The Washington herald., 1913-01-19
THE POLITICAL SITUATION.

THE POLITICAL SITUATION.
The most interesting political event
of the past week was the election of
seven United States Senators. -Four
OF this number-a maJority-were Re-
publicans. chosen by Legislatures in
States which went Democratic or Pro-
gressive on the Presidential ticket last
November.
Nothing could better illustrate the
many curious anomalies of the recent
political contest than these elections.
Take Michigan. for instance. Roose-
veits plurality in that State was over
62yooo. and yet the Legislature, with
Republican majority OF eighteen, re-
turned William Alden Smith to the
Senate. More than this. the Republican
candidate for Governor, although he
was defeated by his Democratic op-
ponent, pOlled 1900 more votes than
his Progressive rival Massachusetts,
went for Wilson by over 1000, and
vet the Legislature chosen at the same
time has an absolute Republican ma
iority of forty-nine. and has elected
John w. Weeks. a Republican, to the
Senate. Wilson's plurality in Maine
was o.6eo. but the Legislature is Re-
publican by eighteen. and has sent a
Republican. Mr. Burleigh, to the Sen
ate. Idaho was also carried by Wilson.
but Republican Legislature, with
majority OF forty-nine, has reelected
Senator Borah
Here. then. are four States in which
the Republican organization was not
affected by the Democratic victory The
anomaly does not end here. There
were at least eight States-Delaware,
Idaho. Iowa. Maine. Minnesota, North
Dakota. Rhode Island. and Wisconsin
which elected Republican Governors.
even though their electoral votes went
TO the Democratic candidate. Kansas
came within an ace of being included
in the same category because while Will
sons plurality was 5000, there was
only margin Of thirty-one in favor OF
the Democratic candidate for Governor
out OF the total OF 335!o4o votes cast.
Iowa will return Senator Kenyon. Re
publican. although Wilson carried the
State by nearly 1900
If the Republican leaders are anxious
10 extract further crumbs of comfort
out of the situation. as might natur-
ally he expected 10 be the case. they
can point to the fact that in only two
States outside OF the solid South, not
including Maryland and Missouri, did
Mr.. Wilson have majority over the
Taft and Roosevelt vote combined.
More than this the Progressive party.
except in its vote for Roosevelt, did
not make serious inroads into the Re-
publican strength. 1t did not elect
Governor. save in South Dakota, where
the Republicans did not place a candi-
date in the field. nor did it secure con-
troll Of any Legislature. Illinois stands
practically alone as one State where
the Progressives made a sufficient
showing in the legislative election to
be a factor In that State there is
deadlock. the result OF which cannot
vet he definitely predicted
The consolation, not to say en-
couragement. which the Republican
leaders derive from these facts is that
their organization, so far as the States
arc concerned. still preserves a con-
siderable nucleus for future action.
The extent of the Democratic Presi-
dental victory was so overwhelming
that no one has vet taken the time or
the trouble to dig underneath the sur
face and discover that Other things
happened on the last election day be-
sides Mr. Wilson's triumph There
was not. in the strict sense of the
word. Democratic landslide On the
contrary. the Republicans. while they
delivered rcbuke to their party upon
national issues. were careful in many
States to see that control of local
administration did not pass out of their
hands. The people as whole demon.
stratcd more than ever before that
they could differentiate between the is
sues that were presented for their con-
sidcration. They exercised that inde
pendence of action which is making it
more difficult each year to accurately
predict the outcome of an election.
There is another feature in the po-
litical situation, which, as time pro-
crosses. will become more and more
manifest
1t will not be long before there will
be local elections. Governors, Mayors.
county officials, are to be chosen. If in
every locality separate Republican and
Progressive tickets are placed in the
field the result will be the election of
Democrats everywhere. That party