Evening star., 1936-09-19
Straw Votes.

oITaW FOCeS nave become national
pastime in election years. What effect, If
any, they have on election returns is, at
best, merely matter of surmise. They
do have the effect of stimulating the
efforts Of party managers and workers,
however. And in the past some of the
straw votes, nationally conducted. have
come close to estimating the actual
political strength of the parties. The
most ambitious poll, so far as the num-
ber of ballots is concerned, has been that
conducted by the Literary Digest. The
results of the Literary Digest polls, both
in presidential campaigns and when con-
Quoted to test sentiment for and against
for and against the Roosevelt New Deal.
have been remarkable for accuracy. It's
polls in the presidential races of 1924.
1928 and 1882 all proved to have fore
cast the results with a great degree
of certainty.
Four years ago the Literary Digest
pun WdO q otCllCll III GIlC llODtl liS VI bilC
Republicans. It's figures were denounced
and attacked from one end of the coun-
try to the other by the followers of Her
bert Hoover. The poll, on the other
hand, was received with every indica-
ton of satisfaction by the followers of
Franklin D. Roosevelt. Today the Lit
erary Digest poll is just getting fairly
launched. About 242,000 straw ballots,
cast in thirteen States, have been tabu-
lated. Since the Literary Digest sends
out total of 10000, 900 ballots, and since
many of the States remain to be heard
from, it is far too early to make definite
predictions as to the final results of the
poll or to draw hard and fast deductions
regarding the coming election with the
poll as basis. Nevertheless, the poll to
date is sufficient to show in which direc-
ton the wind is blowing; to show that
there has been a great reSurgence Of
Republican spirit and strength.
Whether this wind will be sufficient
to bring the Landon craft into port on
election day ahead of Roosevelt's remains
to be seen At the start OF the campaign
year everything seemed to favor the re-
election of the New Deal President. The
Republicans had been nat on their backs
for three years. They had been dis
astrously defeated in the national cleo
ton of 1892 and again in the congress
sional elections of 1884. The G. o. p.
had all the running to make, and a
great deal of running to come within
hailing distance of the Democratic ma
tional ticket.
OF the States from which ballots have
been announced in the Literary Digest
poll, five lie in the Democratic solid
South" seven in the territory least OF
the Mississippi River and north of the
Or claimed by Republican National
John Hamilton for Landon,
NJ Minnesota. in which the head
~ = Mississippi are located. The
ao- - . Roosevelt having an over
81 i. 4 lead in the Southern States,
Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and
Texas, and a much less preponderant
lead in Oklahoma. There the rosy side
for Roosevelt halts.
Landon has all the best Of the poll
in Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Maine,
New York, New Jersey, Ohio and Penn
sylvania. Despite the claims made by
the Democratic boss of the Keystone
State, Senator Guffey, the Pennsylvania
poll shows Landon with $4,000 to IL 900
for Roosevelt. In New Jersey the Lam
don straw vote is 10000 to 1000 for
Roosevelt and in New York, $4,000 to
10000, although it is understood that
the vote in New York City has yet to
be heard from. e.s:#
1t is not amazing that the Democratic
campaign leaders do not like the figures
in the Literary Digest poll or that the
Republicans take Joy from them. The
poll shows, among other things, that
two voters who supported Roosevelt in
1892 have now gone over to the G. o. p.
to every one voter who supported Hoover
and has now turned to Roosevelt. 1t
shows, too, that far more of those who
did not vote in 1892 are supporting Lam
don than are supporting Roosevelt.