Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1914-11-11
THE ELECTION RESULT.
fDubuoue Telegraph.Herald,)

(OUDuQu0
ITO have held it's own In the senate
and to have been able to organize the
house evsn by the slenderest major
1ty under prevailing conditions shows
the confidence Of the people in the
Wilson policies. No party before has
revised a tariff and shown such a vic
tory in an Oft year."
This is the statement of Secretary
Daniels, commenting on election re-
suits. The surprising feature Of Tues
days election result is moi that the
democratic majority in the house was
cut down but rather, In the light Of
history, that a majority was retained.
Every change in the tariff carries
with it Reorganization of business
and in the case Of a Democratic
change the men of money hostile to
Democratic rule leave no stone un-
turned to precipitate as far as posi-
BILE conditions of financial depression.
The present year with a reduction
in tariff schedules, with a new cur
rency. law and with the tremendous
influence for the creation of instabil-
ity that the European war wrought,
amazement grows that s%tagnation was
not general instead Of being an Incl
dent peculiar to certain localities.
Of all these conditions the repub-
lican leaders made the most. Every
situation that could be converted liz
to a cause for a calamity howl was
industriously heralded. And what is
the result? The Democrats maintain
practically their old lead in the
Senate, and in the house, really un-
wieldy before, they will have in the
next congress a safe working ma
jority. ~
The situation is remarkable and it
was brought about after a fight that
throughout the country resolved itself
into one practically clean cut between
Democrats and republicans. The
Bull Moose party, so effective in 1912
had become a factor almost neglig1-
BILE.
Back in 1889 the Republican party
revised the tariff and in 1892 Grover
Cleveland was elected. In 1909 the
republicans revised the tariff and in
1910 and in 1912 they were beaten.
Changing tariffs mean new business
alignments and new business align
ments during the process mean,
psychological or otherwise, more Or
less depression. This depression al
ways is charged to the party in pow
er. That it was possible to- retain the
support OF the people as was shown
by Tuesdays election in face OF the
fact of tariff, currency, income tax,
and the war revenue measures, new
and not yet working smoothly, and
the complete disorganization and par
tial destruction Of foreign trade due
to the war, indicates President Will
sons hold upon the faith OF the
public is most firm.
Il IL WtI0 Cu1lQlSA W IA~S
the magnitude Of the democratic vic
tory in 1912 was the result of other
! than abnormal conditions. 1t is pat
! ent that much of the democratic
strength came as the result Of repub-
lican protest against its W party
leadership. This d~isaffection has
been largely swept away and the Is
sue on Tuesday was one essentially
between the forces of the two leading
parties ana the congressional result
was a democratic victory, for an en-
! tire new house has been elected.
There is little in the outcome that
can afford consolation to the repub-
lican party. Harmony has been
sought but it is hardly to be
assumed that the progressive ele-
ment in evidence in' the republi-
can vote last Tuesday will find
qualification in the return to congress
OF the reactionary Cannon and Pen
rose and others Of their stripe. 1t Is
hardly to be believed that the rank
and file of the party would return to
the Payne-Aldrich tariff, that they
would favor the undoing OF any of
the excellent progressive legislation o.
the Wilson administration. Yet the
undoing of these things is what Can
nonism and Penroseism stand for.
There was surprise in the defeat OF
Sullivan in Illinois but this is easily
accounted for in the failure OF the
state progressive party, the best or
ganized in the union, to remain stead
fast. In Iowa, while there were other
Influences at work which contributed
their share, the large factor in the
defeat Of Mr.. Connolly was the tre-
mendous normal republican majority
he faced. His campaign was one OF
the most remarkable in the history OF
the state but in a commonwealth
which Mckinley. and Roosevelt were
wont to carry by eighty to one hun
dred Thousand votes, with disaffec-
ton in the republican ranks all but
ELIMINATED, a defeat by forty thous-
and and by a man who has success
fully made politics his business, car
ries with it no odium.
The large fact in the nation at
large is, as Secretary Daniels says:
"No party has revised a tariff and
shown such a victory In an off year.
MACONVT.T.F j