The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1908-07-16
CHANCES Of DEMOCRATIC
SUCCESS IN MIDDLE WEST

whirlwind canvass of the state. stir
ring the party up in his old time way
and bringing to his support thousands
of Independent voters who have been
acting for the Republicans of late
but who are now disgusted with the
hypocrisy and extravaganza of the
dominant party.
In the neighboring state of Illinois
the tremendous plurality of 100000
which Roosevelt received in 1904 has
been badly cut in recent elections,
though not as badly as his Indiana
plurality. But single Democrat was
elected to the national house Of rep
resentatives in Illinois in 1906. the
other "a seats going to the Republi-
cans. To the Goth congress chosen
two years ago the Illinois Democrats
returned five members. The COM
bined plurality by which the Repub-
licans were elected totalled consider
ably less than half the plurality re-
ceived by Roosevelt two years pre-
vious The total of the pluralities by
which the FIVE Democratic members
of the national house were elected was
S3,135, leaving the Republicans a
net plurality in the state of 121 ,269,
or not much more than One-thiTd the
Roosevelt plurality of two years pre-
yviOus. The Republican candidate for
state treasurer of Illinois in 1906 did
a little better than this, receiving
plurality of $4,000.
There is little doubt that the NOM
ination of Parker instead of Bryan
in 1904 was very distasteful to the
thousands and even hundreds of
thousands of Democrats in the west
and middle west. Some of these
showed their resentment by voting
for Roosevelt. Others remained away
from the polls. The total vote Uf
Illinois at the presidential election Of
1900 was l 1,131 1894. In 1904 the total
vote of the state dropped to 1,OG8, ,944,
a loss of 62,95O, Notwithstanding the
heavy increase in the population of
the state in the intervening four years
and the large number of new voters
who had qualified through coming of
age. Undoubtedly the great bulk of
voters who thus failed to exercise the
right of franchise were Democrats
who did not relish the relegation of
Mr. Bryan to the rear.
In Missouri there was a similar
heavy slump in the vote of the state
In 1900 the total vote of Missouri
was 6S3. 656 and in 1904 it was 643,S69,
a decrease of 39,795, or more than
$4,000 greater than the plurality Of
$4,000 by which the state was carried
by Roosevelt. This phenomen was
unquestiOnably due to the fact that
Mr.. Bryan was not the presidential
candidate of the party and it follows
this year that the state of Missouri
may be fully relied upon to return
to its old place in the Democratic
column. In no state in the union is
the Nebraska leader more beloved by
the rank and file of the Democrats.
1t cannot of course be said that
Mr.. Bryan has an equal chance to cap
ture Illinois. But the manner in
which the strength of the Republi-
cans has been steadily waning in Illi-
nois and that Of the Democrats grow
ing, there is every reason why the lat
ter should feel confident of their abil-
ity to wTest it from the Republicans
this fall. Organized labor is very
strong in the state and in recent cleo
tions there have been various labor
tickets in the field. This year ow-
ing TO the manner in which the Dem
yer convention met the desires of
labor it is probable that the vote in
Illinois will be cast solidly for Bryan
and Kern.