South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1914-05-21
REPUBLIoAN MATHEMATICS.

REPUBLICAN MATHEMATICS.
Not for a moment would we seek
% deprive the republican party of
any of the pleasure il can gather
from II having cast larger vote than
that OF the progressive al the recent
primary. II is fact that its high est
vote cast for any one office was 1850
while the highest vote cast by the
progressives for any one office was
only 779. The highest progressive
vote. however. was cast for a can
didate without opposition. despite the
fact that there was competition lower
down on the ticket. while the highest
republican vote fell for an office for
which there was three candidates
two Of them contesting the place to
the point Of bitterness.
This largest republican vote cast
for an uncontested office was that for
Clarence Sedgwick. for auditor, only
1.167. nearly 400 more than was
registered by w. f. Miller progress
sive candidate for superior court
Judge. 1t is a safe wager that but for
jadgship contest. aided a bit. perhaps
by the Martin -Quinlan -Grzesk prose-
cutor contest, Sedgwick's vote would
not have gotten any farther than did
Miller's. and the result would prob
ably have been the same had Wood
ward. or Van Fleet or Hldebrand
been running alone. Competition
drew out the crowd.
Figures are capable OF being ter
ribly misused when the facts are not
known, and the play that the repub-
leans are making upon those in
volved IN these election returns only
goes to demonstrate II. Both the re-
publicans and progressives cast
lower vote than they did two years
ago at the general election. but so
did the democrats. and this latter,
too. Notwithstanding that there we're
contests, and lively ones, for almost
everything. 1t takes a contest to get
out the vote always. People like
fight They like to get into it; TO
help decide it. II the republicans
really want to figure on something
worth while. why don't they compare
the city vote here. Tor instance. as
cast by the two parties. with the
votes of those parties last fall?
The republican party for instance.
cast 675 votes in the city last fall;
this spring it casts SS7. The pro-
gressives kept down near the 100
mark, but this spring it approaches
500 in the city. an increase of 400
percent, as against republican in
crease OF about 25.
on the face of it. the progressives
are coming along splendidly. If it
keeps up until November. increasing
500 per cent every little while. it will
be pretty well back 70 it's city vote of
two years ago. il not a trihe ahead
of It. while the poor republicans will
still be lingering in the vicinity of the
1000 mark.
of course, We appreciate that
there was a citizens ticket in the
field last fall. and that an apparent
majority Of republicans and progress
sives. and few democrats. voted il.
The combination succeeded i'm eIecting
a mayor ny about 700 votes. but in
presenting the above figures. we are
following republican system of
mathematics. and disregarding con-
tinSent facts-the process by which
they are attempting 10 prove that the
progressives are returning
There is just as much sense in our
set Of figures as there is in theirs:
there would be just as much sense in
the prOgressives flooding the country
with such statistics 10 prove their
growth in comparison with the re-
publicans. as there is 10 the statistics
that the republicans are distributing
TO humbug the public into believing
that the progressives are falling off.
The republican ring-leaders. back
ing one OF their number. succeeded i'm
getting out the major portion of
1.5SS voters with which 10 defeat the
will OF the rank and hle of the
party. and incidentally prevent the
denomination of one of the best judges
ST. Joseph county ever had
That is what happened in the re-
publican party Tuesday
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PLANS OF THE MEDIATORS