upon all other honest citizens, to organize under the banner of the
Socialist Labor party into a class-conscious body, aware of its rights
and determined to conquer them by taking possession of the public
powers; so that, held together by an indomitable spirit of solidarity
under the most trying conditions of the present class struggle, we
may put a summary end to that barbarous struggle by the abolition
of classes, the restoration of the land, and of all the means of
production, transportation, and distribution to the people as a
collective body, and the substitution of the co-operative commonwealth
for the present state of planless production, industrial war, and
social disorder; a commonwealth in which every worker shall have the
free exercise and full benefit of his faculties, multiplied by all the
modern factors of civilization.
With a view to immediate improvement in the condition of labor, we
present the following demands:
1. Reduction of the hours of labor in proportion to the progress of
production.
2. The United States to obtain possession of the mines, railroads,
canals, telegraphs, telephones, and all other means of public
transportation and communication; the employés to operate the same
co-operatively under control of the Federal Government and to elect
their own superior officers, but no employé shall be discharged for
political reasons.
3. The municipalities to obtain possession of the local railroads,
ferries, water-works, gas-works, electric plants, and all industries
requiring municipal franchises; the employés to operate the same
co-operatively under control of the municipal administration and to
elect their own superior officers, but no employé shall be discharged
for political reasons.
4. The public lands to be declared inalienable. Revocation of all land
grants to corporations or individuals, the conditions of which have
not been complied with.
5. The United States to have the exclusive right to issue money.
6. Congressional legislation providing for the scientific management
of forests and waterways, and prohibiting the waste of the natural
resources of the country.
7. Inventions to be free to all; the inventors to be remunerated by
the nation.
8. Progressive income tax and tax on inheritances; the smaller incomes
to be exempt.
9. School education of all children under fourteen years of age to be
compulsory, gratuitous, and accessible to all by public assistance in
meals, clothing, books, etc., where necessary.
10. Repeal of all pauper, tramp, conspiracy, and sumptuary laws.
Unabridged right of combination.
11. Prohibition of the employment of children of school age, and the
employment of female labor in occupations detrimental to health or
morality. Abolition of the convict labor contract system.
12. Employment of the unemployed by the public authorities (county,
city, state, and nation).
13. All wages to be paid in lawful money of the United States.
Equalization of women’s wages with those of men where equal service is
performed.
14. Laws for the protection of life and limb in all occupations, and
an efficient employers’ liability law.
15. The people to have the right to propose laws and to vote upon all
measures of importance, according to the _referendum_ principle.
16. Abolition of the veto power of the executive (national, State, and
municipal) wherever it exists.
17. Abolition of the United States Senate and all upper legislative
chambers.
18. Municipal self-government.
19. Direct vote and secret ballots in all elections. Universal and
equal right of suffrage without regard to color, creed, or sex.
Election days to be legal holidays. The principle of proportional
representation to be introduced.
20. All public officers to be subject to recall by their respective
constituencies.
21. Uniform civil and criminal law throughout the United States.
Administration of justice to be free of charge. Abolition of capital
punishment.
The great battle of 1896 is yet fresh in the memories of the people.
Its most notable feature was the unexampled campaign made by Bryan,
the Democratic candidate for President. He covered a larger portion
of territory and delivered more speeches during the campaign than had
ever before been accomplished by any man in our political history, and
he enthused his followers to a very remarkable degree. Considering the
complications which confronted him, resulting from the internal feuds
of his own household, and an open split on the Vice-Presidency, he made
the most memorable Presidential campaign of the Republic and swept
every State west of the Mississippi, with the exception of California,
Oregon and North Dakota. Even Kansas and Nebraska, two rock-ribbed
Republican States, gave Bryan large majorities, but Bryan did not carry
a single electoral vote east of the Mississippi and north of the Ohio
and the Potomac. The following tables exhibit the popular and electoral
votes of 1896:
POPULAR VOTE.
══════════════╤═════════╤═════════╤═══════════╤═════════╤═════════╤══════════╤══════════
│ William │ William │ Bryan │ John M. │ Joshua │Charles E.│Charles H.
STATES. │McKinley,│J. Bryan,│ and │ Palmer, │Levering,│ Bentley, │Matchett,
│ Ohio. │Nebraska.│Watson.[31]│Illinois.│Maryland.│Nebraska. │New York.
