Material Interests
tries. Widespread strikes at Homestead, Penn. and elsewhere, however, and the rise of the “Populist” party in the West drew away many voters temporarily from the Republican party so that it suffered defeat in the Congressional elections of 1890, though of course the new tariff remained in force.
In 1892 the Republicans renominated President Harrison with Whitelaw Reid of New York for Vice-President on a platform which reaffirmed the principle of protection, holding that “all articles which cannot be produced in the United States, except luxuries, should be admitted free of duty and that upon all imports coming into competition with the products of American labor there should be levied duties equal to the difference between wages abroad and at home.” It also approved the policy of reciprocity. It also advocated the establishment of a general system of free delivery of mails, in country as well as in city. The Democratic convention again nominated Mr. Cleveland with Adlai E. Stevenson of Illinois for Vice-President on a platform denouncing the protective tariff as a fraud and demanding a tariff for revenue only. Conventions were held and candidates were nominated by the Populist, Prohibition and Socialist-Labor parties, and the Farmers' Alliance adopted a platform but named no candidates. Because of the conditions already mentioned as prevailing in 1890 the Democrats won a sweeping victory. The Democrats secured 277 electoral and 5,556,928 popular votes; the Republicans 145 electoral and 5,176,106 popular votes; the Populists 22 electoral and 1,041,021 popular votes; the Prohibitionists 262,034, and the Socialist-Labor party 21,164 votes. The Democrats secured control of
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