Further evidence of popular unrest was given in August by a
strike of the switchmen in the Buffalo railway yards, which
paralyzed traffic until several thousand state troops were put on
guard. About the same time, there were outbreaks in the Tennessee
coal districts in protest against the employment of convict labor
in the mines. Bands of strikers seized the mines, and in some
places turned loose the convicts and in other places escorted
them back to prison. As a result of this disturbance, during 1892
state troops were permanently stationed in the mining districts,
and eventually the convicts were put back at labor in the mines.
Such occurrences infused bitterness into the campaign of 1892 and
strongly affected the election returns. Weaver carried Colorado,
Idaho, Kansas, and Nevada, and he got one electoral vote in
Oregon and in North Dakota; but even if these twenty-two
electoral votes had gone to Harrison, he would still have been
far behind Cleveland, who received 277 electoral votes out of a
total of 444. Harrison ran only about 381,000 behind Cleveland in
the popular vote, but in four States, the Democrats had nominated
no electors and their votes had contributed to the poll of over a
million for Weaver. The Democratic victory was so sweeping that
it gained the Senate as well as the House, and now for the first
time a Democratic President was in accord with both branches of
Congress.
Pages:
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159