The Raymer enterprise., 1921-03-10
THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

To elect the president whose In
auguratlon took place March 4 the
heaviest battle Of ballots" ever
known was winged. The steady drop,
drop. drop Of the pieces Of paper by
which the American citizen registers
his voice In the conduct Of the govern
ment begnn on November 2, In East
port. Me-, eastern-most community In
the United States, and continued un-
til some sixteen hours later when elec.
tlon judges closed their booths In
Ozette, WASH, the presidential SUI.
frage community farthest west.
The battle was not made greater
than those Of 1912 and 1915 by any
increase In the area over which II was
fought, for Arizona and New Mexico.
casting their ballots for President for
the first time In 1912. completed the
roster Of the States In the United
States proper and sIgnallzed the cx-
tension Of the presidential suffrage to
every political unit between the two
oceans and the Canadian and Mexican
borders except the District Of Colum-
bia. The battle was increased In mag
nltude, however, by the extension Of
suffrage to women In the many states
which did not permit them to vote In
previous elections.
This greatest of election struggles
took place In an area Of approximate
ly 3,000.000 square miles, under condi-
ti0ns varying from the frosty weather
Of the Canadian boundary and possible
snow storms Of the higher c0mmuni-
ties of the> Rockies, to the burning
sunshine Of Key West and some Of
the cities and villages Of the south.
western border.
Ballot b0xes-emblems OF American
sOyerelgnty-were set up In the hearts
of great cities, In villages. In wayside
school houses on isolated islands, In
pockets Of the great woods; far up
among rough peaks, and below the
level Of the sea; In many ceses In
communities which lie behind great
natural barriers that cut them Oft
physically from other settlements. And
yet. because Of the telephone and tele-
graph wires that extend Into nearly
every community, and wireless COM
munlcation that supplements them.
most American citizens learned the
results from the far-fung battle line
at their breakfast tables next morn
Ing. Indeed, impatient followers OF the
returns knew the results before mid
night, reading reports flashed on
screens before newspaper Offices in
countless cities and towns.
It was far different, paradOxical as
It may seem ut first sight, during the
early presidential elections In which
popular voting figured. in spite of the
fact that practically all voters were
east Of the Mississippi river and most
Of them In the States along the At
lnntic seaboard. Lacking electrical
means OF communication and rail-
roads, and having but poor highways
and vehicles, the country was often In
ignorance of the candidates elected for
weeks nfter the election.
The contrast cannot be carried back
to elections when the United States
was confined to its original thirteen
members along the narrow strip Of
coast country, for In those days the
voter and the campaign manager had
not come into their own. The choosing
OF president was partyless, cam
paignless and--so far as most OF the
"men In the street" were concerned
IA voteless affair. Legislatures saved
voters from the bother Of casting bal
lots by appointing electors and the lat.
fnr rhaca