The Washington times., 1924-07-17
| 00K DR.
MORE IN
Asst
Should Hopes Come True, OBJ
servers say, Election win
% Thrown Into Congress
By WILLIAM HARD.

IN preceding article y was
pointed out that Mr.. Coolidge and
Mr.. Davis face each other across
the battlefield from the trenches
where they can dig themselves inI
with approximately equal strength.
on the Davis side of the battle
field, it was pointed out, there
are the ten solid South States
plus the three border States Of
Kentucky, Tennessee and Okla
homa; and On the Coolidge side,
It was pointed out, as claimed
with utter certainty by the Cool
idge calcuIators, there Is q string
of States stretching from the
Atlantic to the Pacific and con-
sisting Of Maine, New Hampshire,
Vermont, Massachusetts,, Connec-
ticut, Pennsylvania, Michigan, ILL.,
nois. Kansas, Oregon and Cali
3ornia.
Electoral Vote Changed.
Each Of these two sets Of states
totals 149 electoral votes; ana the
two sets together therefore account
for 29S votes In q total In the cleo
tcraI college Of 531.
Five hundred and thirty-one minus
2S8 Is 23S.
It would seem, accordingly, thar
the battlefield between the two sets
OF trenches would consist Of only
!. 233 electoral votes to be fought over.
It Is then seen, however, that even
this minority Of electoral votes Ii
still further reduced by the new
earthworks which Mr.. La Toilette
has succeeded in constructing In the
Northwestern States.
The extent OF these earthworlEs Il
variously estimated. Some profes.
SiOnal political observers pooh-pooh
them almost entirely out Of exist
ence.N They say that these eaxth.
I works are phantorns and that Mr..
Coolidge win in fact carry almost
the entire Northwest.
Other observers equally skilled en-.
terrain an entirely different opinion.
| They see La Toilette not only carry
ing the Northwest but also carrying
Michigan and Ohio and making
strong inroads into Illinois.
They also see him carrying Okla
homa, which two years ago was won
BY Governor Walton on q Farmer
LabOrite ticket.
They see him, in general running
tast in almost every part Of the
country except the solidest South
and the sternest East and upsetting
or, at any rate, shaking and imperil-
ins almost everybody's applicant
almost everywhere.
Earlier Victories Recalled.
Part OF this extreme view and ex-
treme dread is due to q quite rea.
Doned and considered observation Of
the character Of Mr.. La Follette's
success In Wisconsin.
It Is realized that in Wisconsin
Mr.. La Toilette for more than
twenty years has been winning
victories which are quite iHlc0neist-
ont with the talk heard In Pullman
cars and In the best hotels ana
clubs and ii chambers Of corn.
Inerce.
Observers would so into WIscon.
sin and would talk with the lead
Ing men OF the State IN great guam.
titles and would come back and say
that La Follette had no friends IN
Wisconsin and that absolutely no
body was for him and that he was
bound to be defeated.
Then on election day La Follette
would have another astounding vie.
tory. La Follette's vote always has
been what IL technically called q
silent vote" IT consists OF peO-
pie who are not the leaders OF thei.
communities, and It consists also
actually Of many people who win
even speak against La Toilette, IN
order to seem respectable, and who
viii then apparently 60 and vote
Tor him in order to register their
Kick about something or other
Has Covert Vote.
La Toilette thus. It Il wen known,
has not only silent vote, but also
what might be called q covert.
vote" It isS remembered that ne
ran surprisingly well In the RADub.
Mcan primaries outside wisconsin
Tor President In the year 1912 until
he was undermined and supplanted
by Theodore Roosevelt as the favor.
ite Republican progressive con.
1t is realized that It Ii going to
be difficult and indeed virtually i'm.
possible to gauge La Follett's
strength this year. Il may turn
out to be small. It may turn out
to be spectacularly ana crushingjy
large. The silent and covert char.
Acter Of 1t makes 1t difficult to ais
cover and impossible accordingly 70
estimate In any accurate way.
Nothing, could either prove or ais.
prove the La Toilette strength ex.
cept q house.to-house canvass or the
country, ana then the canvassers
would probably have to be intimate
friends Of the families they are
visiting.
Farmers Rabidly Disseminated.
One thing only IL sure. The
Northwestern farmers have never
been so effectively disconnected in
all American history az they are
today, and the forces OF organized
labor have never been quite 80