The Washington times., 1936-10-30
NEW V'0TEHAS
BOTH CAMPS
GUESSING
BY GEORGE r. HOLMES

NEW YORK, Oct. 80 Q.N.S).
A presidential campaign filled with
confusing cross-currentS and amaz-
ing contradictions moved toward
the finish line today with both
parties throwing everything they
have into final appeals to the
voters.
President Roosevelt returned to
New York to wind it up with two
major speeches in his home State.
Governor Alfred M. Landon
Travelled westward to speak the
concluding words in home terri
tory.
Probably no campaign, certainly
none in recent times, has been
featured by more surprising con-
tradictions and unknown factors
than this one concluding on Tues
day next.
Somebody Is Wrong
Surface indications and the
usual signs which guide the poll
ticos in arriving at conclusions
point to President RooSevelt'S re-
election-yet the Literary Digest
poll, which has an unbroken rec
ord of calling the winner in the
past. predicted in it's closing tab
ulation today a victory for Cover
nor Landon of almost landslide
proportions.
It is, of course, usual for both
sides to claim victory on the eve
of an election. 1t is not usual,
however, for both parties to claim
q landslide in their direction and
to be able to support such a claim
by tangible evidence of it.
The Democrats openly derlde
the Digest poll, and point to the
fact, and it is a fact, that Vlr-
tually all other polls, newspaper
and otherwise, indicate RooSe-
welt victory of substantial proper
lions. This backs up their own
private estimates of the situation,
based upon reports from State
leaders. estimates of so-called eX-
perts and all the tried indicators
of other elections.
AS for the Republicans, they
hope the Digest poll is correct
but they hardly dare believe it in
view of all the other polls, the
betting odds, electra.
One illustration will suffice to
show the really amazing conflict
in the barometrical readings:
New York Sample
The Digest poll gives New York
and it's Al electoral votes to Cover
nor Landon, and the applied per-
centages of it's poll indicate Gov
ernor Landon carrying the State
by upwards of 100000.
A newspaper poll of New York
State shows precisely the oppo-
site, only more so. This poll shows
President Roosevelt carrying New
York State by winning So per cent
of the vote, to 35 per cent for Ian
don, with an estimated Roosevelt
plurality of upward of a million
votes.
There can't be much reconcilia-
ton in figures of that kind. And
che list of contradictions might be
pursued Unfortunately.
Of one thing the politicos are
certain. That is that next Tues
day is going to see record-break-
ing number of voters go to the polls
in all of the States of the Union,
with an estimated 45,000,000 votes
cast.
No stronger evidence GOULD be
produced to attest the Enormous
increase in the popular interest in
this election. y
SIS Million Registered
Registration figures are at an
all time record high. Some S.
100000 are on the poll books.
Should all of them vote, the record
turnout of four years ago, when
slightly less than 100000 ex-
pressed their preference, would go
by the boards. Experience shows,
however, that from 10 to 20 per
cent of the eligibles usually fail to
follow up their registration by
actually going to the polls.
The increase in this years regis