Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1912-10-02
HOW CAN WILSON WIN?
Difficult to See Where He Can OBJ
tain the Necessary 2G6 Flee
tOrai Votes.

votes. This is wide chasm to be
bridged over. Woodrow Wilson has
70 easy task to be elected.
He can rery posrtiveiy only upon
the ia electoral votes of the solid
south. Tennessee, Kentucky and
Maryland are not included in this
list, for each state is debatabie
ground. 1t requires 266 votes for a
majority OF the electoral college and
even if Wilson snouid carry Tennes-
see and Kentucky, with their aggre-
gate of % votes, he would still lack
127 votes of the required majority
There is no enthusiasm in New
York for Professor Wilson. but even
if he should carry New York and
Indiana ne would have only 60 votes
out of the necessary 127. 1t might
be expected that he would carry his
own state of New Jersey, but New
Jersey is Republican upon national
issues and the Democratic candidate
is opposed in the state by faction
in his own party, which still resents
his treachery to the men who helped
TO elect him governor. Even if he
should carry New Jersey he would
have only 213 votes out of 266, Ii
Illinois should be carried by him,
which is altogether improbable, he
would still need % votes.
In other words, if he carries the
solid south, together with New York,
New Jersey, Indiana Illinois, Ken
tucky and Tennessee, he will still
lack sufficient votes to elect him by
a considerable margin. 1t must not
be forgotten, as showing the difficulty
of his situation, that of the Increase
of AS votes in the electoral college
this year, SO are in states which Taft
carried in 1908.
1t will not be easy for the Demo-
Gratis to oyerturn the Republican ma
jorities in Republican states, even
with the Democratic Aid Society, of
which Roosevelt is the head IL
iinois, for instance. gave Taft ma
jority of 179,000 in 1908, and in
this and other states the Third
Termers will have to make a mtca
greater showing than they have ever
done before they can turn the Re-
publican majority into a minority
Even in states where the Third Term
candidate carried the primaries he
polled. on an average, less than %
per cent of the Republican vote. Ii
he should hold his entire primary
vote, with three candidates in the
field. the Republican candidate
would still have safe plurality.
But no one familiar with the polit-
ical situation will contend that Mr..
Roosevelt can hold the vote received
by him in the primaries. Already It
is being made evident that the candl-
date of the Third Term party is fast
losing ground. 1t is one thing to
be a Republican seeking nomina-
ton within the party and quite an
other thing to be candidate lead
ing a bolt Every election since the
convention has been adverse TO MT.
Roosevelt. In Maine united Re-
publican party overturned Demo-
cratic plurality of nearly 5000 OF
two wears ago. In Vermont, al
though Roosevelt made personal
appeal to the people and was aided
by all the orators of his cause. mis-
ticket ran third. In Michigan the
Progressive vote was a mere frac-
tion. In Washington-a state In
which Roosevelt claimed the delcga-
tion at the national convention-the
Republicans in the recent primary
outnumbered both the Democrats and
1.-THE Progressives combined and the
latter poiled only five votes in every
hundreds. In Colorado the Repub-
llicans nominated their candidate for
governor as against his Progressive
opponent. These are very decided
evidences of the decrease OF Roose-
welt support in all sections.
On the other hand President Tart
strength is increasing daily. There
is every indication that the country
| is beginning to realize that 1t is not
| in the slightest danger from the pos
sibility of Roosevelt's election, while
Republicans are clearly seeing that
vote for him aids the election OF
Wilson, with consequent free trade
disruption OF business and an end OF
the prosperity which the United
States has enjoyed during the last
sixteen years of Republican admin
istration.
The task, therefore, of figuring the
1862 electoral votes which Bryan re-
ceived in 1908 into the 266 votes
which Professor Wilson must have Il
he is to be elected, is not so simple
as our Democratic friends woult
have us believe.