──────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼───────────┼─────────┼─────────┼──────────┼──────────
Alabama │ 54,737│ 131,226│ 24,089 │ 6,462 │ 2,147 │ ―― │ ――
Arkansas │ 37,512│ 110,103│ ―― │ ―― │ 839 │ 893 │ ――
California │ 146,688│ 144,766│ 21,730 │ 2,006 │ 2,573 │ 1,047 │ 1,611
Colorado │ 26,271│ 161,269│ 2,389 │ 1 │ 1,717 │ 386 │ 160
Connecticut │ 110,285│ 56,740│ ―― │ 4,336 │ 1,806 │ ―― │ 1,223
Delaware │ 20,452│ 16,615│ ―― │ 966 │ 602 │ ―― │ ――
Florida │ 11,257│ 31,958│ 1,977 │ 1,772 │ 644 │ ―― │ ――
Georgia │ 60,091│ 94,672│ 440 │ 2,708 │ 5,716 │ ―― │ ――
Idaho │ 6,324│ 23,192│ ―― │ ―― │ 181 │ ―― │ ――
Illinois │ 607,130│ 464,523│ 1,090 │ 6,390 │ 9,796 │ 793 │ 1,147
Indiana │ 323,754│ 305,573│ ―― │ 2,145 │ 3,056 │ 2,267 │ 324
Iowa │ 289,293│ 223,741│ ―― │ 4,516 │ 3,192 │ 352 │ 453
Kansas │ 159,541│ 171,810│ 46,194 │ 1,209 │ 1,921 │ 630 │ ――
Kentucky │ 218,171│ 217,890│ ―― │ 5,114 │ 4,781 │ ―― │ ――
Louisiana │ 22,037│ 77,175│ ―― │ 1,915 │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Maine │ 80,461│ 34,587│ 2,387 │ 1,866 │ 1,589 │ ―― │ ――
Maryland │ 136,978│ 104,746│ ―― │ 2,507 │ 5,922 │ 136 │ 588
Massachusetts │ 278,976│ 105,711│ 15,181 │ 11,749 │ 2,998 │ ―― │ 2,114
Michigan │ 293,582│ 237,268│ ―― │ 6,968 │ 5,025 │ 1,995 │ 297
Minnesota │ 193,503│ 139,735│ ―― │ 3,222 │ 4,363 │ ―― │ 954
Mississippi │ 5,123│ 63,793│ 7,517 │ 1,071 │ 485 │ ―― │ ――
Missouri │ 304,940│ 363,652│ ―― │ 2,355 │ 2,169 │ 293 │ 599
Montana │ 10,494│ 42,537│ ―― │ ―― │ 186 │ ―― │ ――
Nebraska │ 103,064│ 115,999│ ―― │ 2,797 │ 1,243 │ 797 │ 186
Nevada │ 1,938│ 8,377│ 575 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
New Hampshire │ 57,444│ 21,650│ 379 │ 3,520 │ 779 │ 49 │ 228
New Jersey │ 221,367│ 133,675│ ―― │ 6,373 │ 5,614 │ ―― │ 3,985
New York │ 819,838│ 551,369│ ―― │ 18,950 │ 16,052 │ ―― │ 17,667
North Carolina│ 155,222│ 174,488│ ―― │ 578 │ 676 │ 245 │ ――
North Dakota │ 26,335│ 20,686│ ―― │ ―― │ 358 │ ―― │ ――
Ohio │ 525,991│ 477,497│ 2,615 │ 1,858 │ 5,068 │ 2,716 │ 1,167
Oregon │ 48,779│ 46,662│ ―― │ 977 │ 919 │ ―― │ ――
Pennsylvania │ 728,300│ 433,230│ 11,176 │ 10,921 │ 19,274 │ 870 │ 1,683
Rhode Island │ 37,437│ 14,459│ ―― │ 1,166 │ 1,160 │ 5 │ 558
South Carolina│ 9,313│ 58,801│ ―― │ 824 │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
South Dakota │ 41,042│ 41,225│ ―― │ ―― │ 683 │ ―― │ ――
Tennessee │ 148,773│ 166,268│ 4,525 │ 1,951 │ 3,098 │ ―― │ ――
Texas │ 167,520│ 370,434│ 79,572 │ 5,046 │ 1,786 │ ―― │ ――
Utah │ 13,491│ 64,607│ ―― │ 21 │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Vermont │ 50,991│ 10,607│ 461 │ 1,329 │ 728 │ ―― │ ――
Virginia │ 135,388│ 154,985│ ―― │ 2,127 │ 2,350 │ ―― │ 115
Washington │ 39,153│ 51,646│ ―― │ 1,668 │ 968 │ 148 │ ――
West Virginia │ 104,414│ 92,927│ ―― │ 677 │ 1,203 │ ―― │ ――
Wisconsin │ 268,135│ 165,523│ ―― │ 4,584 │ 7,509 │ 346 │ 1,314
Wyoming │ 10,072│ 10,655│ 286 │ ―― │ 136 │ ―― │ ――
──────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼───────────┼─────────┼─────────┼──────────┼──────────
Totals │7,111,607│6,509,052│ 222,583 │ 134,645 │ 131,312 │ 13,968 │ 36,373
══════════════╧═════════╧═════════╧═══════════╧═════════╧═════════╧══════════╧══════════
[31] Bryan and Watson’s vote is included in the vote for W. J. Bryan.
