Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-03-10

tiveS, latter | have served my period IN
Congress, or In any other position to which
| may be called, when | retire to the shade
OF private life, if live long enough, intend
TO write book entitled, The Curiosities of
American History and What One Vote Will
Do
"This is my hobby, and believe in hob
bies believe that the lobbyists, the fanat
lcs the cranks, and even the monomaniacs,
have been the motive power in the world S
progress. | do not care how ridiculous they
may seem to us, | think this statement is
true. Years ago l made up my mind to
specialize, to make hobby, even to be-
come crank upon one thing, and chose as
that thing American history. After awhile
l drifted into hunting up exceptional things
IN American history Then l found that
there was even a possibility of specializing
here, and got to studying the strange and
wonderful things that had been accom-
plished in this country by single vote.
ut is a peculiar historical fact, but 1t IS
absolutely true that one farmers failing to
vote determined that we should have war
IN 1912. The farmer wanted to vote and
attempted to do so: but he was detained by
a pig that got caught in fence up in Rhode
Island, and his vote was not cast. 1t was
good Virginia worm fence, such as IS familiar
to all Democrats Here IS the true tale OF the
pig and the War of 1912:
AN election was being held for members
of the Legislature in Rhode Island. One
thrifty Federalist farmer put off going to
the polls until late, leaving himself just time
to get there before they were closed. Just
as he started he heard a pig squeal. He
looked around, and saw that the pig had its
head rammed into one of those old Virginia
worm fences; and anybody who knows any
thing about hogs knows that the big ones
would eat the pig up If 1t was lett IN that
predicament. Therefore, the farmer 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 elected if the Federalist had reached
the polls in time. In the Legislature a
Democratic Senator was elected by one
VOTE and that Democratic member voted
for him. In the United States Senate the
vote favoring the War of 1912 was carried
by one vote, and that Democratic Senator
who secured his election as | have described
voted for the war. The pig with his head in
the fence caused it all
HERE is another case of what one vote
l will do. General Andrew Jackson de-
feated General John Sewer for the Major
Generalship of the Tennessee militia by one
vote. That gave us the great victory at
Horseshoe Bend and the great victory at
New Orleans. That one vote changed the
current of events in this country for all
time. James Parton says in his life of An
drew Jackson that when Martin VanBuren
rang Peggy 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 anything for twenty years.
I EFT us take another example. Edward
- Everett was defeated for Governor of
Massachusetts, by one vote in the popular
vote, and the strange thing about it was that
the Legislature that counted him out was
Wing Legislature, and it gave the Office of
Governor to Martus Martin, Democrat.
That one vote put Barrett out of the running
for President OF course that was not SO
important; for the Wings had no chance of
electing President, anyway.
I EFT us take another example of what one
= vote will do. Rutherford B. Hayes got
into the presidential Office land l say got
into deliberately by one electoral vote;
that is, a majority of one. Let us suppose
a case. Suppose the majority of one had
been for Samuel J. Tilden, one of the great
est political organizers this country ever
saw. There is no question in my mind that
If he had been seated we, the Democrats,