Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-11-01
RADIO WILL. CARRY
ELECTION RETURNS
To MANY HOMES
BY FREDERIC HASKIN

BY FREDERIC HASKIN
NGTON. u. c., Oct. 80
The climax of the use of the radio
in the 1924 campaign will come with
the broadcasting of elections returns
on the night of November 4. If uti-
lized to the limit of it's possibilities
more people will be directly in touch
with the counting of the ballots this
wear than ever before in the history
of the country.
The resonant voice that has grown
so familiar during the last year VIII
be heard in hundreds OF thousands
of homes. and loud speakers VIII car
Nv it to countless other thousands of
groups in theaters, halls and in front
of the bulletin boards of newspapers.
"Umpty-ump precincts in New
York cast umpty Jump votes Tor Cool
idge, umpty-ump for Davis and Jump
ty-ump for La Toilette 1t will say.
The same precincts in 1920 gave
umpty-ump votes for Harding and
umpty- for Cox.
Then, presumptively, the voice will
proceed to tell whether gain or
loss is shown for Coolidge or Davis,
what the La Toilette vote indicates,
and which of the candidates will
proba bly, cary the state. And then
the crowds will cheer and indulge In
demonstrations proportionate to the
enthusiasm with which they receive
the returns.
Interspersed with the balloting
in d.
er, will come the statements and
claims of state and national chair
men and other party leaders.
chairman Butler, of the Republic
can national committee, claims the
election of Coolidge and Dawes py
an overwhelming vote. He says it
is another landslide" Or, Demo
cratic National Chairman Shaver
claims a safe majority in the electo-
raj college for Davis and Bryan. He
says the Democrats have carried
more than half the doubtful states,
including New York and Indiana, and
that the later returns will make an
even stronger showing for Davis"
Or, perhaps it will be: congress-
man John M. Nelson, chairman of
the Progressive campaign commit
tee, refuses to concede the election
of Coolidge. He says that Davis is
out of it and that the amazin 6
strength shown by La Toilette and
Wheeler points to the election of the
Progressive ticket by a narrow mar.
gin. The Progressives have made
great gains in both houses of con-
gress, he claims
StupendOus Task
1t will be stupendous task to or
ganize and to carry through this
projected service to the American
people. 1t is not so difficult to
broadcast a speech, or the proceed
ings of a political convention, or the
play of a worlds series baseball
game, so that everybody who has
a radio outfit, no matter how many
miles away, gets it all almost as
promptly and as wildly as the eye
witnesses of the events, or those
who are listening to the speaker him
self.
That is no simple task, but it can
be done, and has been done, with
wonderful efficiency. 1t is a mat
ter of hooking up all contact sta
tions and arranging for the relays.
A speech, or concert or a gle
event that registers itself or that
can be told about as it transpires,
can be broadcast as far and as
widely as the air will carry it.
But to tell the story of the re-
suit Of an election as the result is
being compiled is a different propo-
sition. In that case the event is
transpiring in 4S different states and
in tens of thousands of voting places
where the ballots are being counted.
The returns must be assembled,
tabulated-and compared
1t means little or nothing to tell
an anxious nation that Cook county,
ILL.,, or a certain number of pre-
cincts in greater New York, cast a
certain number of votes for each
OF the candidates for president Elk
pert mathematician must take
those returns and compare them
with the vote cast four years ago.
working out the percentage of gain
or loss that each candidate shows.
and from that estimating the prob
able final result in the state.
And in the case Of New York
state, for further Illustration. it does
not suffice to know merely the per-
centage of gains or losses in New
York City, which is normally a Dem
ocratic stronghold. Similar calcula-
tons must be worked out on the
returns from upstate counties where
the Republicans have their greatest
strength, before the result in the
state as a whole can be approx
mated.
Nor will the listening public be
content to hear only what is hap
penlng In one or two of the more
important states. There will be
especial interest and anxiety over
the returns from the west and
northwest where La Toilette is ex-
pected to show his greatest strength
and everybody will be keen to know
what the returns from those sections
indicate in connection with the gen
eral result.
Three-Party Complication
The fact that there is a formid-
able third party in the field this
year is further complication that
adds greatly to the difficulty of as.
sembling election returns and in
terpreting them promptly and ac-
culately. This will be doubly true
if The election proves to be close.
Should one candidate or another
make run away race of it. as
Harding did in 1920 or as Wilson
did in 1912. 1t will be apparent at
an carly hour on election night
that there can be no question as to
the ultimate result and the Tublic
will not be clamorous for details.
Ho Never, it is possible that the
result in single state may suffice
TO determine whether any candidate
is to have a majority in the elec-
t0ral college. or if the choice of a
president is to be thrown into the
house of re Dresentatives, and it is
always possible for the result in any
one state to hinge upon the ballot.
ing in a few precincts
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