People's Pilot, Volume 6, Number 1, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 June 1896 — Facts for Democrats. [ARTICLE]

Facts for Democrats.

H’roin The Rocky Mountain News. June 13] In selecting a presidential candidate, what is the wise course for the democratic party to pursue? If if does not care for success except it be with some life-long democrat at the head of the ticket, then the course is to nominate one, and take the chances of defeat—whicn are as five to one in its favor. If it regards the restoration of free coinage as the greatest boon that can be now conferred upon the country, and it champions it, and it desires to carry the country and give it free coinage, then a strong and popular candidate should not be rejected because he has not heretofore been a member of the party—provided he is a leader in the silver cause is not an extreme protectionist, and can be trusted to veto any measure that congress might pass interfering with local selfgovernment in the South. Indeed, such a man can be found, is a pretty good democrat of the free coinage stripe. If Gorman or Hill were zealously for free coinage, he would be as good a democrat as either of them. The difference between them would consist wholly in the fact that Gorman and Hill had called themselves democrats while the others had not. Let it "be conceded that the democrats will declare for free coinage at Chicago and have votes enough to nominate a free coinage candidate. Is it not probable that if some oldtime clyed-in-the-wool democrat is nominated he will be defeated? Opinions upon the result of the election in advance of it are matters of judgement, and such judgment will be sound or the reverse, as it is based on facts aud occurrences that logically justify the deduction. The total number of votes in the electoral college will be 447, of which it will require 224 to elect a president. It is conceded at the very outset that there are 172 votes which only a republican or gold standard candidate can recieve. They areas follows;

Connecticut rt t’eleware . ’ 3 Maine Maryland.... . s MasstiehiiseTts. .. . 15 Minnesota ' ...9 New Ilaiiipsliive . b New ,ler»i-y ... 16 New York' 3° Ohio 23 Pennsylvania. . 32 Rhode Island 4 Vermont » Wisconsin ...... 12 Total ..... .. 172 It is claimed by de mocrars that a democratic candidate will with absolute certainty recieve 148 electoral votes, as follows: Arakansas .s Alabama Il Florida... . .. 4 Georgia 13 Kentucky 13 Louisiana.. s Mississippi 9 Missouri .17 North Calolinu 11 South Carolina. Tennessee .. . .. 12 Texas... 15 Virginia. 12 Vvest Viigiula. . .. 6 Total... its It is upon this basis that all democratic calculations commence. Starting here, democratic statisticians turn to the states not enumerated from which to till out the complement of votes necessary to elect. These cast 127 electoral votes, and are as follows: Calafornla . . Colorado 4 Idaho... 3 Illinois ...............2 Indiana 1* lowa ...................13 Kansas 10 Michigan 14 Montana ... 3 Nebraska < Nevada ...................................3 North Dakota 3 Oregon .4 South Dakota 4 L’ tab 3 Washington 4 Wyoming 3 Total ( 127 It is true that a democrat.c candidate can count with certainly upon the 148 votes enumerated in the second table, then he would require 76 votes from the states enumerated in the third table, or nearly two-thirds of them—a hard enough proposition at best; for all but Indiana are under normal conditions republican, and to secure more than one half the votes they

i cast for a democratic candidate I would indicate a pheuominal disturbance of the political baljance as they usually exist. But the basisof the democratic count is not sound. There are at least five of the fourteen states included in the second table which are very unlikely to vote for the democratic candidate unless he is a man acceptable to the populists and silver republicans in them. Without thenassistance he cannot possibly carry more than one out of the five. The states referred to are Te x a s. ‘Tennessee. Georgia. North Carolina, and Alabama. The vote cast in these states in 1894, and the relation of political parties in them, when they are fairly understood, emphasize this prediction. In 1894 the democrats of Tex as cast 214,882 votes. The populists cast 159,224. The democratic plurality over the populists was but 55,658, In Texas the democratic party is split on the silver question. The gold standard, or Cleveland wing, has organized to fight free coinage at every hazard. It is organizing in every county. It will nominate a separate state ticket and vote for republican electors. This faction constitutes not less than 25 per cent of the democratic strength. Deduct it from the democratic vote of 1894 and they would outvote the populists less than 2,000. What will become of a democratic candidate in Texas who is not acceptable to the populists? The populist and the republican vote of the state would jointly exceed the democratic vote many thousands. There is no good feeling between the democrats and populists of Texas I any way, and it will require the ! wisest of counsels and the most acceptable of candidates to unite the vote as it should be, in view of the grave interests at stake. In Tennessee the democratic vote was 104,356 and the repub- ; lican vote 105,W4. The republican plurality was 758. The I populists cast 23.1)95. Tennssec ; is the home of Congressman Pat- ! terson. Under his leadership land the power of his administra- ! tion, to put the defect ion of I gold democrats at 15 per cent is J conservative. This would take i from the democratic vote more : than. 15,000 which added to the

