The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1904-12-31
1T WAS a GREAT VICTORY.
Most Marvellous Of All Ever Achieved
by Any Party in United
States.

It is hard for even the most lntelli-
gent democrat to grasp the proportions
OF the recent republican landslide.
Here is William J. Bryan trying to
show that 1T wasn't much of a
shower" Mr.. Bryan points out that
Jefferson in his second election received
1852 electoral votes, compared with IA
cast for Pinckney. and adds that "Presi-
dent Roosevelt in his books speaks
very disparagingly Of Jefferson" Mon
roe, In 1920, got all the electoral votes
cast except one. Jackson, in 1882, had
219 votes, as compared with 40 for
Clay. In 1910 Harrison defeated Van
Buren, by vote OF 234 to 60. Pierce
carried every state but four in 1852 and
had 254 electoral votes, as against AZ
cast for Scott. Lincoln in 1864 had PIP
electoral votes, as against 81 for Nc
Clellan, while Grant, in 1868, received
214 electoral votes, as compared with
80 for Seymour, and got 268 in 1872 to
63 for Greeley. AS Roosevelt will have
1856, as compared with 40 for Parker,
Mr. Bryan claims that the "unprece-
denied republican victory" was far
from being unprecedented.
Mr.. Bryan overlooks several impor-
tant differences between the election in
1904 and all the others which he men,
tions, says the st. Louis Globe-Demo-
crat. When Jefferson won his big VIC
tory in 1904 the federalist party was on
the down grade, and though in coalition
with boiling element of the democrats,
1t made pretty strong fight In 1912 1t
never had much strength as an opposi-
tion party after 1904, and 1t dropped out
altogether just after the canvass of 1916.
The reason why Monroe, in 1920, got all
the electoral votes except one was that
Monroes party was the only party in ex-
istence at the time. When Jackson, in
1882, beat Clay by such an overwhelm-
ing vote the various elements of the
opposition to Jackson's party had not
yet coalesced. 1t was the panic of 1897,
largely. though not wholly, caused by
Jackson's overthrow of the United
States bank, together with the demo-
cratic defalcations in federal offices,
which gave the wings their big victory
in 1910. Pierce carried every state ex-
cept four in 1852 because the whig
party, deserted in the south and the
north, was ON the point of extinction,
and vanished from the stage in 1854.
Lincoln's big victory In 1864 was won
through temporary coalition of the
war democrats with the republicans.
at time, too, when IL states in the
democratic quarter of the country were
prevented from voting. Rebellion and
reconstruction were hitting the demo-
cratic party at the time that Grant car
ried the country in 1868 and 1872.
AS Mr.. Bryan knows something of
United States history he will see the
broad divergence in the conditions in
existence in all of those elections from
those which prevailed in 1904. Unlike
the federaliGt party in Jeffersons and
Monroe's elections the democracy in
1904 was in vigorous shape. Through
all the states of what are now called
the solid south the democracy had the
cards stacked in its own favor. 1t was
not assailed from within to any such
degree in 1904 as the losing parties were
In 1882, 1910 or 1852. No part of the
democratic region was shut out from
the polls this year as it was in the Lin
coin and the Grant campaigns, which
the late democratic leader mentions.
If the election had been as fair in the
south in 1904 as it was in the rest OF
the country the republicans would have
carried several of the states whose votes
will now be counted for Parker, and in
that case Roosevelt's proportion of the
electoral vote would have been as large
as that of most of the other presidents
whom Mr.. Bryan has named. Moreover.
Roosevelt's proportion of the popular
vote was larger than that of Jackson.
Harrison, Pierce, Lincoln or Grant.
When the democratic standard bearer
of 1896 and 1900 digests the chief facts
connected with the election of 1904 he
will see that 1t was the most marvellous
of all the victories ever achieved by any
party in the United States.