The Benson signal., 1916-11-18

The senate remains unchanged, 81
Democrats to AZ Republicans; a Demo-
cratic majority of 12.
In addition to the hope of electing
congressman at large from New
Mexico, the Democrats had one grain
of comfort. It was that an official
count may disclose that Thomas J.
Scully has been reelected from the
third New Jersey district.
An unusual feature of the result is
the election of the first woman to con-
gress, Miss jeanette Rankin, Repub-
lican, apparently having been elected
in Montana.
Six States Go Dry.
Prohibitionists are jubilant over the
results of the election where prohibi-
tiOn was an issue. From Washington
the legislative committee of the Anti
Saloon league issued a statement, say
ing:
prohibition has taken another
great leap forward. Michigan has
voted for statewide prohibition by
$4,000 majority, Nebraska by $4,000,
Montana by 10000 and South Dakota
by 25,OOO Idaho has adopted a pro-
hibition constitutional amendment by
majority of to 1. Utah has prob
ably elected a legislature pledged to
enact statewide prohibition. Wash
ington, Iowa, Colorado, Arizona and
Arkansas have defeated attempts of
the liquor people to secure the adop-
ton of proposals which would nullify
their prohibitory laws.
"Thus "a states out Of 48-one-half
Of the states Of the UniOn-have now
declared for statewide prohibition,
and over 60 per cent of the population
and IS per cent Of the area of the
country is now under prohibitory law"
Women Vote as Do Men.
From the general result it is clear
that as the men voted in the suffrage
states, so did the women.
In Illinois men and women seemed
about equally divided as to prefer
ence. The state went for Hughes by
a big plurality.
In Kansas, Colorado, Montana,
Washington, Oregon and California,
where women also vote, Wilson was
successful, but his pluralities were not
sufficiently large to indicate that the
woman voters supported him as unit.
Farm Vote the Factor.
There are several great outstanding
facts concerning the result of the elec-
ton, one of which is that labor, in all
the big industrial states except Ohio,
declined to give it's undivided support
to President Wilson despite his claim
to it on the score of having persuaded
congress to pass the Adamson "eight-
hour" bill. New York, Pennsylvania,
Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, In
diana, all gave the Republican candi-
date pluralities, and Ohio's vote in IA
vor of Wilson is not certainly to be at
tributed to the labor vote.
Another interesting development was
the independence of the West, which is
asserting that it elected president
without the aid of New York and Penn
sylvania and other big western and
central states. When it was found,
early in the evening of election day,
that the empire state had gone for
Hughes, the newspapers of the metrop-
oils, even those that had supported
Wilson, conceded the victory to the
Republicans, without waiting to hear
from the middle West. When the re-
turns came in from these regions, it
was found that the farmer and stock
raiser had decided the election.
Yet another fact that calls for COM
ment is that Governor Johnson of Cal
ifornia, running on the Republican and
Progressive tickets, has been elected to
the United States senate by something
like 100000 plurality, and yet the state
went Democratic on the presidency.