The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1911-06-06
Washington News
Items of Interest From Our Cor
respondent, George w.
Summers.


estimate on the changes in the
electoral vote which may trans
pire between the last and the
next Presidential election indi-
cate that West Virginia may
cast the deciding vote and deter
mine whether the President who
will succeed Mr.. Taft shall be
a Democrat or a republican.
The Democrats will carry all
the States III 1912 which they
carried in 1908 and Maryland and
Missouri are conceded to them at
the next election. These States
would give 1873 Democratic votes
in the electoral college.
States which cast their votes
at the last election for the Re-
publican candidate but which
must be classed as doubtful in
the next election are Indiana,
New Jersey, New York, Ohio
and West Virginia. Omitting
these from the Republican list of
1908 the certainly Republican
vote is 1879.
Of the doubtful States, give
New York to the Republicans
and it would make 238 Repub-
lican votes in the electoral COL
lege, with PAP necessary to elect.
Giving the remaining doubtful
States except West Virginia to
the Democrats would make the
total Democratic vote in the cleo
toral 23S, the same as the Repub-
hcan vote, with West Virginia's
seven votes to determine the
election. Or if New Jersey and
New York be placed in the Dem
ocratic column and Ohio and In
diana be given to the Republi-
can vote would be 237 and the
Democratic vote 239, with West
Virginia to hear from.
So the Importance to either
party of carrying West Virginia
can be seen rapidly, as the
States vote may determine the
Presidency. And this accounts
for the change of heart of for
mer Senator Nathan B. Scott and
Davis Elkins, who were bitterly
opposed to the primary election
law at first but came around to
its support after the administra-
ton had intimated to them that
West Virginia must be carried
for the Republican party in order
to insure the election of Repub-
President and that it could not
be carried unless the Republi-
can machine were dethroned and
the people were given a chance
to make their own nominations,
instrad of having the made for
them as has been the case in re-
cent years.
If the Republican machine
continues to make the nomina-
tons and force them on the peo-
pie, as it has done in the past.
West Virginia can be counted on
as almost certainly Democratic
in the next election of a Demo-
cratic President.
tt
With the wooden schedule of
the tariff law about to be revised
and with the Democratic idea of
what it should be ready to sub
nit, it is worthy of note that the
West Virginia Democratic Con-
gressnen are in full accord with
the plan of the Ways and Means
committee in regard to wool.
All the Democrats from West
Virginia protested against put
ting wool on the free list while
leaving other articles of as great
Importance to the general public
covered by protection.
The position of the West Vir-
GINA Congressman is that wool
should be treated the same as
other articles and that if a gene
raj free trade law were to be en-
acted wool should go along with
the rest, but that if a tariff is TO
be retained on other articles
there is no reason why wool
should be singled out for the free
list. This is the attitude of the
Ways and Means committee and
the West Virginians concurred in
1T. They went so FAR as IN