The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1912-11-14
OFFICIAL COUNTY PAPER
THE RESULT IN SOUTH DAKOTA.

to be possible to make an ~cur
appraisal of the campaign as conduct
ed in this state.
There was loud talk for a time by
Taft followers in the state that they
would bring about the defeat of the
entire republican ticket because the
presidential electors chosen by the
republican state convention We're
Roosevelt men. The Republican be-
lieves a considerable number of the
Taft men voted the republican ticket.
Just what proportion OF them Of
course cannot be told. But it is GER
tain also that a considerable number
of them voted for Wilson and a con-
siderable number more did not vote
on the head of the ticket.
Yet the republican ticket won in
the state. This paper believes the Taft
men made a tactical mistake in re-
fusing to abide by the republican
state convention, especially since the
burden of their argument was that
the party should abide by the nation
al republican convention. They are
not now in a position of strategical
advantage for further campaigns, if
they should choose to identify them
selves with the republican party once
more. If any number of them count
themselves as democrats from now
on, presumably they will be in posi-
ton to command TIE consideration of
members of that party. Certainly
they had a perfect right to take what
ever course they wished. They should
have been philosophical enough to
consider that a question had arisen
upon which it was simply impossible
for the membership of the party to
agree and thus reach the conclusion
that they should abide by the decision
of the majority.
There 10 one claim made by some
of the Taft followers, however, with
which The Republican must take
issue, and that is that they were OPP
posing the republican party in this
state for the good of the republican
party.
These facts I perfectly apparent,
in view of the general results over
the country:
First.-If the Roosevelt followers
in the republican party had put up a
third ticket in this state, as the Taft
men insisted they should have done,
the democrats would today be in full
possession OF the state.
Second.-As it happens now, there
is no third party organization in the
state and the republicans have won
all the state offices.
Therefore, it ought to be easy
enough to conclude that the course
followed was the very best one that
could have been devised in considera-
ton of the republican party in South
Dakota. When such rock-ribbed stat
es as Illinois, Ohio and Pennsylvania
could not keep out of the democrat
ic column, when a third ticket was in
the field, there certainly would have
been no chance OF saving this state
from the democrats in a three-corned-
ed contest.
The whole test of the pudding is
i'm the eating. BY the actual results.
Din point of votes, must the policy of
the republican party in this state be
judged, if We are to talk of the well
fare of the party. And this one thing
we know, that whereas nearly every
state in the union has gone to the
democratic bow-wows, South Dakota
is still infthe republican column. And
the friends of the republican party in
this state will naturally make the
most of that.
@1Ss<@
sHERWooD's TASK.