The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1922-11-24
THE ELECTION

Election is over, and the surprises
far outrun the predictions. Not only
did the people vote, but they voted
emphatically and with discrimination
There does not remain even the poll
tician's comfortable explanation that
It was "a landslide. There was no
landslide, no blind revulsion rushing
angmlv in one direction, no passionate
EurEept of national resentment The
election more rcsembled a patient ap-
plication of patient public intelligence
to a tangled problem with view to
finding what knot to unite first. 1t
was distinctly an Independent election,
it ySsS NO a swing toward any party.
II Renu1licaN3 suffered it was not be-
cause their party had the misfor-
tune to be carrying the burden known
as NeWblrryism. Democrats tainte|
with it were retired as well. The ac-
ton of the people was moral rather
than PARTISAN; Democrats were de
feated who might have been elected,
but for their Newberryism; and Re
publicans were defeated for the same
reason. States overwhelmingly Re-
publican certainly had some strong
reason to return Democrats to the
Senate; and it could not have been
political reason, for there are no pol
Itics this year; it is indeed the politi-
cal deafness Of things which makes
the election the more amazing.
Political majorities have not been
changed, but moral majorities have
been changed most radically. More
over, the uncXpettedness of the peo
pies action has added most solemn
emphasis of warning to the change.
Where defeat was not the penalty, the
castigatiOn was made more humiliat-
ing than defeat could ever be. 1t is
not difficult to imagine that, wholly
defeated, Henry Cabot Lodge might
have maintained his pose as the schol-
ar in politics, but going back to
Washington by the skin of his teeth,
beaten to the ground by a candidate
by whom it is no honor to be beaten
but only because that candidate Of
fered the only convenient instrument
with which to castigate Henry Cabot
Lodge, that is humiliation compared
with which defeat is something desir-
ably heroic. Re-ertering the Senate
with few tail-feathers is worse than
being plucked clean.
A total of 10 pro- ewberry Sena-
tors went down to defeat-three of
them failed of denomination in the
primaries, seven of them failed of ma
jorities in the election. In Indiana,
where Beverage defeated New in the
primaries, News pro-Newberry vote
being an issue, Beveridpe was in turn
defeated: and two Incidents in the
campaign were Beveridge's refusal
definitelv to say where he stood with
reference 10 Newberryism. and his OPP.
roroT's frnelv stated ihf ehiiop got
dealing with that. lind If mob ieel
ro'*a-F 0ess ae he would with anE5othef.
1t is imnossiblG 70 internret the Sen
ahoria1 elections without refaren"e t.
4fnis matter which runs like Tine Of
division hrouph the results,
1t can be safely said that where the
"we'ts' were nct defeated bv votes,
thew zero rnol~d BY votes 1t is nues-
tinnable whether a candidate for a
minor or even a major office is no:
sr-hiact r. PROSECUTION when he en-
nounces. "Vota for me and "~t light
wines and beer" We have "blpa-eIv
laws" to prevent tire neonla beiro
bunrned bv fake stoct s~pruIa+ors: It
would seern that in nr'i-nir1a the ca--"
Js~r eugl' 70 nro+n"t tha+ from ca~d'-
dates of this caliber. 1t is equally