Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-11-02
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS.
XN-Greerback High Tide in 1880.
XXH-The Return of Democracy.
By Frederic J. Haskin.


years to "straddle" on the money ques-
| ton.
Although in some sections the bloody
| shirt was still waved. and although for
the first time in the
Less Sectionalism history Of the coun-
Than Formerly. h mS uae the ,va'" solid old
al!sm in this campaign than in any that
| had preceded since the defeat OF Henry
Clay in lS44 1t was the first time that
all Of the states participated in a pop
ular election and saw their electoral
votes counted. South Carolina had never
had a popular election for President be-
fore the civil war; and since sthat time
in every election something had happened
which prevented some state from hav-
ing it's vote counted or from having a
popular election. When Colorado was adj
| United to the Union in 1876 the repub-
! leans Of the state. under the pretense
that they did not want to hold another
| election so soon. but in reality because
| they controlled the legislature and feared
| the state would go democratic on a pop
lature. 1t is more than probable that
| this maneuver, engineered by Senator
Teller. who became a democrat twenty
years later. gave the presidency to Hayes.
| The fighting was neither fast nor fu-
rious until after the Maine state election
| was held. This ante-election barometer
| had regularly disclosed the direction Of
the political wind since the days Of Tip
| pecanoe" Harrison, and now it showed
squally weather ahead for the repub-
leans. 1t gave them a great scare and
the democrats an oversupply of conf
dence. The democrats rested on their
oars while the republicans awoke to their
danger Grant and Conkling had prac
| tically agreed to knife the ticket. but now
the Ratchet was buried and the two barn
stormed the middle west, Conkling doing
the talking and Grant gracing the plat
form. Although Garfield was charged
with hand in the credit mobilier, and
letters were forged showing that he was
in favor Of Chinese immigration, he
pulled d. through with a popular majority
of 1000. Hancock had said that 1.-The
tariff is a local ISSUE" and by that the
republicans proved he did not know
enough about fiscal matters to be elected
| President.
| After Garfield won he made Blaine his
Secretary of State. Garfield was staying
| at the old Riggs
Blaine Given House prior to his
0.L:L n.A. Inauguration and
Conkling and two
other leaders called to protest against
the appointment. One of them afterward
declared that he had never heard any
living mortal receive such "cussing
OUT as the President-elect received at
Conkling's hands Garfield sat on the side
of his bed and COnkling paced the floor,
/, and for the best part of an hour poured
forth his powerful invectives upon the
head of Garfield. But the appointment
stood.
XXII-THE RETURN OF DEMOC-
RACY.
The Cleveland-Blaine race Of 1884 illus
trateS upon what small things a presi
| dental election may turn. If James q.
Blaine had not quarreled with Roscoe
Conkling in Congress Conkiing would
not have sulked in his tent in 1884, and
| New York would have swung the Union
to the republicans again. Or, if Ben
Butter had kept out of the race as the
nominee of the anti-monopoly and green
back parties and the would-be nominee
of the democratic party, Cleveland GER
tainly would have lost New York and the
democrats the presidency. Still another
if Of that election was Burchard' s
charge that the democracy was the
party of rum, Romanism and rebellion.
That in itself was determnative of the
result.
J Senator Cullom has another if for
the 1854 fight. He says he tod Blaine
| that If an accident could have befallen
him whereby he could have broken a
leg and remained in the west to the end
of the campaign he surely would have
, been President of the United States, and
Blaine replied somewhat ruefully that
there was not the slightest doubt of it..
l And yet another eff" was that if Jay
Gould had not given dinner to Blaine
at Deimonico's, which was christened
'BelshazZars Feast" he would not have
a ienated GOO New York state voters,
: whose ballots determined that Cleveland.
= and not Blaine. should occupy the White
House for four Yeas
! In fact, there were so many big and
little ifs in that campaign, any one of
: which might have changed the result,
that one is reminded of what Gen. John
b. Gordon said about Gettysburg-that it
must have been foreordained as a Union
| victory else at least one of the dozen
ifs of the battle would have gone the
. other way and have given a triumph to
/, Confederate arms.
. | When the time for nominating candf-
dates came the anti-monopOly party was
| first in the fed
5 Anti Monopolists with a conven-
r:A =: A., :7 ton. 1t nOmi-
) A' AA va mated Ben But
Ter, former republican but now demo-
. cratic governor of Massachusetts. The
greenbackers met and also nominated
, Butler. When the democratic national
| a
| delegate with a pocketful Of resolutions.
One of the planks in his platform called
for federal pensions for Confederate SOL
diers. for he thought this would stam-
pede the south to him for the nominate ion.
|