Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-10-17
LARGE REGISTRATIONS
FIGURES WHOLLY AT VARIANGE
WITH SURFACE INDICATIONS.
Evidence That Very Large Vote Will
Be Polled This Fall-Unusual
Plurality Doubtful.
Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.

Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.
COLUMBUS, Ohio, October 10. 1904.
Figures from the first days registrat!r', 81
voters in Ohio are wholly at variance with
surface indications of interest in the cam
paign.
Judging from what appeared before regis
tration began the rank and file of the par
ties We're taking little or no interest in the
campaign. The volume of the vote regis
tered on the first day of registration shows
that they are taking unusual interest in
the election. Almost without exception the
cities report larger registrations than ever
before on the first day, and this includes
proper allowance for the natural increment
in the total u tie.
Doubtless the combination of the munich
pal with the general elections made by the
law of last winter has something to do with
it. 1t would be hardly fair to assume that
all voters place the local elections above the
national elections in Importance, but that
some of them do seems quite certain. The
local election contests are no doubt having
influence in making voters qualify them
selves for the coming election The local
candidates are active in securing registra-
ton of their friends. When they vote they
will vote the whole ballot, of course, so the
general elections derive advantage by the
combination The democrats will bly,
get some special benefit from II, for the rea-
son that they are never well supplied in
this state with funds for getting out their
vote. Local influences will now operate in
their behalf.
No Unprecedented Plurality.
While the registration figures indicate in
a general way safe republican plurality in
Ohio, they give no encouragement to the re-
publican who is expecting to see an unpre-
cedented republican plurality. The fact is
that none of the large republican pluralities
in this state in the last dozen years have
been given on large vote They have
been secured not by a large republican vote,
but by short democratic votes.
In 1896, when the state cast over million
votes McKinleyS plurality in the state was
only $1,000. In 1894 the republican plu-
rality in the state was $4,000 but in that
election the total republican vote was only
12OO0 more than it was in 1892 when the
republican plurality was barely LOCO. The
cause of the big republican plurality in
1894 was the slump in the democratic vote
1t fell off from 401 COO in 1892 TO 2i6,Ooo in
1894
If the combination of the local with the
general elections should thus fnure to the
advantage of the democrats, one of the
last political moves of the late Senator
Hanna will have come to a singular mis-
carriage. The main object in passing that
bill was to assist the republicans of To-
elections. The senator hod observed that
both cities were reliably republican in state
ara national elections, but somehow Tom
L. Johnson could carry Cleveland every
time on local elections. and 1t seemed i'm
possible to prevent the election of the
late Samuel NJ Jones mayor of Toledo
things stood.
Test for Straight Vote.
With the local and general elections held
at that same time and the candidates all
on the same ballot it was believed thu.
the tendency to vote straight would
be so strong that the independent move
ment would be drowned out How well
the plan will work out in these two cities
IL a question to be tested in the coming
election, but it looks as though the advau-
taga expected, if attained would be at
tared at large sacrifice to the party n
Other parts of the state.
The legislative halls were full of runners
when the bill was pending of street rail-
way franchise bills in both Cleveland an |
Toledo which were to he pushed through
councils to be elected oil the blanket ba!-
lots that will result this fall because OF
the combination of the cleo tons.
The action of the supreme court of The
state in declaring Thomas f. Scroggy the
regular republican candidate for Congress
in the sixth district instead of Repres'r-
tatjve c. Q. Hildebrant has cleared mp
the political atmosphere there, and boil.
republicans and democrats agree that the
chance of electing a democrat in that
strong republican district is gone. ihe
feeling on the part IF the Scroggy fac
tin-mostly Senator Foraker adherents-
WAS intense. They believed that an at
tempt was being made to swindle them
on. Of the nomination, and had Mr.. Hide
brfnt been placed on the ballot no do1i
en-, ugh of them would have refused 10
sup nrt him to have thrown the diste Il
to the democratic candidate-an able and |
popular man.
Only Four Districts in Question.
This leaves only four districts in Ohio |
about which there is any sort of question |
in the coming election. They are the third, |
twelfth. thirteenth and fiftee nth. The dem |
ocrats will certainly capture the thirteenth.
They have fine fighting chance to capture |
the third. They now have the twelfth, and |
will probably hold it by re-electing D. C.
Badger the present representative. A
hard fight is being made in the fifteenth
against Beman G. Dawes, the republican F!
candidate There seems to be little danger |
of his defeat here, and yet the !
republican congressional committee is evil |
IDENTIFY advised that Dawes is IN danger, for |
when Speaker Cannon was here last week |
he asked to have his Columbus date |
changed so that he could go into Mr.. |
Dawes district and speak.
Governor Herrick continues to discuss his |
action in regard to the Brannock local OPP |
ton bill last winter as an issue in the cam |
paign, much to the disgust of Senators |
Foraker and Dick and other leading repub- |
lican politicians. At the opening meeting |
at Warren they criticised the governor for |
it. but he continues to make the matter the !
burden of his campaign speeches. At Som |
erset Saturday he declared his intention of |
discussing the Brannock bill matter both i
this year and next, Sin the interest of |
truth This would imply that he intended |
to be a candidate for reelection next year. |
but he is arraying the church and temper |
ance people of the state solidly against |
him. and from this point of view seems to /
be making himself an impossibility a |
candidate for second term in the gov |
errors Office.
Effect of Strike.
The effect of the strike of the iron work
ers is shown in the registration in the sec
ond-class cities located in the iron-workng
districts There alone of all the state is
falling off in registration, as compared with
10 CT wear and four wears ago, shown.