Mr. McKinley immediately wired: Canton, Ohio, November 6. Hon. W. J. Bryan, Lincoln, Neb.: I acknowledge the receipt of your courteous message of congratulations with thanks, and beg you will receive my best wishes for your health and happiness. William McKinley. This exchange of messages was much commented upon at the time, though why it should be considered extraordinary I do not know. We were not fighting each other, but stood as the representatives of different political ideas, between which the people were to choose. Our contest aroused no personal feeling upon the part of either, and I have no doubt that had I been elected he would as promptly have sent his congratulations. A courteous observance of the proprieties of such an occasion tends to eliminate the individual and enables opponents to contend sharply over the matters of principle, without disturbance of social relations. I look back with much satisfaction to the fact that the four political contests through which I have passed, two successfully and two unsuccessfully, have been free from personalities. It may be interesting to the reader to compare the election returns of 1896 with those of 1892. On another page will be found a map showing in colors the political complexion of the States in 1892, and in addition thereto a table giving both the popular and electoral vote of the States; also a map and table giving the same information in regard to 1896. The combined Democratic and Populist vote in 1892 was 6,595,285; my vote in 1896 was 5,511,073, showing that, leaving out of calculation the natural increase in the vote, my vote only fell 84,212 short of the vote of the two parties combined. In the following States, Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, Wyoming, which gave me their electoral vote, my popular vote was 2,427,172, being 829,712 more than the vote cast for Mr. Cleveland in 1892, in the States named, and 59,647 more than the vote cast that year for both Mr. Cleveland and Mr. Weaver. In the following States carried by Mr. McKinley, including the States which divided their electoral vote, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia and Wisconsin, my popular vote was 4,019,294, being 56,069 in excess of the vote cast for Mr. Cleveland in 1892, and only 214,474 behind the combined vote of Mr. Cleveland and Mr. Weaver. Only in the following States did my vote fall below Mr. Cleveland's: Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin. Of the popular vote Mr. McKinley had a plurality of 596,749, which is less than the plurality given by the three States, Pennsylvania, New York, and Massachusetts. A change of 962 votes from Mr. McKinley's column to mine in California would have given me the entire electoral vote of that State; in Oregon a change of 1,059 votes would have given me the electoral vote of that State; in Kentucky a change of 142 votes would have given me the entire electoral vote of that State; in Indiana a change of 9,002 votes would have given me the electoral vote of that State; in North Dakota a change of 2,826 votes would have given me the electoral vote of that State; in West Virginia a change of 5,445 votes would have given me the electoral vote of that State. Thus, a total change of 19,436 votes, distributed as suggested above in the States named, would have given me 48 more electoral votes, or a total of 224, a majority of 1. In those States above mentioned the total vote of 1892 was 1,449,622; in 1896 the total vote was 1,728,216, an increase of 278,594, or about 19.2 per cent., while the total increase in the nation was 1,865,198, or nearly 13.4 per cent. This calculation is made to show how narrow was the defeat of bimetallism and what is possible for the future. The six States above mentioned were all considered doubtful, and in those States my vote exceeded by 55,423 the total vote cast for Mr. Cleveland and Mr. Weaver in 1892. Note. Of the electoral votes cast for Mr. Bryan, Mr. Watson received the following: Arkansas, 3; Kentucky, 1; Louisiana, 4; Missouri, 4; Mortana, 1; Nebraska, 4; North Carolina, 5; South Dakota, 2; Utah, 1; Washington, 2; Wyoming, I. Mr. Sewall received the remainder. POPULAR AND ELECTORAL VOTE OF 1892. STATES. CLEVELAND, DEM. Elec HARRISON, Elec WEAVER, Elec Elec- Popu lar. Popular. toral. Popular. toral. Popular. toral. Popular. toral. The candidates for Vice-President and their electoral votes were: Adlai E. Stevenson, Democratic, 277; Whitelaw Reid, Republican, 145; James G. Field, People's 22; James B. Cranfill, Prohibition, 0. Simon Wing, Socialist candidate for President, and C. H. Matchett, for Vice-President, received 17,656 votes in New York, 649 in Massachusetts, 1,337 in New Jersey, 898 in Pennsylvania, 336 in Maine, 329 in Connecticut, and 27 in Maryland. Cast for White Republican electors, known as the Lillie White ticket, |