The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-11-02
WILL HISTORY REPEAT ITSELFe Something About Former
 Election Betting. GAMBLERS ARE CAREFUL Uncertainty is Responsible for This
 Timidity of Sports. The Two Times Cleveland Was Elected, the odds Favored Republican
 Candidates-simIIar Con- ditions Now Prevail.
BY ALFRED J. sToFER.


 This is generally looked upon as an indication that men of sporting ten dencies are uncertain as to the result. According to reports in the newspa- pers, and what people say who have been looking into this feature of the campaign, uncertainty Is responsible for this timidity on the part of those given to risking their cash. Although sta tements have been printed to the effect that striking odds have been offered in favor of Taft. the knowing ones say that the number of bets ac- tually made have been surprisingly small. Gamblers appear to have been exceedingly careful this year.
 The sporty" crowd. men who will bet on anything where there is a chance to rake in the other fellows coin, do not, as a rule, allow their po- litical feelings to influence them in their calculations. They go into win. There are. of course, men who make gambling a business, just as the book makers who follow the races. the curb brokers, who trade in stocks in New York. and those who hang around "bucketshops" putting up small amounts on the rise or fall of commo- dities they do not possess or ever ex- pect to possess.
 In three notable Presidential elections the gambling fraternity lost heavily. Indeed. they were practically cleaned out and the lucky winners, as a rule. were men who backed their political sentiments. The professional gam blers try to pick up their living from this class of citizens. whether 1t be in | a political contest or at a race track. The way the betting Is going is not always an indication as to how an cleo ton will go.
 In the memorable contest of 1884 the Tnv C Blaine for the Presidency. Blaine was looked upon as a magnetic candidate. A large percentage of the Irish-Amer- jeans were cutting loose from the Dem | ocrats at the time and were openly supporting the Maine man, because they believed he would, If elected Pres ident. bring England to terms in deal | ing with the landlord question in Ire- land.
 Gamblers Lost Heavily.
 The Republican party was thorough | ly entrenched in power at Washington. and 1t appeared simply ridiculous to the gambling element that such a man as the then Governor Grover Cleveland | of New York could vanquish the "Plumed Knight" as Pagan Bob" h. gersoll had called Blaine in his elo- quent speech in the National Republi can Convention at Cincinnati in 1876. Cleveland, however, won in 1884 by a close margin. and the gamblers lost heavily all along the line.
 March 4, 1885, was an ideal Spring day. No such inauguration weath CT had ever been known, for usually 1t is raw and wintry in Washington when Presidents take the oath of office. Pretty much throughout MT. Cleve- lands first term fair weather attended him in his travels. To all to his for tunes. he married the young and hand some Miss Frances Folsom. Mrs. Cleveland, everybody declared. brought the President good luck" It was good luck" administration, especially in the eyes of the gamblers, for in | 1888, when MT. Cleveland ran again tn c betting classes walked over each other in putting up their money on the | Democratic candidate. They had turn cans. But to their horror and dismay Benjamin Harrison defeated Grover | Cleveland in 1888, and once more the sports dropped their money.
 In 1892, the Democrats placed Gro- yer Cleveland again at the head of their national ticket. Very few of the | gamblers risked their money on him his candidacy as nothing short of a l farce from their standpoint. The idea | of betting on one who had been beaten by Harrison, and In the fact of the fact, too. that the fraternity" had lost twice on him. So they placed their money on Harrison that year. and those who recall the campaign will | loudly because they could not induce Democrats to back Cleveland in amounts sufficiently large to please them. They thought they would have a harvest. Well. Cleveland was over- whelmingly elected in 1892.
 Gamblers Cleaned Out.
 The gamblers who backed Harrison were cleaned out and when the thing was over, they were mighty glad that Democrats were scared and uncertain and had not the nerve to risk large sums of money on Cleveland.
 In 1892 the bulk of the labor vote was cast for Cleveland and Stevenson That flop around on the part of labor was caused by the Homestead riots in Pennsylvania. The Pinkertons were employed by the corporations and the shooting of a number of men. the ar rest of others and the general policy of the Republicans towards labor caused the revolt which swept the Republican Republicans from power It was a veritable Democratic land slide. New York, Indiana, Illinois Connecticut. New Jersey, Wisconsin and other States united with the Solid South in giving the Republicans a licking they have never forgotten These are facts which stand in history And yet in that very same year oi 1892, only a few days in advance oI the election, the Republican newspa. pers all over the land were claiming with the utmost confidence that Harri- son would be reelected by tidal wave. They abused and villihed ex- President Cleveland, insulted the whole Democratic party laughed al the idea that free trade" as they called it, could have a sh ow in pro- tection America, and the forecast sent out from the Headquarters of the Re publican National Committee was along the same lines. In a word. the Re publicans claimed everything As tc Ohio. in that contest. 1t was put down as safe for something like 100000 ma iority for Harrison. Ohio that year came very near going for Cleveland he having secured one elector in the State. The Republican electors just managed to skin through. the plurali- ties not being over 1000.
 At this writing the Republican cam. paign managers are sending out to the country ridiculous claims for Judge Taft. To read their statements OnC would think that Mir. Bryan is to bt
 beaten worse than he was in 1896. ant in 1900 and that he will hardly make as good a run as did Judge Parker
 for the Democrats four years ago. Ed
 itorials In Republican newspapers have
 been of the wild order too. They were
 Just as wild in advance of the election