Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1924-10-10
Coolidge Still Leads
"Digest'S" Poll Voters

A larger vote. for President Cool
idge than for. all other candidates
combined, and q larger vote for La
Toilette than for Davis, are the two
outstanding features of the fourth
weeks tabulation of. the gigantic
straw poll of The Literary Digest
which is out today. -.
OF the nearly million and a half
votes recorded, Coolidge has S0S,S4O
La Toilette, 351,17S and Davis 275,-
GA. Returns have now been received
from forty-two states but The d.
gest calls attention to the fact that
the Southern states have been tardy
in returning their ballots. Their re-
turns will swell the Davis vote to 4
higher figures.
Davis is now leading in nine states
and La Toilette is still carrying Wis.,
consin against both of his opponents.
The Progressive candidate Is running
second in tWenty-one states and
Davis is trailing the leader in twelve.
All previous records for the fourth
week of national poll are broken
by the present tabulation Of 1,451, 591
votes. The Digest states, passing the
previous high mark for this stage of
any poll by more than 100000.
The returns indicate that interest
in the election is increasing daily"
The Digest continues, "and it may be
safely predicted that, at its compile
ton, the present poll will stand forth,
by hundreds OF thousands of votes as
the largest and most representative
test Of public opinion ever attempted
in this country
Upton Sinclair. the novelist and
publicist, in a circular letter, states
that The Digest's poll tends to ex-
aggerate the Republican strength,
THE Digest's vote will attract gen
eral attention." Mr.. Sinclair writes,
and wiil-have q great effect upon
the election. because many people
will cast their vote as, they think
most likely to defeat a certain can
didate. For this reason 1t Is import
ant to consider how accurate test
The Literary Digest's straw ballot
affords Of act aal election results.
1.-The Literary Digest advertises
that, 1t has tried to make the ba hot
impartial and TO reach every class Of
the community, We may accept this
ballot conducted by mail is bound to
favor the candidate of the we'll to- do
classes.
Such people are far more accus-
toned to receiving and answering
NATL than are the poor; moreover. IT
is far easier to get lists OF business
and professional men, magazine sub
scribeTs, and organized workingmen
than 1t Is to- get lists of tenant far
mers, unskilied laborers and dwellers
in city tenements.'
For this reason it seems almost
certain that The Digest's straw-bal-
lot will favor the Republican party
candidates.
Fortunately, we have a means Of
determining exactly. The Digest
conducted a similar straw ballot
prior to the 1920 election we know
what the results Of this election were,
and we can compare the prophecy
and the fulfillment.
The last returns on The Digest's
straw-b ballot appeared in ) an issue
late In October. 1920. In giving the
figures ] substitute ciphers for the
right hand, figures. because these
wonid not appreciabiy AFFECT the per-
centages.
I'm the state OF New York. The
Digest poll gaye Harding q, 900 ana
Cox 400 Thus as between these
two candidates Harding received 81
per cent. Of the vote and Cox II per
cent. ! -, :
but when election day came and
the actual votes were cast, Harding
received ], ST.. 900 while Cox received
$4,000. Thus Harding got only 20
Fer cent. whiH Coz got 30 per cent.
Figuring In the same way for the
the same results: that Is, The Digest