The Washington times., 1924-09-10
Cop TWICE HIT
HARDLY THIRD
PARTIES
Usually, However, Has More
Than Opponents Gained
From Non-voters
By JONATHAN wICKw1RE.

man who has ever run for
political office in this country has
elected himself with them. at least.
until the ballots were counted. II
1t be true that history eternally re.
peats itself, possibly survey Of
other elections may tip off where
II win repeat in November.
The outstanding historic fact Is
,, that in each Of the two elections In
which, in the past forty years. a
third party has been any consider
able factor. the result has been
the casting out Of office of Re-
publican administrations and the
succession Of Democrats. When
the embattled farmers in 1892 got
behind the Populist Weaver, with
/! 1,O27.S29 votes 1t resulted in the
reinforcement Of Harrison by Cleve.
land. the latter gaining only mat
ter of $4,000 votes over his score in
| 1888 while Harrison lost over a
| quarter Of a million. Over three
quarters of a million new votes
were cast, however. dragged to the
polls, apparently by the call of
| populism.
When Theodore Roosevelt led his
forces to Armageddon in 1912 the
Republican Taft was simply
showed under, Wilson winning the
election and almost sweeping the
electoral college, with a popular
vote Of 6,2S6,214, actually $4,000
votes less than Bryan received
| when defeated by Taft in the pre-
| ceding campaign OF 1903. Curiously
| enough, Wilson won narrowly over
Hughes in 1915 with 9,12S, sos
votes, $4,000 less tnan Cox received
| In 1920 when he was overwhelm-
ingly defeated by Harding.
Women Enter Ring
But between 1915 and 1920 Q
new electorate had been created by
the adoption of the Nineteenth
Amendment admitting women to the
ballot, though in truth many OF
them had voted in 1915 under State
laws. The total poll jumped from
1S,515,340 in 1915 70 26,709,r$ IN
1920, which. according to estimates,
would have been nearer to $4,000, 900
had the women turned out in the
same proportion to their numbers
as did the men. Perhaps this could
not Justly have been expected OF
them considering the newness OF
their acknowledgment. Anyhow, 1t
resulted in a tremendous drop in
the proportion of those voting to
those entitled to exercise that right,
but little more than 48 per cent Of
the qualified electors going to the
polls in 1920.
But the proportion Of those vot.
ing to those entitled to exercise
the franchise already had been
steadily dropping from nearly so
per cent in the Bryan-McKinley bat
tie of 1896 to a little less than so
per cent In 1919, the last fairly
determinable year. 1t seems prob.
able that, counting only the men,
as in the 1896-1912 period, the cleo.
ton of 1920 showed some improve
ment in this respect. II put be-
tween eight and nine million women
voted in 1920, as most estimators
put 1t, about eighteen million men
must have marched to the polls, or
about IS per cent of the total quail
fled. Eliminating from considera-
ton the five or six millions olsen
franchised since 1895 by Stricter
electoral laws, North and South. the
percentage would show still further
approach to an equality.
AVU0AS OSCoUhS AAACtC0oCs
While there has been a more or
less steadily falling off in the pro.
portion of those voting, as com.
pared with those entitled to do so,
there has been a big increase in
the gross number of voters. Under
the extremely liberal laws and con.
ditions Of 1883, but 1884 19 bal.
lots were cast. Harrison won the
electoral college with 5,444,337 popu-
lar votes, nearly 100000 less than
Cleveland received and 500 900 less
than were cast for the various op.
position candidates.
In 1892, Cleveland received $685.
Ala popular votes, gaining 1000
over 1888, and an actual plurality
OF 100000 over Harrison, who lost
a quarter of million. But, because
Of the big vote drawn by Weaver,
the total vote cast took a big jump
over that of 1888, to 12,064,765, and
Cleveland was elected with a million
votes less than that of his combined
opposition.
Bryan. in 1895, received well over
million votes more than did Cleve-
land in 1882, yet lost by over q
half million to Mckinley, for whom
NNeNA N I1dAlhd 6OI OuJ ,OOo VOIcS,
gain Of nearly two millions over
Harrison's vote in 1892. and q clear
majority of 13,826,528 votes cast.
Over one and three-quarter millions
more votes were cast in 1895 than
In 1892, tribute to the drawing
power of Bryan and the political
acumen Of Hanna
Figures Significant.
Keep those figures in mind for.
in view Of the results of the Maine
election, they may prove to be the
most significant of the year.
Election statistics show that, with
the two exceptions earlier cited,
the Republicans always have been
able to dip into the reservoir Of
non.voters for enough gains to
more than offset any their oppon.
ents may have obtained from the
same source.
Thus, in 1900, when the total
vote cast increased to 1871 1875,
Mckinley gained nearly goo, 900
votes over 1896 for total of
7,219,5S0, while Bryan lost q little
over 100000. dropping to 6,358,07l.
Mckinley again had clear major.
ity of all the votes cast.
In 1904, when the principal con.
testants were Roosevelt and Par.
ker, the total vote fell off to
13,523,2S9, though. Roosevelt gained
400, 900 over McKinley's 1900 score
tallying 7,628.S34. Parker's vote
fell off a million and a quarter
from that Of Bryan, to 5,0S4, 491
the Prohibition, Socialist and scat