Rensselaer Republican, Volume 17, Number 11, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 November 1884 — Defeated, but not Discouraged [ARTICLE]

Defeated, but not Discouraged

The Rev. Father P. Maurice Reader, a Catholic priest, of Crown Point, has lately written and allowed to. be published, a letter to a brother priest in Brooklyn, N. Y., jin which he gives some cogent reasons why Catholics should be Republicans, and also tells how Indiana was carried this year for the Democrats: “Let me tell you,” is the language of the letter, “that three days before the election several hundred thousand dollars came to Indiana, for the which’ were distributed in every precinct; 8300 coming to Crown Point, 8500 to Hammond, in this county. With this corruption fund, votes were bought in every precinct, sufficient to carry the state for Cleveland.”

The forms of law have finally decided that the control of the government, for the next four years must pass out of the hands of the Republican party. Although their failure to elect their greatest statesman, Blaine and their bravest soldier Logan, is a gi eat and better di ssappoi n tin ent to the great mass of Republicans, yet the circumstances of their defeat are such that it need not and will not bring to them any fasting discouragement. Consider .the vast gains made my the party since 1882. In every state that has a free election they have made great gains. In New York, the “pivotal state” the Democratic majority of nearly 200,000 has this year been cut down to a pitiful plurality of less than 1200, and which lacks many thousands of being a majority of the votes cast m the state. And all that in face of the fact that in that state there was a large and fully organized opposition to Mr. Blaine, in the Republican party itself. But tiie success of Cleveland is only the result of his “bull head” luck, and a series of accidents, at best. Had not the weather been bad on election day and kept many country voters at home—New York would have gone Republican and Blaine have been elected. Had no: 15000 or 20000 Republican voters of that state tlirown away their votes for the Prohibition candidate New York would have gone Republican and Blaine have been elected. Had not Roscoe Conkling, a man whom the Republican party covered with honors as long as he would consent to wear them, not cherished a bitter and malignant personal spite against the Republican candidate, New York would have.gQn.e, republican and Blaine would have been elected. Lastly had not a “fool preacher” almost on the eve of election, at a public meeting in Mr. Blaine’s honor, made a remark, which aroused the religious prejudice of tens of thousands of voters New York would have gone republican and Blaine would have been elected. In the Solid South, at least four states, ami probably more, are strongly Republican, and would so cast their electoral votes, in a free and fair election. Indiana, which went Democratic, by a very small majority, would certainly have gone Republican but for the prohibition nominations and the vast sums of money poured into the state by the Democratic National committee. Power .obtained by such accidental and sucn devious ways.cannot be permanent, before jthe Republican Senate Ims ceased to be a barrier against Democratic selfishness and incompetence the voters, of the free and progressive North will once more place the government of the country in the hands of a party which has swayed it so long and so well.