The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-10-23
Straw Ballots Continue to Indicate Electoral Vote of
 Landslide Proportions
TAFT NOW MAKING
 GAINS OVER MOOSE
Wilson Is Even Found to be Lead ing in Pennsylvania and All the New England States
 Except Vermont
ax C. E. STEWART

Washington, October 22.-(Special)-
 There is an old saying that the demo-
 crats always win the national election in
 August and lose 1t in October and in
 most instances in the past 50 years 1t has
 held good. But if the democrats are to
 lose the election this year it certainly
 appears at this time that they will have
 to hurry. With two weeks to go before
 the contest will be settled by the people,
 every indication, every straw vote from almost every state in the union where there is any kind of contest, goes to
 show that Woodrow Wilson will get the
 biggest electoral vote given presidential candidate in many years. Hilles in his claim of states for Taft puts Indiana in the Taft column, but the correspondent for the Evening Star-an administration paper-declares that Will 1 son will carry Indiana overwhelmingly. Indiana is normally close state, in presidential years the republicans when they win only carry it by 10000 to 15,00o votes. and the democrats when they cap 1 ture it by about the same vote. This year in Indiana there are three tickets in the 1ield-state tickets as well as presiden- tial tickets-and according to the Star correspondent the republican vote is about evenly divided between Roosevelt | and Taft, with Wilson getting the full | democratic strength, and many repub- l licans who do not want Roosevelt to win will vote for Wilson as the most effecual ! method of defeating him. He declares | that Indiana is as surely democratic as can possibly be- | Indiana at present has one republican member of the House out of 13-Judge 1 l Crumpacker. If they save him the re- xrxJV l tent with their work in that state.
 Effect of Ballot
 Everybody believed that the attempt upon the life of ex-President Roosevelt 1 would be the cause of q shift of senti- 1 ment in his favor. Don M. Dickinson, unce chairman of the democratic national eofaniittre. and Postmaster General under 1 Prestdeist Cleveland and until recently staunch supporter of Wilson. was con ! verted to Roosevelt by the bullet route, i and has gone over to tile progressiVes l l bag and baggage, side whslxers and all, l but according 10 the New York Heraid's l poll of last week, i'll spite of tiNs fact | Roosevelt seems to be losing ground.
 Each of the three principal rivals for President seem to be gaining in some
 sections and losing in others. Roosevelt |
 is easily second in the running, but is i
 losing some ground to President Taft in |
 the west particularly The polls taken
 
 grounds, show that Governor Wilson leads 1 | in 27 of them, and Roosevelt leads in f
 and the President in 1. The four in
 which MT. Roosevelt took the lead are Illinois, Michigan, Idaho and Washing l l ton while President Taft is the fayorite l | in Wyoming. In the table of percentages i | President Taft Is $ points behind Roose- welt and out of the total vote taken to |
 date, of 205,sa2, he gets I5,4o1, with Roose- | welt 60,295 and Wilson S6,4gl Debs con-
 
 . of the vote as first developed and gets | in the total vote of 13, 115.
 West Nirginia--Where a hard fight is | being waged, and which state has been | repeatedly claimed for Taft, the straw | | vote gives Governor Wilson per cent | | in excess of the vote for both Roosevelt |
 and Taft. It develops that Governor Will 1 | son is getting the full democratic | . strength, and is also drawing F per cent | | of the republican vote of four years ago |
 into the democratic folds
 Wilson Leads in Pennsylvania
 In Pennsylvania the democrats are en- l thusiastic over the fact that every de- 1 l velopment points to Wilson carrying that | | state, most remarkable feat if done In | the straw vote in Pennsylvania Gover- i l nor Wilson is well in the lead, and to the l surprise of the politicians, President Taft | 1 is second. Pennsylvania has been counted as bull moose stronghold. but the test ! poll lnulcdteS Lldt ftDuSGNGll Will be third f in the running in spite of the. conceded | strength of Boss Film and other bull l | moore adherents. Governor Wilson leads in every New | England state with the single exception of Vermont. and in Vermont there has yet been no poll taken a scale sufficient to warrant an opinion. Maine, Massa- | chusetts and even Rhole Island all show decided Wilson sentiment, and there is ! 8 wider gap between the poll for Wilson and that of his nearest competitor.
 The Herald says Nebraska, Kansas, l Missouri, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Ken lucky, Maryland. New Jersey, Delaware. 1 Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota-if straw
 votes and careful personal inquiries are
 to be accepted as criterion-appear reas- l
 onahly certain to go for the New Jer-
 sey man. The southern states are virtual
 lv conceded by the republicans to the
 democrats, and no test ballot has been
 taken there.
 No Change in New York
 In New York there is no noticeable H change in sentiment. It is conceded that Governor Wilson will carry the state. It Is believed that his canvass has been ma terially helped by the nomination of Sul- { ger for goveenor. There is a belief in \ many sections also that Mir. Roosevelt ' is much stronger than is indicated on the , \ surface This is shared by many of the I republican leaders The shooting of the 6 nominee has apparently drawn to him ] some support in the Empire state but
 not enough in tine opinion of reporters to
 endanger the candidacy of Governor Will
 son.
 The betting on Wall street continues to
 favor Wilson at odds of and to l, II with few takers.
 Il The suffragst vote out west shows q decided tendency to be bull moose. It Il may result in throwing several western Il states into the progressive column, This