Evening star., 1939-11-09
The Elections of 1899

The Elections of 1899
The elections of 1889 cast at least
faint shadows before them. They are
imporSont because of the overWhelm-
Ing defeats which crack Drained pen
sion schemes received in California
and Ohio and because of the ap-
parent failure of the New Deal DEM
ocrats to halt the swing of the pen
dulum away from them.
For the New Deal Democrats the
bitterest pill the elections presented
them was defeat in the mayoralty
election in Philadelphia. They had
hope for a victory there-particu-
larly in view of some Republican
support. The Republicans made the
contest an anti-New Deal fight, al
though the Democrats sought to
conflne it to local issues. Nor did
the elections in the rest of the Key
stone State give the New Dealers
pleasure.
New Deal strength-since 1897
has lain particularly in the big cities
OF the country and it's opposition has
grown stronger and stronger in the
rural sections and the great agri-
cultural States of the West and Mid
die West. The Republicans in the
Philadelphia mayoralty contest just
concluded won by an increased mar
gin over the lead by which Governor
James, Republican, carried the city
q year ago. Governor James lead was
12,448 in the city, while Judge Robert
E. Lamberton, the Republican candi-
date for Mayor, won by approximate
ly 10000 votes on Tuesday.
Nor was the victory of Tammany
In New York City elections without
Its significance. Tammany has lost
political prestige ever since the ad-
vent of the New Dealers, although
the city continued to turn in huge
Democratic pluralities for President
Roosevelt. 1t would not require great
insight into human nature to under
stand that Tammany would shed no
tears over New Deal reversals if they
should come.
The election of 1910 is now less
than year in the future. More re-
Gently it has been the view of the
New Dealers that the European war
has wiped domestic issues in this
country off the political blackboard.
They have the idea that President
Roosevelt, or some presidential can
didate Of his choosing has only to
run on platform that he is needed
to keep this country out of war to be
elected. And should this country be-
come involved in the conflict, then
the slogan will be that Mr.. Roose-
velt is needed to win the war.
Tuesdays elections, however, have
by no means indicated that American
voters are forgetting their domestic
problems. And since that is true, the
New Dealers may be expected to lay
more and more stress upon the
European situation as it affects this
country.
The campaign of 1910 is still very
much in the making. But the time
is rapidly approaching when the
campaign and its issues no longer
may be pushed into the future. The
voters are not likely to be content to
remain completely in the dark, either
regarding the intentions of President
Roosevelt or regarding the domestic
program that must be presented to
the voters next year Republicans
will be expected to step forth, also
and clarity their position on these
issues, which after all still remain
vital to this country, notwithstand-
ing the conflict three thousand miles
away.
In 1888 the congressional and GER
tain gubernatorial elections clearly
indicated that the New Dealers were
losing popularity. The elections last
Tuesday, whatever else they may
imply, have done nothing to show
that the swing is not still away from
the New Dealers.