The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1916-12-07
WHAT DID HAPPEN IN CAL1FoR
MA.


the favorite question in political cir
cles has been: What happened in
California e. The inquiry is fully
warranted. Before the election, Chair
man McC ormick of the national Dem
Ccratic organization, conceded just
20 electoral votes to Hughes. Includ-
ed in these 20 were the 13 from Cali
fornia. In other words, the Demo-
cratic campaign management said to
the Republicans about California;:
Its yours. We do not even claim it.
We haven't look in there. We con-
cede 1t to you"
And yet California went for Will
son. OF course California DIDN'T set
tie the electi.n any more than Ohio
or Kansas or Nebraska or any other
OF the states that went for the presi-
dent. But California was the last big
state to make its returns, and so it
became true that the result in that
state would be the result for the ma
ton. That, together with the fact
that 1t had been conceded to Hughes.
caused everybody to ask what had
happened in California to bring about
SO unexpected an outcome.
California has been the scene of a
bitter local political contest for some
years, The Southern Pacific railroad
crowd for many years actually ran
the state. Hiram Johnson, running
for governor, challenged the railroad
machine and overcame it. Then, when
Roosevelt formed tho third party
Johnson went with him. He came
back this year, however, and asked
the Republican nomination for Unit
ed States Senator. The old crowd was
still powerful and believed it could
defeat johnson. He was denounced
as a traitor to the party and there
fore entitled to no honors at the
hands Of the Republicans. When
Hughes arrived in California, the
cold guard" Republicans, who oil
course controlled the states party
machinery, gave out word to the
newspapers and in private converse
ton that the very presence of John
son at any Hughes meeting would be
resented by them and would be an In
jury to the party and the country
And SO of course Johnson stayed
away. Some idea of the extreme
character of the bourbonism of these
old line Republican, leaders is shown
by another incident of Hughes visit
to California. "A walters strike was in
progress in San Francisco, and big
banquet was planned for Hughes,
The striking walters said, they would
return to serve for this dinner, pro-
viding certain offensive placards were
taken down from the walls of the
Commercial Club, where the banquet
was to be held. But the Republican
managers refused even to make that
little concession and drafted force
of non-union walters from a restau-
rant in an outlying district. Hughes
of course knew nothing about this I'M
til too late.
Well, the campaign went through
to the finish in California with the
manifestation Of Just the same spirit
as shown in the incidents cited above.
johnson was Overwhelmingly nomin-
ated for United States Senator short
ly after Hughes visit to the state.
Thereupon he wrote a personal let
ter to Hughes pledging his loyal sup
port to him and received truly con-
gratulatory letter in reply. So far
as any known act is concerned, John
son kept faith <. Hughes. And The
Republican believes that he did so
in very truth.
Well, when the returns came in
from California, it was found that
johnson had been elected with a
plurality of nearly 100000 and the
state had gone for Wilson by small
margin.
Plainly, the Progressive party vote
divided In 1912, California went
with with a whoop for Roosevelt. This
year only part of the Progresives
returned to the party to vote for
Hughes. But they stood by johnson
because he is just as much of a pro-
gressive as he ever was. And the at
tftude of the regular Republican or
ganization in California toward John
son naturally caused many of these
voters to make the mistake of sup
posing that Hughes was one of these
enemies Of Johnson. Not even the al
legiance of Johnson to Hughes could
overcome the effects of the insults
paid Johnson by the Republican bour-
bons. The voters, in perhaps the
m3st pronounced manner available
to them, made known their displeas-
ure with the Republican organiza-
ton.
The New York Globe, in the; opin-
lon Of this paper, sees the campaign
in its true light when it says:
The loss Of California and with
it the presidency isto be ascribed, not
to the strength of the president,
though it was great, but to the big
otry OF a few Republican bourbons.
What wastrue of California was al
80 true in lesser degree of other
states. Too much evidence was given
that the leaders of the Taft minority
assumed the reunion of the party was
on the basis Of Progressive regret and
repentance. Other influences were of
course at work to aid the president
In his campaign for reelection, and !
At is easy to see that..the parading of
the Old Guard explains the returns
from California, Minnesota, Kansas,
Washington and even of New Hamp-|
shire.
sit remains to be seen whether the
Republicans, not havingl
been completely instructed by the
Dj9ctlon of 1912, will have their in