The public ledger. [volume] (Maysville, Ky.) 1913-1968, 1916-11-08
HUGHES ELECTED
IN LANDSLIDE

but these states will give their cleo
toral votes to the Republicans. Wis
consin, because OF the LaFolette cam
paign for senator-he had praised the
Wilson administration and ignored
Hughes-was counted on almost con-
fidently by the Democrats to line up
for the President. The Badger State
will give its 10 votes to Hughes.
Charles E. Hughes was at the Aston
Hotel. Members OF his family were
with him. He was particularly inter.
ested in hearing the returns from his
own state. When he was assured that
the state would give him its electoral
vote he called everything off" for the
time being and ordered a good dinner
He had not spent much time dining
during the closing days of his cam.
paign. There was at no time doubt
in his mind that he would be elected.
He had not been cast down by the
stories of Republican defections which
gave such optimism to the Democrats
and at times sent gloom to the hearts
Of some Of the Republican managers.
. OBJECTIONS In G. o. p. Vote.
That there was defections in the
Republican vote was plainly evident
from a study of the returns from many
states-if In fact not from all states.
Massachusetts showed a decided vii.
son trend. No one suspected that the
Bay State, a citadel of Republicanism,
would go Democratic, but its peculiar
actions nevertheless caused some mild
qualms in the hearts Of the Repub.
licans.
1t was finally indicated that the ma
jority there would be at least 10000,
and, while this is not more than one
fifth of what the Bay State usually
goes, the Republicans were satisfied
to get the Is electoral votes by any
margin.
Connecticut, which has been flooded
with Wilson sentiment, due to the
large army Of munitions workers and
the remarkable prosperity of the state,
threatened to go Democratic, as had
been indicated in the straw votes
taken by various newspapers in that
part Of the country, but the state turn
ed and gave a respectable plurality
for the Republicans.
The great army OF factory workers
In the cities swung strongly for the
President and some Of the Democratic
newspapers of the state laid claim to
the state by 10000 plurality.
Twas Not a Landslide.
The election was not a Republican
landslide, although the vote in New
York suggested that it might be. 1t
showed a heavy Democratic gain for
President Wilson.
Labor, from all that could be ascer-
tanned, did not stick" to the Presi-
dent. Wherever labor gathered dur
ing the six weeks prior to election the
sentiment was almost unanimous for
the President. because he had placed
his official approval upon the principle
of the eight-hour law.
1t was feared by the Republicans
that the solid labor vote would be for
the President, and in that case the
election of the President would have
been reasonably assured. 1t was evil
dent also that the number OF farmers
throughout the country voting for the
President, because they are receiving
high prices for their crops and because
there is no war, had been greatly ex-
aggeratad.
The eleventh-hour swing away from
the President, which had given new
confidence to the Republicans and in
fiuenced the betting odds, turned out
to be not SO mythical as had been i'm
agined by the Democrats. Returns
coming in indicated that the cleo
ton OF Hughes was assured, but
there would be nothing like the
overwhelming majority in the Elec-
toral College that some of the Repub.
licans had predicted. The most sur
prising thing of all was the small vote
OF Tammany Hall, although 1t was
stated on the very best of authority
that the Tammany leaders were well
aware, in the last days OF the cam
paign, that the vote would be surpris-
iRgly small.