ELECTORAL VOTE.
═══════════════╤══════════════════╦═══════════════════════
│ PRESIDENT. ║ VICE-PRESIDENT.
STATES. ├─────────┬────────╫───────┬───────┬───────
│McKinley.│ Bryan. ║Hobart.│Sewall.│Watson.
───────────────┼─────────┼────────╫───────┼───────┼───────
Alabama │ ―― │ 11 ║ ―― │ 11 │ ――
Arkansas │ ―― │ 8 ║ ―― │ 5 │ 3
California │ 8 │ 1 ║ 8 │ 1 │ ――
Colorado │ ―― │ 4 ║ ―― │ 4 │ ――
Connecticut │ 6 │ ―― ║ 6 │ ―― │ ――
Delaware │ 3 │ ―― ║ 3 │ ―― │ ――
Florida │ ―― │ 4 ║ ―― │ 4 │ ――
Georgia │ ―― │ 13 ║ ―― │ 13 │ ――
Idaho │ ―― │ 3 ║ ―― │ 3 │ ――
Illinois │ 24 │ ―― ║ 24 │ ―― │ ――
Indiana │ 15 │ ―― ║ 15 │ ―― │ ――
Iowa │ 13 │ ―― ║ 13 │ ―― │ ――
Kansas │ ―― │ 10 ║ ―― │ 10 │ ――
Kentucky │ 12 │ 1 ║ 12 │ 1 │ ――
Louisiana │ ―― │ 8 ║ ―― │ 4 │ 4
Maine │ 6 │ ―― ║ 6 │ ―― │ ――
Maryland │ 8 │ ―― ║ 8 │ ―― │ ――
Massachusetts │ 15 │ ―― ║ 15 │ ―― │ ――
Michigan │ 14 │ ―― ║ 14 │ ―― │ ――
Minnesota │ 9 │ ―― ║ 9 │ ―― │ ――
Mississippi │ ―― │ 9 ║ ―― │ 9 │ ――
Missouri │ ―― │ 17 ║ ―― │ 13 │ 4
Montana │ ―― │ 3 ║ ―― │ 2 │ 1
Nebraska │ ―― │ 8 ║ ―― │ 4 │ 4
Nevada │ ―― │ 3 ║ ―― │ 3 │ ――
New Hampshire │ 4 │ ―― ║ 4 │ ―― │ ――
New Jersey │ 10 │ ―― ║ 10 │ ―― │ ――
New York │ 36 │ ―― ║ 36 │ ―― │ ――
North Carolina │ ―― │ 11 ║ ―― │ 6 │ 5
North Dakota │ 3 │ ―― ║ 3 │ ―― │ ――
Ohio │ 23 │ ―― ║ 23 │ ―― │ ――
Oregon │ 4 │ ―― ║ 4 │ ―― │ ――
Pennsylvania │ 32 │ ―― ║ 32 │ ―― │ ――
Rhode Island │ 4 │ ―― ║ 4 │ ―― │ ――
South Carolina │ ―― │ 9 ║ ―― │ 9 │ ――
South Dakota │ ―― │ 4 ║ ―― │ 2 │ 2
Tennessee │ ―― │ 12 ║ ―― │ 12 │ ――
Texas │ ―― │ 15 ║ ―― │ 15 │ ――
Utah │ ―― │ 3 ║ ―― │ 2 │ 1
Vermont │ 4 │ ―― ║ 4 │ ―― │ ――
Virginia │ ―― │ 12 ║ ―― │ 12 │ ――
Washington │ ―― │ 4 ║ ―― │ 2 │ 2
West Virginia │ 6 │ ―― ║ 6 │ ―― │ ――
Wisconsin │ 12 │ ―― ║ 12 │ ―― │ ――
Wyoming │ ―― │ 3 ║ ―― │ 2 │ 1
───────────────┼─────────┼────────╫───────┼───────┼───────
Totals │ 271 │ 176 ║ 271 │ 149 │ 27
═══════════════╧═════════╧════════╩═══════╧═══════╧═══════
No mere party contest in the history of the country, and indeed no
other contest, with the single exception of the issue of secession and
civil war, ever exhibited so large a measure of political independence
as is shown in the vote for President in 1896. While the Democrats had
a sound-money national ticket with such acceptable candidates as Palmer
and Buckner, a very small proportion of the sound-money Democratic vote
of the country was cast for that ticket. McKinley certainly received
500,000 Democratic votes, cast for him directly to assure the defeat of
Bryan, and Bryan certainly received not less than 250,000 Republican
votes.
