The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1910-03-10
William Tell
The Power of a Vote.

lue TOWeI vi d vote.
Champ Clark Makes Interesting Investigation
| Correspondence of the Boston Transcript.
Champ Clark, minority leader of the
House, has been studying the curiosities
of American history, and as result of
that study he has come to the conclusion
that one vote has been powerful factor
on more than one occasion in shaping the
destinies of the nation. For the present
Mr.. Clark is content in predicting that
the next House will be Democratic and
living in the hope that he will be the
Speaker. After his long career in the
House has been rewarded by that office
he will retire to private life and devote
few instances in the following statement
of the effects of one vote.
Several years ago." said he, 81 made
up my mind that was going to make a
speciality, if not hobby, of studying the
history of the United States, and that
surely is large enough stunt in a liter
! airy line for ne 1rly any one man. After
a while l drifted into hunting up excep-
tional things in American history Isaac
Disraeli, the father of Benjamin Disraeli,
! the Earl Of Beaconsfield, wrote book
which he entitled 1.-The Curiosities of
Literature have frequently thought
that man might write very interest
ing book and call it The Curiosities of
History, and if my life is heightened
after l retire to private life l think l
shall try my hand at it. For instance,
it has become the common law in the
/ United States that man shall have only
two terms in the White House. There
have never been but four men who could
have got more than two. Washington
held two and refused third, and as good
luck would have it John Adams could not
get two. jefferson got two, and con-
firmed Washingtons example Andrew
Jackson got two and did the same, and
| Theodore Roosevelt got two and confirm
ed that example. make the prediction
/ that no man will ever sit three terms in
the White House until this republic is on
its last legs. But let us suppose case
Suppose that Washington had been over
persuaded and had taken the third term,
and had died when he did die, what
would have been the precedent in the
| case? 1t would have been reelection for
life.
PIG CAUSED WAR OF 1872.
There is another thing that man
might very well write book about and
that is the effect of one vote. 1t is a
strange historical fact, but it is absolute
| ly true, that one vote determined that
We should have war in 1872, and the
strangest part about that is that that
one vote came from the accident of pig
getting its head caught in fence up in
Rhode Island.
''Now here is the tale of the pig and
of the War of 1872: They were having an
election for members of the Legislature
in Rhode Island. One thrifty Federalist
farmer put off going to the polls until
late, leaving himself just time enough to
get there before the polls We're closed.
Just as he started he heard pig squeal.
He looked around and saw that the pig
had its head rammed into one of these
old Virginia worm fences, and any
body who knows anything about hogs
knows that the hogs would eat that pig
up If he did not get the pig out. There
fore, he stopped to get the pig out, and
when he got to the polls they were closed,
and he could not vote. A Democratic
member of the Legislature was elected
by one vote. He would not have been
SlCNlSu Ildi L cCSI dllSl IGdCu0u LIe
polls in time to vote. In the Legislature
elected by one vote, and that Democratic
member voted for him. In the United
States Senate they voted for the War OF
1872 by one majority, and that Rhode
Island Democratic Senator who secured
his election in that way voted for the
War of 1872.
HISTORY CHANGED BY RINGING DooRBELI
"Let US take another case of what one
! vote will do. General Andrew jackson
defeated General John Sewer for the
major-generalship of the Tennessee mi
litia, by one vote. That gave us the
great victory at Horseshoe Bend and the
great victory at New Orleans, and we
would have come out of the War of 1872
like little Bo Peeps sheep if it had not
been for the victory of New Orleans.
That one vote changed the current of
events in this country for all time. James
Parton says in his life of Andrew Jack
Peggie O'Neil's doorbell, to call on her,
he changed the history of the United
States for twenty years; but if it had
not been for Andrew Jackson he could
not have changed the history of any
thing for twenty years.
LET us take another example. Edward
Everett was defeated for governor of
Massachusetts, by one vote in the popular
vote, and the strange thing about that is
that the Legislature which counted him
out was a Wing Legislature that gave
the office of governor to Marcus Morton,
a Democrat. That put Everett out Of
the running for President. Of course
that did not amount to much because the
Wings did not have much chance to elect
a President anyway.
HAYES'S NARROW SQUEEZE.
'Let us take another case of one vote.
Rutherford B. Hayes got into the presi.
dental office-and l say got in DELHI
erately, by one electoral vote, that is, 8
majority Of one. Let us suppose case
Suppose that majority of one had beer
for Samuel ]. Tilden, one OF the great
est political organizers that this country
ever saw. There is no question what
ever in my mind that if he had been seat
ed we Shol1ld have rim this country for ,