Evening star., 1912-09-07
GUESSING IN MAINE
Silence of Republicans Puzzles
the Politicians.
VOTERS N0N-C0MMITTAL
Leaders Publicly Making Claims,
But Privately Admitting
They Are Baffled.
Special From a Star Correspondent.

Special From a Star Correspondent.
PORTLAND, Me-, September I've
draw near to the close Of probably the
most interesting political campaign Maine
has witnessed in a quarter Of a century,
with the leaders of both parties frankly
admitting their inability to guess the
outcome. For publication. of course.
they make the usual claims. To their
friends they say they don't know what
Is going to come off next Monday.
Out in the state are pretty much the
same conditions that prevail here and
which have been described in these dis
patches.
lence and non-committal attitude of the
republican voters.
Democrats Vociferous in Claims.
The democrats are easily located. They
are vociferously and enthusiastically out
In their opinion and whooping it up for
their state ticket with might and main.
The republicans. with lowering brow, re-
1use to give up when questioned as to
their proposed action on election day.
i will have to have a little mite more
time to think 1t over" says your repub-
lican voter. when you ask him what he is
going to do.
Now what does that indicate, is the
question perplexing the politicians. Are
republicans preparing to cut the ticket to
satisfy their political animosities or have
they made up their minds as to how they
will vote and propose to vote the straight
ticket?
II this were the November election for
the choice of presidential electors. the an
swer would be fairly easy. 1t would be
that thousands Of Taft republicans. IL
they thought that the regular republican
national ticket was running behind would
De ready to plump in a vote for Wilson
with the idea of effectually shutting our
the bull moose candidate.
some OF them are going to do it on this
state ticket, but how many no human
being knows.
Views of Portland Papers.
The two local papers this morning give
their views. The democratic paper claims
everything. the republican organ frankly
confesses it is up stump
Thus speaks the republican sheet:
From information which the Press
has been able to obtain from various
| sources and after a careful ANALYSIS of
the situation, without partisan bias and
with the sole desire to present the stu
atlon exactly as 1t appears to be, the
tS Daaiy rress believes that the result of
doubt. and is quite likely to be unusually
close, as to the gubernatorial vote
by predicting that the vote will be
close, the Press does not attempt to
one way or another is likely to be, for
that would be mere guesswork, and in
the election this year one mans guess
as TO the outcome is quite as good as
another mans prediction. One thing is
absolutely certain, as it appears from
information the Press has received, and
that is that the democratic landslide
Whlch the stump speakers of that
party are so fond of predicting
is not likely to occur, and far from
being confident of an overwhelming
victory. 1t Is admitted by the more con-
servat1ve and frank politicians in the
democratic party that if they barely
succeed in electing Gov. Plaisted, in
and representative districts to control
the legislature they will do as much as
they can hope for
The democratic paper says:
reports from all over Maine indicate
the election of Gov. Frederick W. PIaisted
and democratic legislature, which will
return Senator Gardner to the Senate for
a 1uii six-year-term. The message
prOght to this section of Maine by Sena-
tor Gardner that Plaisted would be elect
ed by a greater plurality than two years
ago was made after six-week tour of
the rural sections. and the change OF
political sentiment recorded outside the
cities Is sure barometer of the trend
of the times in Maine. where the farm
ers are awake to the fact that they
have friend in the United States Senate
In Senator Gardner for the first time in
Names history. and that the only way
to keep him there is by voting for the
democratic representatives and the whole
ticket. This is the verdict of hundreds
of farmers who have hitherto voted the
republican ticket.
The cities will give greater plurality
for the democratic ticket than two years
ago. and it looks as if all four of the
democratic congressional candidates
would be elected n. o. NJ