It was not until six weeks before the election that the Republicans
felt confident of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. The first canvass of
the Republican State committee made in Ohio indicated the defeat of
McKinley, but as the business and industrial interests of the country
faced the question of cheap money, and the business convulsion it must
produce, the Republican ranks were steadily increased, and the States
which were regarded as doubtful in September gave large majorities for
McKinley in November.
This campaign gave a most impressive illustration of the true
independence of American journalism. A number of the leading newspapers
of the country which had supported Cleveland in his three contests,
repudiated the Chicago platform and its candidate, and they stood
in the forefront of American journalism, embracing such journals
as the Boston _Herald_ and _Globe_, the Hartford _Times_, the New
York _World_, _Sun_, _Herald_, _Times_, and _Evening Post_, the
Philadelphia _Times_ and _Record_, the Baltimore _Sun_, the Louisville
_Courier-Journal_, and others. These journals were all strongly owned
and entirely independent in their political action. Not one of them
ever had conference or communication with the McKinley leaders, or
received or proposed any terms for their support, or ever sought,
accepted, or desired favors from the McKinley administration. Some
of them suffered pecuniary sacrifice, but they performed a heroic
duty, and it was the inspiration they gave to the conservative
Democratic sentiment of the country that made McKinley President by an
overwhelming majority.
On the other side, especially in the West, and to some extent in the
South, scores of thousands of the Republicans who had always voted the
national ticket gave enthusiastic support to Bryan, as he carried some
of the strongest Republican States of the West, while losing a large
fraction of the Democratic vote. This struggle settled the financial
policy of the country, as Congress has recently distinctly established
the gold standard by statute, in accord with the financial policy of
all the great civilized nations of the world; and while the money issue
may play some part in the national struggle of the present year, it
will be wisely subordinated to other issues and probably be eliminated
from the future political battles of the nation.
SUMMARY OF POPULAR VOTES FOR PRESIDENTS
I was surprised, after careful examination of the various political
handbooks, to find no table of the popular vote for President prior to
1824, and I made exhaustive effort to obtain official records in the
archives of the nation and of the different States, to supply something
approaching an intelligent table of the popular vote cast for the early
Presidents; but I learned that the failure of others to supply such
tables was not because of negligence, but because there are no records
to furnish them. In Pennsylvania the vote returned to the Capitol was
less than 5000 for Washington, and the vote of record for his second
election but little exceeds 5000. The returns, however, are fragmentary
and valueless. I was compelled to abandon the purpose of giving tables
of the popular vote for Presidents prior to 1824, because all that
could be obtained would be confusing rather than instructive.
I have also found much difficulty in trying to reconcile the
conflicting returns of every Presidential election since 1824. After
a very full and careful examination of these conflicting figures, I
have adopted the tables prepared by Mr. Stanwood in his admirable work
entitled “A History of the Presidency,” and I regard them as more
nearly accurate than any other tables presented. The entire accuracy
of these election tables is not a matter of vital importance, as in
none of the many conflicting returns of different States would the
result have been changed by the variations in the returns as stated in
the many publications which for some years past have annually given
them. The following summary of the popular vote for Presidents since
1824, with the electoral vote cast at each election, is taken from the
New York _World Almanac_ for 1900, the figures of which, as will be
seen, usually vary from those presented in the tables I give with each
chapter of this volume:
ELECTORAL AND POPULAR VOTES.