The Washington herald., 1916-11-09
The Election Returns.

Those who have watched the returns on the
national election may not realize now that they
have witnessed the most momentous campaign in
the nations history
To have the final result delayed for more tnan
thirty-six hours after the polls closed emphasizes
how tightly the lines were drawn and how tickle
were prophecies.
Preeedents, it is said. are made only TO be brok-
en-. If prediction signs accepted as final then
the Republican candidate was a victor before the
polls opened. Wall Street favored him in the bet
ting and Wall Street never has picked loser
in the national election, so the story runs. No
Democratic President since the days of Andrew
Jackson has been given a reelection. No Demo
cratic candidate for President ever accomplished
success without the electoral votes of New York
Pennsylvania, and Illinois. Thus, by all prece-
dents, the Democratic candidate on the ballot
served merely to make it contest, with the re-
suit certain. But in this election a number OF
new precedents are being made.
Newspapers and press associations spent thou
sands of dollars for the purpose of announcing
with reasonable certainty, the result of the elec-
ton within few hours after the polls were closed
The news men have developed this business Of
furnishing returns to science, but in this cleo
ton the result close that practically all
news agencies failed in their efforts to give the
final result the morning after.
Under normal conditions, the country may be
expected to be Republican These times appar.
emily are not normal The war in Europe and
the threatened war in Mexico things that over
shadow the questions of social and commercial
progress that engross US ordinarily. But the war
in. Europe and the Mexican trouble only two
of many new elements that combined to bring
about extraordinary political conditions in this
country
Not since the election of Cleveland has the
result been held so long in the balance. Cleve-
land was defeated on the early returns, to such
an extent that he congratulated his Republican
rival but fortyeight hours later complete returns
showed that the Democratic candidate the
victor. The election of Hayes to the Presidency
was by such slender margin that it months
before the final result was determined. To this
day some who supported Tilden maintain that he
was robbed of the Presidency.
Today the facilities for getting returns and the
integrity of the ballot box is such that the honest
choice of the nation is the winner and the victor
usually is named within few hours after the
polls have closed. Consequently any delay in the
announcement brings wonderment
The independent voters probably have decided
the 1916 election. They read the arguments listen
cd to the speeches, perused the campaign ftera-
ture and went into the voting booth and acted &C
cording to their conscience. 1t was impossible
for the political bosses to predct how this element
of the electorate would go and the claims from
both political camps were based upon hopes rather
than facts. Rock ribbed Republican sections went
for the Democrats and districts where the Repub-
licans looked for assured support wound up in
the Democratic column. Both sides claimed the
women's vote and the result shows that both sides
have food for thought in determining which factor
swayed these ballots.
All this made delay in the tabulation of the
final returns. In many of the so-called doubtful
States they still counting the ballots There is
uniform plan for working out election returns
and antquated methods yet prevail in many cities,
towns and States. Some open the ballot box and
count when majority of the votes in the election
unit has been cast, others have p. m. as the hour
of closing, many others 4 p. m, and the majority
p. m. Some count the head of the ticket at once
and flash the result others count the whole ballot
before any returns announced and others can
not certify count until the election registrars
have arrived, which means in some cases from
twenty-four to forty-eight hours after the polls
closed.
With the absence of uniform system, it is
not surprising that the definite result in an election
like the 1916 battle of ballots is somewhat delayed