The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-05-10
REPUBLICANS FEAR
 NEGRO DETECTION Brownsville Incident May lnjure Taft in Doubtful States THE COTTON WAR GROWING Movement of the Planters Reaches Very Enormous Proportions-some calamlties CD Caused By "The
 Merry Widow" Waltz.
THE COTTON WAR GROWING
BY sEWELL HAocARp.

 ample evidence that many of the infiuen- tia1 republican leaders fear that with Taft as their candidate for President the Brownsville incident will react on the party at the polls. It Is even contended by some that the defection among the negroes is seriously threatening the chances of the party in certain doubtful states The following from an inde- pendent New York paper with republican tendencies shows how the latter is re- garded.
 If there were anything like a close presidential election it is well within the truth to say that there are states enough in which the negroes hold the balance of voting power to decide the majority in the electoral college Take as evidence the following little table showing the number of negroes of voting age in eight northern states, all of which are ordi- narily counted as republican, West Vir- ginia being politically now northern state
 New York ... 3l, 425 Indiana ........1S,1S6 Ohio ............31,23 ,235 w. Virginia. 7S6 Illinois ..........29763 Kansas ........14,6 ,695 New Jersey. .21474 Massachusetts.10 10, ,456
 These figures are from the census of 1900. and the number of negro voters is at present considerably larger in some
 
 under conceivable conditions the negroes could, if they all voted and acted to- gether, defeat the republican electoral tickets in a number of states sufficient to determine the fate of the republican candidate
 If all the negroes in all the states named above should vote the democratic ticket many of them would be lost to the republicans. Even if a considerable num- Der should decide to support the demo- cratic ticket, the chances of republican success would be seriously affected. In New York, for instance the loss of the negro vote, or even half of it, probably would result in republican defeat, the more especially if the republican candi- date failed to appeal strongly to the white voters of his party. In 1892 New York gave Cleveland plurality of 45,5lS. In 1896 Mckinley was elected by a plurality of 26S 469 In 1900 Mckinley was re-elect- ed by a plurality of 143406. In 1904 Roose- welt was elected by a plurality of l155O2 In 1906 Hughes was elected governor by plurality of 57,S97, while the rest of the re- publican ticket was defeated, the demo- cratic lieutenant governor receiving plurality of 5574 Ohio was republican by 1072 in 1892, AS, 497 in 1896, 69.036 in 1900 and 255, ,421 in 1904 but in 1905, during the gubernatorial campaign it went demo- cratic by vote of 42,647. Kentucky was republican in 1896 and gave the democratic candidate in 1900 plurality of less than 5000, and in 1904 less than 120o0. Indiana was democratic in 1892 and has been re- publican since Illinois also was demo- cratic in 1892, and in the elections of 1896, 1900 and 1904 overwhelming supported the republican candidates. Missouri drew away from the solid south in 1904, when 1t gave Roosevelt a plurality of 25OOO. E Kansas voted the fusion ticket in 1892, the democratic ticket in 1896, the republican ticket in 1900 and 1904. In 1906 the repub- lican candidate for governor was elected by a plurality of 2l2S. Nebraska support ed Bryan in 1896 and has been republican ever since. Colorado has been at various times democratic, including the election of 1892 though since it has been repub- lican. To go back east Connecticut sup ported fusion in 1892 1896 and l9OO but voted for Roosevelt in 1904 and for a re- publican governor in 1906. New Jersey, for the past 36 years, has been democratic as frequently as it has been republican. It strongly supported Mckinley during his two elections and Roosevelt in 1904, but in the gubernatorial campaign of last year gave a republican majority of only S013.
 In nine southern states, with a total of 19S delegates to the republican national convention the negroes have opposed the nomination of Secretary Taft, and have sent contesting delegations to Chicago, instructed to vote for Senator Foraker. In this action they were influenced large ly by admiration for their white cham pion and in minor degree as a result of the policy of the republican party in the south in excluding the negro from it's conventions. The latter constitutes the second grievance of the negro against the republican party. The southern republi- cans, in adopting this policy, were n- sp,red by their ambition to form a white republican party in the south As one pl eminent democrat put it: That party is expressing the negro more than the democratic party has ever done We have imposed restrictions with respect to their voting. The republican party is saying now that the negro shall not vote at all.'
 A report from Washington says that as far as possible it is the intention of the national republican committee to smooth down the ruffled feathers of the negroes. The committee must decide the contests which the negro delegation will file. There is not the slightest doubt that some of these delegates will be seated for it is realized that if the northern and western negro is to be appeased it is necessary to allay the agitation which exists among the colored voters residing in southern states.
 Quite stir has been created here by reports of the strength of the movement of the cotton growers against the mill owners and brokers. According to a writer