One hundred years ago
Mr Cleveland has, we believe, been elected President of the United States. The contest has been so close, and the millions of voters are spread over such vast spaces, that there is still in some minds a doubt as to the result of the official computation; but the balance of evidence as to New York State is heavily on Mr Cleveland's side, and if he has carried New York, he has a majority of at least nineteen more than the half in the Electoral College. We may, therefore, fairly assume his triumph; and if he has triumphed, the omen is a good one for the future government of the United States. Mr, Cleveland does not owe his victory to the Democratic Party. On the contrary, that party has been beaten in almost all the local elections held at the same time, — so beaten, that its majority in the House of Representatives has been reduced by thirty, and that the Senate, which was expected to become Demo- cratic this year, still remains Republi- can. He owes his election solely to the Independent Republicans, the men who feel that it has become a vital point for the Union to elect an honest chief of the Executive, a man who detests pecuniary corruption, and who will put down the jobbers and sellers of official help with a rough hand. It was feared for a moment that this party would not be numerous enough to hold the balance of power, its religious section, a most important one, having announced that it considered the past laxity of Mr Cleveland's private life a disqualification for the Presidency.
Spectator, 8 November 1884
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