First Colorado as republican districts, the democrats will
 hare to recover eighteen seats to win the house. The new democratic chair
 man wisely refrains from naming the districts now republican which he cx- poets to carry. To do that might un.
 wise expose the rainbow character of
 his hopes and calculations. There is.
 in fact, only the remotest prospect of democratic gains in the next house of representatives.
 The New York Tribune has ideas Of it's own on the subject of the complex ion of the next house which will be in- teresting as opposed to the views of
 MT. Cowherd. It says:
 Under the national apportionments of 1883 and 1891 the house was nor
 mally democratic. Under the appor-
 tionment of 1901 it has become nor
 mally republican. The elections of 1902
 gave the democratic party as full a representation in the lower branch of congress as it is entitled to under of year" conditions; and it is more like the stress of presidential contest. In the New England states two years ago five democratic representatives were elected-four in Massachusetts and one chusetts districts are likely to be re- covered by the republicans this fall, and the Rhode Island one is pretty cer- tain to be. Surely no democratic gains can be reasonably looked for in New England. In New York the First, Fifth, Sixth and Thirteenth districts, carried two years ago by democratic candidates. will probably be recaptured. Of the thirty seven representatives from this state the republicans should elect twenty-three at least, against twenty in 1902. In Pennsylvania one district now republican may be lost: but that loss can easily be recouped by carrying Delaware, which two years ago, with rival republican nominees in the field, elected a democrat
 In the south there is no prospect of | democratic gains. The republicans Will | retain the two seats they now have | from Tennessee, and the single seats | now theirs from Missouri and Ken~ | lucky. They may lose one seat in | Maryland and one in Virginia, but they have an excellent chance to capture at | least one seat in western North Caro- lima. West Virginia has failed but | once since 1894 to elect solid repub- | lican delegation. Republican repre- sentation from the south has reached | its minimum. There is little hope of | reducing it further. In the middle west | the democrats may possibly count on gaining one district in Ohio; but they l will do well to hold the five districts now counted as democratic in Michi- gan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska 1