Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-07-09
THE DIGEST STRAW
BALLOT

CTRAW ballots taken on politica.
questions are unreliable. Usual
ly they have been taken by news.
papers and concerned presidential
preferences. The parties taking
the ballots were not always beyond
suspicion of prejudice, and OF
course in taking a straw ballot
much depends on the classes OF
people invited to vote. The Liter
airy Digest has, however. in recent
years, developed the straw ballot
to an extent never dreamed of be-
fore. During the last presidential
election it took literally millions of
votes in the various states of the
union on presidential choice, and
the election ballots pretty we'll
agreed with the results of the
straw ballot taken before election.
Just now the Literary Digest an
nounces its intention to take a sec
ret ballot or two questions-prohi-
bition and the soldiers bonus. This
is to be the biggest straw ballot
ever attempted anywhere. Ten
million individual ballots are to be
put in the hands Of ten million
voters, who are to be selected in
such a way as to give the fairest
possible test of public opinion. In
1920, Harding got l6,l33,9l4 votes
and Cox got ~o.142,438 votes. These
figures give some idea Of the vast
ness of the undertaking of this
magazine and the extent to which
it may serve is an indication of
popular opinion. The Literary Di-
sest says of this poll:
"A huge poll, a genuinely national
test of the public will on prohibit
tion and the soldiers bonus. is now
in progress, conducted by the Lit
erary Digest. Startling revelations
of the true state Of the country's
attitude toward prohibition may be
predicted on the basis of the ballots
already received.
1.-THE poll now under way is, in
most particulars, the greatest and
most representative unofficial can
vass ever undertaken In the history
Of the United States. The only
other poll comparable to it is the
Presidential Primary conducted
by the Digest two years ago.
"Our readers will remember the
accuracy with which this previous
poll revealed the national state of
mind, ~presaging the tremendous
majority to be rolled up for the
ICpuUll(dIl (dIiOludtCS.
"The present poll, it can conf
IDENTIFY be predicted, will reveal the
will of the American people toward
those two most pressing questions
of the day-the status of the prohi-
bition amendment and the proposal
to pay a federal bonus to all Amer
lean soldiers and sailors who wore
a uniform in the World war.
Both questions. aside from their
personal interest to every citizen,
will be controlling factors in the
coming congressional elections in
many states. The temper of the
country, as revealed by the poll,
will undoubtedly have its effect
upon these elections, and thus upon
the fate of both prohibition and
the bonus in the new congress. It
is therefore logical and imperative
that all ballot holders with convic-
tons on prohibition and the bonus
mark return their ballots at once,
if they have not already done so.
1.-THE Digest will serve in this
matter. as it serves in others, mere
ly as an unbiased registrar and dis
seminator of opinions and facts.
The 10000, 900 ballots are being dis
tributed to all classes of voters in
all states and all communities in
the nation. with complete impair
TALLY. Millions will be sent by
mail, one ballot in each envelop.
Others will be distributed in GER
tain great plants and factories, such
as the Edison works in New Jersey,
with care that plants in which men
are chiefly employed may be bal
anced by plants chiefly employing
women. The distribution and
counting both of the mail vote and
of the factory polls will be handled
in such a way that the country may
be assured an unhampered express
sion of popular opinion"
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