: republican vote, as it most likely will be. would give the state to ’ the repuplicans by 30,000. Must ■not, to make Tennssee safe, the: nominee of the Chicago convention be acceptable to the popuj lists and the silver republicans? ilt is foolhardy to assume that ’ ! any free silver democrat. who i ever he may be, will meet the re- ’ i quiiements. I North Carolina was carried by I united populists and free coinage ■ I republican votes in G 94. The j democrats cast 127.593 votes.: ' while the fusion ticket received• 148.334. The in ora i of t his condition in the tar-hee!‘state is seen without enlargement. , There were cast for the : people's party ticket in Georgia i two years ago, 96,888 votes. Tom . j Watson and other influential men : led the Georgia populists. Ini 11864 the democrats polled but; 121,049 votes or less than 25.000 J more than did the populists. Is ■ i a democratic candidate who is ob-: noxious to the populists certain; to carry Georgia however Ibyal he may be to silver? Hoke Smith and other administration democratic leaders will deter 35 per cent, of Georgia democrats from voting the ticket. How can a majority vote be obtained for silver in this empire state of the i south unless a candidate who can i unite the silver vote is selected? Alabama is not far behind Georgia in the precarious condition of its politics. In 1894 the democrats polled there 110,865 votesand the populists 83,283. There were at the last election but 27,000 more democrats than .populists in Alabama. After deducting from the democratic vote of that year, sav 15 per cent, a very low estimate, the majority is nearly destroyed. If any combination should be made there between populists and republicans, the democracy is in a hope less minority. So much for the south. The outlook in the west and northwest for a straight democratic

victory is even more discouraging. Of the seventeen western and north-western states, casting 127 electoral votes, and out of which nearly 100 votes must be secured to make at all certain the election of a democrat, in eleven of them the democratic party is a bad third in the popular vote. The vote in these eleven states in 1594 was as follows: Rep. People's Dem, Colorado. >ii.i»s7 (>■..712 Idaho •> :... lu.'.’oM 7.121 7.057 Kansas 148.(107 118.329 30.709 Minnesota. .. 147.944 87 53.579 Montana 22.b'3 15’><V>_ Iq.'U .Nebraska (1895, . .79.150 To. A-w ’ i0.'21-J Nevada ~s>l 5.22.3 -78 North Dnkota. .23.723 9.354 B,lsß Oregon 41.034 , 2(>.<>33 17.498 South Dakota .40.40 l 25. >6B S.73 f i Washington... 34.22 S 25,1 Io 14.271 But when the combined republican and populist votes are placed against the democratic vote in these same states, the insignificance of democratic strength in them becomes startling. They sum up as follows: Combined Hop. and Populist vote. Dem. Colorado 153.609 «;4W? Idaho. . .. 17.;v» 7,057 Kansas 2U7,02« 28,70» M i nnesota 235,875. 83,879 Montana 37,fioH 10,7 U * Nebraska 140.722 10,214* Nevada 9,084 (178 North Dakota 33.077 B,Us Oregon 17,498 South Dakota (>ii,9i>o 8,756 Washington 59,422 14,271 ’

Totals. 1,.>9rt,858» 154,271 The above figures should sug gest this question to democrats who place the cause of bimetallism above the gratification of party pride: “Is it reasonable to expect that the political party which cast but 154.271 votes in 1894, as against 1,096,858 cast by the other two parties in these eleven states, can secure even one-fourth of their electoral votes by nominating a free coinage candidate, if he shall prove distasteful to the populists and free coinage republicans. of whose votes they must obtain I more than twice as many as they’ l east tlieiriseives in the last elec- : lion at which they tried conclusions?" i How about tlie seven otherout of the seventeen possible slates in the west ami nort h- west? They are California, Illinois, Indiana, lowa, Michigan, Utah and Wyoming. California is by far tlie most certain of them for any silver candidate the parly will name.

Hut in Illinois the republican plurality was 133,427. The populists cast 59,676. Deduct 20 per cent from the democratic vote for goldbug disaffection, and the democracy must win over from populists and republicans not less than 150,000 voters to carry the state. If the vote of 1896 should equal that of 1894. less the 20 per cent for disaffection, the democratic candidate would be more than 300.00'9 votes behind that of the combined opposition. In Indiana it is not much more reassuring. In 1894 the republicans cast 283.405 votes, the democrats 238.732 and the populists 29.388. The democrats were beaten nearly 50,000 by the republicans. Deduct from the democratic vote of this 20 per cent representing the gold faction. and it would be over 100,000 votes behind the republican—if the republican vote is relatively the same as last year. Here are nearly 100,000 votes to gain. They must come from republicans and populists. In the Hawkeye state the proportion is worse for the democracy. Upon a much smaller total vote than that cast in Indiana, the republicans ran 57.000 votes ahead of their democratic competitors. and the populists polled 32,000. In Michigan the republicans ran 80,000 ahead of the democrats, and the populists polled 26,000.. The remaining two. Utah and Wyoming, cast but six electoral votes —not of much weight except in a close contest. Our democratic friends refer with some pride, but with great inaccuracy, to their party as one that casts 7,000,000 votes in a presidential year. They seem to forget that not less than 3,000,000 of that number will not be cast for its nominee this fall, if he stands upon a free silver platform. This will leave to it 4,000,Continued on page Four.