Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1920-11-12
Victory of Republican Ticket in
National Election Reaches
Amazing Proportions.
SOLID SOUTH is CRACKED
Presidents Elect Harding Goes on Va
cation Trip Amateur Cabinet
Makers Busy-Strike of Brit
ish Coal Miners Is
Called Off.
BY EDWARD w. PICKARD.

Never before in American history
has a major political party suffered
a defeat comparable to that sustained
by the Democrats on November 2. The
result was far more than a Republican
victory-it was brought about by the
detection of many Democratic votes.
Harding and Coolidge carried every
state of the North and West, and even
cracked the solid South, for Tennessee,
New Mexico and Oklahoma all went
Republican. Senator Harding conse
quently will have 404 votes in the
electoral college, to 127 for Governor
Cox.
In 1912, when the Republican party
was split, Wilson received 435 cleo
toral votes, but he fell far short of a
majority of the popular vote. This
year Harding has a popular majority
of large proportions, and his plurality
approaches the seven million mark.
In many states the pluralities by which
the Republican ticket won were stu
pendous, and in the southern states
where it was beaten the Republican
vote showed large increases over pre-
vious elections.
Everyone processes satisfaction over
the fact that the Republicans also
have won complete control of congress.
AS one Democratic paper puts it: For
whatever good the next administra-
ton does 1t will have full credit; it
cannot escape blame for whatever is
bad" The jubilation Of the Repub-
licans may be tempered by the retiec-
ton that their majority of more than
100 in the house leaves the way open
for fractional disputes. Of the next
senate the Republicans will have SO
members and the Democrats SO.
Just why the American people did
all this is open to several opinions.
Those who believed with President
Wilson that the election was a solemn
referendum" on the League of Nations
issue assert that it was opposition to
the league covenant that caused the
landslide, but really those who hold
this view are few. Others aver it was
due to the proverbial fondness of the
American electorate for a change"
There can be no disputing that the
people were determined to have a
change from the Wilson policies and
methods. This determination, in the
mind of the writer, was the main
spring of their action. AS for the
League of Nations, probably most of
them want some such an association
for the prevention of future wars, but
evidently they are willing to trust Mr..
Harding and his associates with the
task of formulating it, and do not feel
that the Job need be done in a rush.
All the nation watched with inter
est TO see what the women would dc
! on election day. The Democrats count
ed on them TO rally to the defense OF
the league covenant and to save the
Cox ticket from defeat, But an
analysis Of the vote shows that they
did no such thing. Instead they only
helped to ywell the Republican plu'
~ralities N the North and West, anc
in the South comparatively few OF
them vent to the polls.
Among the notable developments OF
the election was the extraordinary
nun made by Governor Smith of New
York, Democratic candidate for re,
election. Although the empire state
gave Harding a plurality of about l,
2OO, 1000, Smith was beaten by Miller
by only about 10000. This was a re
markable achievement, and In the
minds of many politicians it marks
Smith as the logical national leader
of the Democratic party.
Another thing worthy OF mentor