The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1906-08-17
lily ~avnvarI j

II g not true. - one frequently htarS,
that Presidential elections are aswa~-
determined IN favor % he party wescz.
prevails N the congressional elec . =
| held tvo years before. That NAV "a
the rule. bat the exceptions are uu.a- :
Gus. and some Il them notable. T.
20 10 farther hack than the ta.--~
fourth congress which had = -rpatl-
can plurality and a republican sr<ake-.
yet twc years later James Buchanan. 3
democrat was elected president Il he
United States. When LIncoln WAS iirst
elected pdesident speaker Of ske then
existing congress was not a republican.
though John Sherman would ave btea
the speaker II he had not s!Enei The
"Hedper Book" Whether the forty
fourth congress vas an exception de-
pends on your politics. /. Won are q
republican. YOU will say II WIS an ~
ception. for thar congress chosen IL
1874. was Overwhelmingly demo rate.
though X. b. Hayes vas t~nanearateI
president in 1877; but IL O are a DEM
ocrat, you will hold thar the congress
ional election 90 1874 fore>hawoded Tie
result OF the presidential election a..
1876. when Mr., Tilden o The majority
and Mr., Hayes got the Office.
Certainly the forty-sixth congress
was al exception. Chosen in 1878, i
had 4 democratic majority. and Sam 81
J. Randall WAS its speaker, yet Garfield
was elected preSidenc III 1850. The q
was a reason for that. however-ten'-
oclatic stupidity. That party attempt
ted TO make the wrong they said Ms
done Mr.. Tildcn the issue. IN ugh they
condoned 1t by refusing :" make Mr
Tilden the candidate. as # YOU c,u.d
have the Issue without the man "N ny
didn't YOU renominate him. them" VAS
hurled IT every democratic srelibin e.
who undertook denouuce the theft"
of the presidency.
In 1886 the democrats elected a
majority of the fiftieth congress. and
Mr.. Carlisle was chosen speaker. Aat
in 1888 Harrison vas elected pres dent,
This was Il notable exception. Ssnca
that time the presidential elections
have always been forecasted by IA
congressional elections held two years
earlier. When Cleveland was eleC'e2
in 1892 Crisp was speaker. When Nj
kinlcv was elected in 1896. Reed was
speaker. When Mckinley was re-"lsct-
ed in 1900. Henderson vas size lker
, And IL Is very probable that the pres.-
dent chosen in 1906 will be of the same
politics rs the speaker # the ~ixt!cth
congress. But there are enough ex
ceptions to the rule to make the thing
! uncertain. and, as in baseball. the ele-
ment Of chance helps TO make Politics
fascinating.
AS q rule. issues have ov~erShadOwad
men in American politics. The person
altities of Clay and Jackson did not
wholly obscure the issues between the r
respective parties. On the other hand,
there was little in the republican na-
tional convention of 1880 but the per-
sonalities Of Grant and Blaine, one
handicapped by the unpopularity u
the third term. the other loaded down
with the "Mulligan letters In 1884
the repeal Of what is mlsnamed IN"
Missouri Compromise really he
missouri RestEicti"n." was the issue.
with Know-nothingism a big side-sGow
The north e anti-slavery, anti-Catn-
| Ole, anti-foreigner. and the thirty
fourth congress was more republican
than ANYTHING else. But in 1856 he
democrats put that repeal n their
| platform and called II popular SOW
| ereignty," derisively stigmatized as
"~.quatte- sovereignty" and carried the
country on II.
Later, the south waded knee-deep in
| perdition upon a punctilio. T"onos
| and Benjamin both knew that AImtSn-
| tv God had given Kansas n soil n j
| climate that made African slavery lin-
| POSSIBLE. What they were cOnterdin@
! for was the right under the consiiiu-
| ton TO plant slavery there 4 man
| has Il right 10 plant an orange grow"
| in the track Of Il blizzard, out n IN"
| Dakotas-slavery in Kansas was the
| same thing, the same impossible fhlns,
| but IL made the war If 1sC1-65. Slavery
in Kansas was the issue Of the cam
| paign OF 1888, and the north a-Ai4
went an~ti-slavery.
In 1874 the issue was caTpet-oag@ y
| at the south and administrators CO.
| ruption at Washington. The whisky
| ring frauds. SanDOrn contracts. 'GeheT-
| nj averages" in the custom houses con-
tributed as much 10 the dem"crltc
| victories Of that year IS the negro @u.e
, down south In the republican nationa.
convention Of 1876 it was Blaine
| against the feld-Morton. C"nkllng
| Br!stow. Hayes. and the rest Il them
II the gas had not been turned on
| Blaine's personality and Bob ln@".-
| soils defamation would have swept
things As II 9as. the plumed Eri.1t
went down with lance shivere~i like I
| warrior Of the round table II took q"
whole layout % unhoTse him.
After Inauguration Of Hayes tae
southern question began 10 give way %
economic problems-anance and taxa
ton. II there had been no dispute
about the succession. whether Haze
| or Tilden was really elected the tarl1
! would have been as prominent n 1880