People's Pilot, Volume 5, Number 45, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 May 1896 — The Populist Vole. [ARTICLE]

The Populist Vole.

As the strength of the Populists is chiefly in tne West and South, it is not to be wondered at that so little attention has been paid to their movements in those parts of the country exempt from their influence. In 1892 they cast a total of 1,041,028 votes for their presidential candidate. Weaver, out of a total of 12,110,636 for all candidates. If they had given no evidences of giowth in the mean while they would not cut much of a figure in the calculations of the present year. But a remarkable feature of the elections of 1894 was the great increase in the Populist vote which accompanied the overturning of the democratic candidates. In the leading States in which a Populist organization was in the field in 1892 and in 1894 the following table shows thdir gains; State 1892. 1894. Arkansas 11,831 24,541 California 25,352 51,304 Illinois 22,207 59,793 Indiana 22,208 29.388 lowa !20 595 . 32,118 Kentucky .... .. . 23'500 16,911 Michigan 19,892 30.012 Minnesota 29,313 87,931 Missouri 41,213 42,463 Montana 7,794 15,240 Ohio 11,850 52,675 Oregon 26,965 26,033 Tennessee 23,447 23,092 Texas 99,688 159,224

Washington.. .. 19.165 25,140 Wisconsin 9,909 25,604 These results were,on straight tickets, In addition the Populists in a fusion with the democrats increased in Colorado from 53,584 to 82,111. In Georgia, where they east 42,937 votes in 1892, a republican fusion gave them 96,888 in 1894. In Kansas a democratic fusion gave them 163,111 votes for president in 1892, and separately they cast 118,327 in 1894. In Nebraska a straight vote of 83,134 for Weaver in 1892 was incresed by democratic fusion to 97,815 in 1874. In North Carolina a fusion with the republicans on chief justice in 1894 increased their vote from 44,736 (in 1892) to 148,344, or more than the toal republican and Populist vote of 1892. In Virginia similar fusion increased the vote from 12,270 to 81,239. In Alabama the fusion vote of 85,181 in 1892 only fell off on a straight vote ill 1894 to 83,283. In Mississippi the vote was substantialh 7 unchanged. In North Dakota a fusion vote of 17,700 in 1892 was reduced to a straight vote of 9,342 in 1894. It must be borne in mind that the vote in the off year is uniformly less than in a presidential year. If the populist vote increased so largely from T 892 to 1894 it becomes an interesting question to know whether it has gone on increasing. It will undoubtedly be a factor in the results of next November, especially if there should be a fusion with the freesilver bolters from one or both of the old parties—New York World.